I love family gatherings. My husband and I host a monthly family meal, and I get a thrill when the date is set, the menu is in place and my house is prepared (although, that last part doesn’t always happen—don’t look in the front closet!).
That word gathering is intentional. This is not “come and go”—it’s “stay and be.” It’s an invitation to pull up a chair, pour a cup of coffee and settle in. This isn’t fast food, friends—I’ve been slow-cooking that roast all day!
Now I’m excited for another get-together—my first U.S. Mennonite Brethren Gathering—the national convention where folks across the country join in one place to say, “We’re in this thing together.”
This year’s event is a return to our roots and a recommitment to the mission that unites us.
So, what does this gathering business have to do with a redesigned magazine? Well, I’m so glad you asked. Redesigning a magazine is more than changing fonts and color schemes. It’s about revisiting purpose. We ask why and retrace our steps to vision and mission while keeping an eye on the horizon of the future.
We have big plans for the Christian Leader in 2026. We’ll be launching a redesign of the magazine this summer, just in time for Gathering in Salt Lake City, Utah (Register now!).
Take a look at some of our previews at the top of this page to get a taste of what to expect, and please pray for wisdom as we carefully turn the page to this next chapter.
In addition, we’re changing the cadence of our publication to a quarterly instead of bimonthly while also planning to add eight more pages to each issue.
New delivery schedule
- Summer issue (July 2026)
- Fall issue (October 2026)
- Winter issue (January 2027)
- Spring issue (April 2027)
A quarterly publication schedule allows us to invest more time in telling the stories that matter. This shift also helps us better steward our finances and resources while maintaining the magazine’s quality. We’ll continue to share timely stories via email, web and social media as well.
On the newly designed pages of Christian Leader, I hope you will see our recommitment
to the core values of the U.S. Mennonite Brethren—making disciples, developing leaders
and multiplying churches. This publication is committed to cheering you on, lifting you up
and running the race alongside you.
As we look to that mission that reunites us this summer, I pray that you will sense that commitment on the pages of this publication.
Be sure to find me in Salt Lake, and let me know what you think! I’m always up for a gathering.
Lacey joined the Christian Leader staff as editor in July 2025. She has more than two decades of experience in editorial writing and strategic communications, creating and editing content for newspaper, magazines, websites and email campaigns. Lacey, her husband and their two girls live in Wichita, Kansas, and attend Ridgepoint Church.
