The bus ride

The metaphor of “having the right people on the bus” became the recurring theme of the Ontario MB Conference convention after Terry Wiseman used the illustration as part of his sermon Friday evening.

The convention took place in Kitchener MB Church, the oldest Mennonite Brethren Church in Ontario. The first convention of the Ontario MB Conference was held Nov. 19–20, 1932 in Kitchener MB Church. At that time, the Conference had five churches and 287 members, and 38 delegates. This year, at the 74th convention, there were more than 200 delegates representing more than 30 churches.

Moderator Vic Thiessen

The convention began with a mass choir and a worship team leading in worship. Pots of spring flowers enhanced the devotional atmosphere – a spirit that continued through the weekend.

The theme of the convention was “Eyes Outward: Transforming our Community.” This was jointly developed by Mark Johnson, conference minister, and Terry Wiseman, director of church extension. Johnson talked about the biblical context of being a missional movement, using the recent tsunami as an illustration of the cultural changes that are happening in our world. The church is shaken by these changes. Basing his message on Matthew 13:31–33, he stated that the church needs to be the yeast that permeates our society. Yeast can lose its ability to work. Johnson said, “Let us not let that happen to individuals and to our churches – that we lose the ability to affect the world around us. We are not called to focus on our own survival but in dying for our communities.” The church is surrounded by people who need God and it needs to turn its focus away from itself and toward those for whom Christ died.

Wiseman then suggested 12 ways to becoming a missional conference:

• We need a good denominational identity
• Mission needs to be modelled by example
• We need to embrace the entrepreneurs – “We need to get the right people on the bus”
• Institutional gatekeepers should be ignored
• Our mission and core values need to be clarified
• We need to embrace strategic partnerships
• We need to develop functional systems
• We need teeth – our core values, mission, vision, Confession of Faith, being MB have to mean something
• We have to embrace friction
• We need to embrace failure and be willing to risk
• We need to embrace sanctified subtraction
• We need to embrace methodical change

Wiseman suggested that implementing these changes would take at least five to seven years, even with all the right people in place.

New church, pastors

New Hope Church, Jordan, St. Catharines, with Thom and Elaine Braun as pastor couple, was welcomed to the conference. New pastors who have come to the province since the last convention, or those who have taken on new positions, were introduced: Wayne Wright, New Life Christian Church, Scarborough; Oskar Arajs, Cornerstone Church, Virgil; Andrew Barton, Christian Fellowship Chapel, Orillia; Amanda Baese, Port Rowan MB Church; Dennis Corkery, Komoka Community Church; Vic Ratzlaff, Westview Christian Fellowship; Jim Evans, formerly of Meadows Community, Mississauga, now at Orchard Park Bible Church, Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Stories

Graham Beer speaks about skateboard ministry at Meadow Brook Church

Graham Beer, associate pastor at Meadow Brook Church, Leamington, told the story of their youth group reaching out to others in the community. A skate park that welcomed neighbourhood kids became the catalyst for the ministry. The kids in the community have seen the church as a caring place and adults have begun checking out the church as well. The youth have formed an e-team (evangelism), setting goals of reaching their peers for Christ. The first goal was for 10 kids to come to Christ and be discipled. Within 3 months 15 kids had come, 7 from the goth culture. The community recognizes the church as “the skateboard church.”

Debbie Oatman and Doris Falkenburg talk about Bridges ministry at Glencairn

Glencairn MB Church, Kitchener, has a unique ministry called Bridges, to those in need in their community. They wanted to be involved in God’s work, where God was at work and where they could join in. A prayer walk in the community revealed that disadvantaged people lived in the neighbourhood. But the ministry has never been only about providing food and clothing to the people – that was only the means to seeing Jesus in the face of the clients, building relationships with them and listening to stories. A number of groups in the church, including the youth, have become involved. Six prayer walks before Christmas revealed again that God loves the people, and there are empty spaces that God wants to fill, using the people in the church. The prayer team has seen the requests of the clients answered and the community is being impacted.

Finances

A budget of $253,480 for the year 2005–06 was presented to the delegates. This is about $48,000 more than the projected income of $205,000. The reason given is that the operating reserve of $134,865 is to be whittled down to about $50,000 over the next 3 years, so there will be a balanced budget in 2008. Discussion from the delegates indicated some discomfort with the present process and its effect on the churches. Calls were made for more vision from leadership and for a budget system that would be fair to the churches but “have teeth.” In the end the budget was passed but with the request that this be looked at by leadership for next year.

Inspiration

Then came the challenging part of the convention. Taka Mukono, pastor of New Life Church, Ottawa, spoke on the “Key to Community Transformation.” Mukono came as a missionary from Zimbabwe some years ago. He challenged the delegates in the area of prayer based on Isaiah 56:6–7, stating there are three principles for personal transformation and making an impact on the community.

• Preparation of hearts and lives. We must make sure we are in the faith, and have a desire to serve God. “You cannot transform the community if you are boring. Are you passionate about Jesus?” But the agenda must be God’s. Total obedience to what God is saying is essential.
• Promise that God makes to us (v. 7). God draws people into His presence to worship and to connect with Him. “God wants to strengthen you, but it will only happen in His presence. I want the Holy Spirit to put a harpoon on the inside of you and pull you in.”
• Power of prayer. God has a strategy. “After God has moved on me and you, He will move on all.” There will be sacrifices, and fire has a habit of changing things. “We go through an altar experience where we will be alterable.” Only as change is experienced in God’s people, can transformation happen in the community.

A communion service concluded the convention.

—Susan Brandt