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International Committee of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB)
ICOMB drafts Confession


Slow but discernible progress was evident as the International Committee of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) held its annual meeting July 28–30 in Abbotsford, B.C., Canada. Representatives of 13 of the 18 national MB Conferences around the world were present (it is indicative of the difficulties that such organizations struggle with that several delegates were unable to obtain visas). ICOMB was formed 12 years ago (at a meeting held in 1990 in conjunction with the Mennonite World Conference assembly in Winnipeg, Canada), and the organization is gradually taking shape.

Considerable time at the 2002 meeting was spent trying to refine the vision for ICOMB. There is a growing sense that ICOMB will not be able to develop much further until it hires staff, probably beginning with a half-time executive secretary. There was some hesitation to move in this direction until ICOMB has a clearer understanding of its vision and what a staff person would do. After considerable discussion, it was decided to commission ICOMB’s executive (chair Alexander Neufeld of the AMBD in Germany, vice-chair Maximo Abadie of the Spanish Conference in Parguay, secretary David Wiebe of Canada and treasurer Rolando Mireles of the United States) to develop a proposal for hiring a staff person and report to the 2003 meeting.

The 2002 ICOMB participants (back, l–r) Junichi Fujino (representative for Japan), Victor Wall (representative for the German Conference, Paraguay), Harold Ens (general director of MBMS International), Jascha Boge (Canada), Arthur Duck (Brazil), David Wiebe (representative for Canada), Alfred Neufeld (Paraguay); (second row) Menno Joel (India), P.B. Arnold (representative for India); Julio Mendoza Inman (representative for Peru), G.J. Daniel (India), Alexander Neufeld (representative for AMBD/VMBB, Germany, and for Austria), Rolando Mireles (representative for the US), Heinrich Klassen (representative for BTG, Germany); (front) Lynn Jost (US), Pascal Kulungu (representative for Congo), Takashe Manabe (Japan), Victor Ekk (Brazil) and Maximo Abadie (representative for the Spanish Conference, Paraguay). Photo: Jim Coggins

Confession of Faith

At the 2001 ICOMB meeting, a committee was set up to look at the various Confessions of Faith from the MB Conferences around the world and write a global MB Confession. The intent was not to replace the national Confessions but to write a shorter Confession which will focus on central doctrines, guide national Conferences in writing or revising their more detailed national Confessions, and provide a standard for other Conferences which might want to apply for membership in ICOMB. (An example of how the Confession might be useful was offered by US committee member Lynn Jost, who suggested that the other national Conferences might help the Canadian and US Conferences remain faithful to the accepted MB position on baptism and the Lord’s Supper.)

At this 2002 meeting, the committee presented a draft Confession. After considerable discussion, the ICOMB members made some revisions and were happy enough with the result to give it provisional acceptance. When it has been translated, it will be sent to all of the national MB Conferences for feedback, with the hope that a final draft can be officially accepted as the global Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith at the 2003 ICOMB meeting. It was noted that the provisional acceptance comes just a century after the creation of the first Mennonite Brethren Confession in 1902.

The ICOMB Confession of Faith committee (l–r): Takashe Manabe (Japan), Pascal Kulungu (Congo), Arthur Duck (Brazil), Menno Joel (India), Lynn Jost (US), Alfred Neufeld (Paraguay) and chair Heinrich Klassen (BTG, Germany). Photo: Jim Coggins

Mission

MBMS International, the North American MB mission agency (which planted many of the other national Conferences), presented an invitation for ICOMB to nominate a representative to the MBMSI Board. This is in recognition of the fact that other national Conferences are starting to send out missionaries of their own, often with MBMSI assistance. Japan’s was the first Conference to do so. The Congo Conference now has missionaries in several countries, and there are several other examples of other Conferences sending missionaries. The need for a coordinating role by ICOMB and MBMSI is illustrated by the desire within both the Congo and Uruguay Conferences to plant churches in Mozambique and Morocco. As it is doing with North American churches, MBMSI no longer plays the role of deciding where all mission efforts will take place but of assisting churches and Conferences in carrying out their own dreams and plans.

ICOMB representatives welcomed the invitation to nominate a member to the MBMSI Board, but felt that the best nominee might be the ICOMB executive secretary, who has not yet been hired. In the meantime, it was decided to nominate ICOMB chair Alexander Neufeld to sit on the MBMSI Board as an observer.

An example of the developing partnership between ICOMB and MBMSI relates to Mexico. At its 2001 meeting, ICOMB commissioned Maximo Abadie of the Spanish Conference in Paraguay and Victor Wall of the German Conference in Paraguay to visit the Mennonite Brethren churches in Mexico. (The churches there, started by different MB mission efforts, are scattered, disorganized and often struggling.) Their visit was warmly received. At this 2002 meeting, ICOMB commissioned the two men, along with Rolando Mireles of the US Conference, to work with MBMSI to assist in the revitalizing of the Mexican MB churches.

Finances

Each ICOMB representative shared about the progress and struggles within his own Conference, and the representatives spent time praying for each other.

One item which aroused considerable discussion was the funding of the national Conferences. The common practice in many of the national Conferences is for the local churches to give a “tithe” (a proportion of the contributions they themselves receive, often but not always defined as 10%) to the national Conference. This practice was of considerable to interest to the US and Canadian Conferences, where considerable numbers of churches do not contribute to the national Conference.

ICOMB’s own finances are in reasonably good shape. The national Conferences are required to contribute 1% of their annual budgets to ICOMB. In the case of the smaller and poorer Conferences, the contribution is less than the cost for the Conference’s representative to travel to the annual ICOMB meeting. Travel expenses for all representatives are covered by the ICOMB budget.

In the 2001–2002 year, ICOMB received about $23,000 US and had expenses of about $13,000 US. This leaves ICOMB with a balance of just over $70,000 US. However, expenses for the Confession of Faith committee, the involvement in Mexico and the possibility of hiring staff could reduce this considerably.

Of the $70,000, about $20,000 US belongs in a separate global relief fund, set up to assist ICOMB countries to cope with natural and other disasters. One indication of the need for permanent staff is that there was some confusion about the accounting for this fund (largely cleared up at this meeting). It was decided that some overdue assistance to the Congo Conference be sent out as soon as possible. ICOMB finances are handled by the US Conference because ICOMB is not yet a legally incorporated organization and because it is easier to transact international exchanges in US dollars; even so, the difficulty of transferring money between countries remains a major problem.

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At this meeting, ICOMB representatives also dialogued with Werner Kroeker, representing Mennonite World Conference. He outlined some questions about how ICOMB can relate to MWC.

The next meeting of ICOMB will be held in August 2003 in Zimbabwe, in conjunction with the Mennonite World Conference assembly.

 – jc

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Last modified December 17, 2002.

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