Gerald Hildebrand, the North America regional representative to Mennonite World Conference, is retiring from his position with the global Anabaptist fellowship. Hildebrand has served in this role since 2018 and will conclude after the May 2025 MWC meetings.
“Gerald has been diligent in attending national church conventions and gatherings of your churches,” writes Janet Plenert, the regional representatives coordinator, in a letter to Canadian and U.S. denominational leaders. “He has exemplified grace with his gentle spirit and open listening ears. Gerald has been willing to travel across our continent to meet and share about MWC. He has thoughtfully reported back from meetings and helpfully represented concerns expressed. We will greatly miss Gerald on our staff and regional representatives team.”
Prior to his work with MWC, Hildebrand was a Mennonite Brethren pastor in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Ottawa, Ontario, and served for four years as an area director with MB Mission, now Multiply. He studied for two years (1992-94) at MB Biblical Seminary.
As the MWC regional representative, Hildebrand regularly attended USMB national conventions.
Mennonite World Conference regional representatives relate to member churches around the world. Regional representatives function as a two-way ambassador for member churches and MWC, helping with information sharing and communication both to the churches from MWC and to MWC from the churches.
MWC will search for a new Canada/U.S. regional representative until “we find the right person,” Plenert says. Interested candidates should be a member of a MWC member conference/church, love and understand the local and global church, be a natural networker and pastoral in presence, competent administrator and initiative taker, and be able to serve and travel on a part time basis. It would be a bonus if the person spoke either Spanish or French in addition to English.
Mennonite World Conference is a communion of Anabaptist-related churches linked to one another in a worldwide community of faith for fellowship, worship, service, and witness. USMB is a member conference of this global ministry.
