More than 75 pastors and leaders from 27 churches and organizations gathered for worship, discussion and prayer at the 10:2 Summit on March 5. This Southern District-led missions event occurred at Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
In its second year, the 10:2 Summit gave attendees an opportunity to address the ongoing need for mission workers—both in North America and around the world.
“The second 10:2 Conference helped us keep focus on the mission,” says Brian Harris, Southern District minister, in an email after the event. “Mission drift is a real problem for every one of us. We never drift toward mission—we drift away from it. So, we need to be reminded to refocus on the mission again and again.”
The heart of missions: Nationally, locally, globally
Aaron Box, USMB national director, spoke about the heart of missions at a national level. He discussed how churches and districts can engage with the national organization in making global missions happen. When thinking about missions, Box shared that everyone in the church is called to pray, give or go.
Box also discussed how to develop a church culture that supports global mission. He highlighted the importance of leadership: modeling a commitment to mission, prayer, generosity and personal engagement.
Attendees also heard from Jana Hildebrandt, missions, prayer and engagement director at Ridgepoint Church. Hildebrandt shared about engaging the local church in missions and invited participants to explore their churches’ biggest needs regarding missions. She also facilitated brainstorming next steps churches could take in building a mission culture within congregations.
Hildebrandt invited Mercy Masterson, mission and outreach mobilizer at SouthLife Church in Wichita, Kansas, to share about cultivating missions within a church plant. Masterson explained that SouthLife began as a missional community, baked into the church’s DNA from the beginning.
When tempted to compare one church’s program to others, Masterson encouraged leaders to focus on what works for their community.
“It’s OK if yours looks different,” Masterson says of programs and missions efforts.
Building on what Box and Hildebrandt presented in the morning, Bruce Enns, general director of Multiply, the mission agency of Mennonite Brethren churches in North America, discussed how churches can engage the organization in missional efforts. Enns presented several levels at which this engagement could happen, from becoming familiar with Multiply and global workers to engaging locally, sending out new global workers from a congregation and establishing long-term global partnerships.
In addition, Enns provided attendees a “Missionary DNA” guide to assist in recognizing behaviors and traits that could help identify potential missionaries.
Enns also introduced Fred Leonard, lead pastor of Mountain View Church in Fresno, California, as Multiply’s newly appointed U.S. regional team leader.
Encouraged by the turnout, Harris says the event gave attendees an opportunity to discuss and dream about how to further missions efforts as a group—for churches and the district.
“We are well situated to do missions together,” Harris says. “There is more work to be done, but this was a strategic step.”
This article has been posted by Christian Leader staff. The Christian Leader is the magazine of U.S. Mennonite Brethren.
