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Fresno, Calif.
Survey uncovers MB views of global mission


How do Mennonite Brethren feel about the need to share their faith across cultures? What are the best ways to do mission? Where do MBs give money to support global mission, and what is the role of the MB Conference’s mission agency? These were questions asked of over 5,000 Mennonite Brethren in Canada and the United States this past summer. The answers to these questions were a part of the findings of a sweeping evaluation commissioned by MBMS International, the global mission agency of Mennonite Brethren in Canada and the United States.

Don Klaassen was one of the MBMS International staff members involved in creating the survey. “We knew our relationship with Mennonite Brethren was not as strong as it could be, and we wanted to get a clearer sense of how to work together,” says Klaassen. “In order to look at that relationship, we first had to determine how Mennonite Brethren feel and think about mission work around the world.”

Over the summer, the firm of Ken MacLeod and Associates Inc. (KMA) conducted nine focus group meetings and 68 face-to-face interviews in British Columbia, Manitoba, California and Kansas. Surveys were mailed to another 3,000 Canadian and 2,000 American MB church members and pastors. The response rate of 16% (including 40% of lead pastors) was high enough for the evaluators to consider the data reliable.

The first change identified by the evaluators was a growing trend of churches focusing on mission in their own cities, towns and neighbourhoods. “People do not believe that local mission is more important than global mission,” the KMA report states. “However, the view that is growing is that there are enough ‘broken souls in our own backyards’ and that ‘before we can reach out to the rest of the world, we have to reach people in our own communities.’”

While churches may increasingly focus their ministry on their community, 80% of those surveyed agree that there is still a vital need for the church to send missionaries to other countries. Respondents pointed to two prime motivations for mission: 93% feel it is because Christ commanded His disciples to go and make disciples, and 87% say it is because people who do not accept Christ are eternally lost. Only 9% of those who responded said that we should help to meet physical and social needs but not try to change people’s religion.

Mennonite Brethren pastors gave some feedback about how to put our convictions into action. Two-thirds believe it is important to subsidize ministries of overseas partners and train leaders from overseas churches, and about half feel strongly that it is important to send long-term career missionaries from North America to “unreached” people groups. Only 20% of pastors feel it is important to send short-term youth teams and/or other volunteers.

So how do people support global mission? The survey found that most of those who responded are giving to support mission efforts, but they do so in a variety of ways: 29% support ministries only by giving through their local church; 31% give personally to MBMS International, and 17% indicated they support other agencies with which they feel more connected.

In addition to surveying MB views of mission in general, the survey looked in depth at MBMS International’s role as the mission agency of the Canadian and US MB Conferences. MBMS International board and staff had an initial opportunity to discuss the survey at the Board’s October meeting in Waterloo, Ontario, and felt it was important to take the evaluation seriously and come up with long-term, substantial changes.

MBMS International will share the survey results, and MBMSI’s initial responses, in greater detail in the January edition of its Witness magazine. Witness is available as an insert in the MB Herald or by calling 1-888-866-6267.

 – Brad Thiessen, Director for Media & Communications, MBMS International

Who responded?

The 5000 written surveys were sent out proportional to the population of Mennonite Brethren in each country. Response by region was: California 15%, Kansas 9%, and the rest of the US 14%; B.C. 24%, Alberta/Saskatchewan 13%, Manitoba 10%, and the rest of Canada 5%. 41% of respondents were female, 60% male. About half were under age 50. Of those who indicated their church background, 58% grew up in Mennonite Brethren homes, 30% grew up in Christian non-MB homes, and 12% were raised in non-Christian homes.

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Last modified January 5, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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