Multiply held a new, three-day event, Arise, Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Augusta, Kansas.
About 50 people attended the event, designed for those desiring to live as people of God in the world, with practical focuses on areas of dependence, identity, joy and purpose.
Multiply is the global mission agency of Canadian and U.S. Mennonite Brethren.
Multiply’s Midwest Mobilization Team has held a missions weekend called “Vision Summit” since 2015. After some challenging years through COVID-19, the team took a break last year to give them time to get their bearings and hear from God in a fresh way.
“We wanted to get back to a retreat-like, overnight event, but we also felt like we needed a fresh start,” says Stephen Humber, regional mobilizer for the Midwest team.
As planning began in January, the team invited Multiply missionaries from Thailand, Carmen Owen and Cecil Ramos, onto the planning team. They also invited Amy Gelatt, a mission leader from North Oak Community Church in Hays, Kansas, Jana Hildebrandt, missions pastor from Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas, and Nasser al’Qahtani, Multiply’s regional team leader for the Middle East and North Africa, also from Wichita. They met online monthly to pray and plan.
“It felt great to have mission leaders from churches and others from Multiply working together on the event,” Humber says.
Arise included worship, connect groups, stories of God’s work and ways people can “arise” for the sake of neighbors and nations. Attendees spent time at the beginning of each session worshipping and listening to a personal testimony relevant to the theme of that particular session.
“The Connect groups feel like the most important element,” Humber says. “People don’t always need more information, but they do need meaningful time to talk things out and pray with others about what they are learning and wrestling with.”
For example, out of their connect group experience, one participant commented: “Before Arise I was trying to help brothers and sisters without God. After Arise I realized God is the one who needs to help them and not me.”
Two storylines were recognized during the event. First, ages represented ranged from 8 to 75 years old. Second, a group of 15 leaders and spouses from Zoar MB Church in Inman, Kansas, came together to the event.
“It felt spiritually healthy to experience an intergenerational event like this, where older saints shared insight and encouragement to the next ones and vice versa,” Humber says.
Leaders received good feedback from Zoar leaders about what it was like for them to do this together.
“It would be so encouraging if Multiply could lead this event in a way that in the future other churches wanted to participate in groups like that,” Humber says. “We want to serve the church in ways that are meaningful and make a difference in the vibrancy of the church.”
More pictures and videos of the event are on Multiply’s Midwest page on Instagram (@Multiply_Midwest_US) and Facebook (Multiply – Midwest US). The team hopes to hold this event again next fall.
Multiply is the global mission agency for North American Mennonite Brethren. The agency’s vision is church planting locally, nationally and globally.
Praise the Lord I am humbled and encouraged by to see what Our Almighty God is doing in these great team of 50 brothers and sisters who are practically applying servanthood… keep it up and let the fire keep burning in all of our heart for for Jesus and his mission of saving soul for him … thank you all for embrassing teamwork…count me in in our team I am always praying for you all .. I hope one day we will meet. Yours peter ngunjiri mbaka.( Nakuru , kenya . East Africa. )