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VIEWPOINT
Bringing people together

Sandy Crux

There is a kind of outreach that sometimes doesn’t get our attention, the internal kind within our own church communities. What I am referring to is a kind of friendship outreach between believers (those who are culturally and ethnically MB) and those who are not.

My husband Jim and I were baptized by immersion and accepted into membership at Grantham MB in St. Catharines, Ont. in the late 1970s. I also taught at Eden Christian College when it was still a privately run Mennonite Brethren school located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. In my experience, Mennonite Brethren are friendly, warm, welcoming and very family oriented. Yet, although we always felt cared for and cared about, we never did feel like we belonged. Most ethnic MBs don’t realize how hard it is for non-ethnic MBs to break into the larger group.

Since the purpose of evangelism is to bring the nonbelievers in our communities to the Lord, and hopefully into our MB churches, how can we help the non-ethnic believers feel welcome and part of the church community? Have them take the Alpha course together, that’s how.

With the blessing of the church’s leadership council, George and Linda Wichert brought Alpha to Cornerstone Community Church in Virgil, Ont. George thought that the first Alpha course offered “should be a way for church members and attendees to become Alpha leaders and volunteers while simultaneously getting to know each other”. Since that is what he and his wife Linda prayed for, that is precisely what happened.

My husband and I were two of those who attended the first Alpha course at Cornerstone beginning Sunday evening, January 14, 2002. We didn’t know what to expect. We had been members at Grantham MB back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but we had spent the past decade or more in various Anglican churches. However, our daughter and son-in-law Carole and Chuck Wiens and our three grandchildren Julia, Matthew and Stephanie (through marriage, we are now part of an ethnic Mennonite family as well) are very involved at Cornerstone. So, when we heard about the Alpha course, we jumped at the chance to attend.

The snack and meal format, followed by the tapes and small discussion groups were amazing – and the non-judgmental, open atmosphere was very supportive. We were both pleasantly surprised at the openness and at the acceptance of this Anglican-based program. There seemed to be a genuine understanding that, like MBs, Anglicans are also Christians.

In fact, after a matter of a few weeks, we felt completely at home at Cornerstone, with the added joy of being renewed in the Lord. Our faith journeys may be different, but whether we are ethnic MBs or not, we are all members of the Christian family.

I strongly recommend the Alpha course – not only for non-believers, as a renewal process for believers and as a leadership training program – but also as a way to integrate those church members or attendees who are not ethnically MB. It can definitely bring people together.

Sandy and Jim Crux currently attend Cornerstone Community Church in Virgil, Ont. Sandy is a retired educator, communications consultant and freelance journalist living in Niagara Falls.

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Last modified July 12, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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