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Fresno, Calif.
Africa Tour geared to young leaders


Can you imagine worshipping God into a cool African night with people from around the globe?

Next summer, Jeanine and Greg Yoder will gather a multicultural group of emerging leaders from Canada and the United States to connect with brothers and sisters from around the world, in a tour sponsored by MBMS International. The experience will start in the Democratic Republic of Congo, then continue at the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly in Zimbabwe, with a closing debrief in South Africa. From August 2 to 19, 2003 this living classroom will expose participants to ways God is moving in the church throughout the world.

Jeanine Yoder’s vision for joining hands in God’s mission grew immensely after first visiting the Congo on a Youth Mission International team, then spending a year visiting hundreds of Mennonite churches throughout the world with Esengo, a Congolese singing group. “Through this initial cross-cultural experience, my desire grew to expose other emerging leaders to God’s global family,” says Jeanine, who currently teaches Christian Contemporary Ministry and Intercultural Studies at Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, Calif. “This trip will give a taste of the global Anabaptist church’s passion for mission, worship, discipleship and community.

Greg’s birth in Indonesia as a “missionary kid” offered him a beginning that bridged two cultures: Indonesian and North American. Greg’s understanding of God’s mission has taken shape through semester studies in the Middle East while studying at Eastern Mennonite University, voluntary service with inner-city kids and living for the past four years in inner-city Fresno. Greg, a therapist with youth in crisis, has a strong commitment to reconciliation and healing.

Mennonite World Conference meets in Assembly every six years, gathering Anabaptist Christians from around the world. The Yoder tour will also participate in a Global Youth Summit sponsored by MWC. MWC leaders state, “Youth are under-represented in global church gatherings and are often on the fringes of important church interaction.” They want to change that. The summit will provide youth an opportunity to “encounter each other, worship together, discuss important life issues and dream visions of what the church can yet become”.

More information about this tour is available from MBMS International (1-888-866-6267) or Greg and Jeanine Yoder (1-559-497-6750, e-mail yodergm@yahoo.com).

Cost is estimated at $3,500 US.

MBMS International is the global mission agency of Mennonite Brethren churches in Canada and the United States.

 – Jeanine and Greg Yoder

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Last modified November 30, 2002.

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