Pastors gain insight into Conference

More than 35 people met at Sunrise Community Church in Edmonton April 1–3 for New Pastors’ Orientation. An annual event, New Pastors’ Orientation brings together pastors from Mennonite Brethren churches across Canada who are new to our denomination, and Conference staff to welcome them.

NPO participants

Herb Kopp, Manitoba Conference minister presented the MB Confession of Faith, saying it is the “distillation of what the Bible says about 18 topics.” He continued, “Our Confession is Christological, based on the premise that when Jesus said something He expected followers to obey Him.” The “buzzword” for Anabaptism, he said, is obedience.

Bruce Guenther, professor at ACTS, the seminary consortium at Trinity Western College and Seminary, gave a succinct history of the Mennonite Brethren Church. He said the presentation was “an inoculation of Anabaptism for those new to the denomination and an antidote to the amnesia that overtakes those who have been in the family for a long time.”

Topics discussed during the open space included the mission statement of the Conference, pacifism and peacemaking, and the positive value the Conference has for our churches and pastors today.

Willy Reimer

Willy Reimer, pastor of Sunwest Community Church, Calgary, presented a workshop emphasizing that pastors need to be designers rather than specialists. A designer frees up the gifts in the church to be used for ministry. New leaders are produced who in turn help free up more gifts.

A seminar on planting churches was presented by Terry Wiseman, director of church extension in Ontario. He stated that Plan A is to grow churches, and there is no plan B. Local churches can do better church planting in the long run, he said, than can pioneers working on their own.

Communion, anointing and a blessing ended the orientation event.

—Susan Brandt