The U.S. Conference of MB Churches (USMB) is currently accepting applications for two new positions: a full-time church planting mobilizer and up to four national leadership mobilizers who will work five to seven hours per week.
Church planting mobilizer
The church planting mobilizer will be responsible for establishing a national Mennonite Brethren church multiplication vision through church planting and will do some work in church renewal and revitalization. The goals of USMB church planting are producing new disciple-making, reproducing U.S. MB churches.
“We need someone who wakes up each morning thinking and praying about planting more MB churches across the U.S. and who has a passion for reaching people who don’t yet know Jesus,” says Don Morris, USMB national director. “Since the C2C Network division of Multiply ceased being the USMB entity for church planting initiatives, we’ve been in a church planting lull, with few, if any, new plants. We must be about planting new churches and for revitalizing declining churches. We must develop church planters and enable them for these new works. A church planting mobilizer will help us by catalyzing this effort and providing much needed leadership.”
The church planting mobilizer will report directly to Morris. The stated start date is early 2022. The position is full-time, with an anticipated weekly commitment of 40 to 50 hours.
The mobilizer will collaborate with districts and district church planting committees and network with USMB churches to develop church plant projects within the context of the unique values, culture and realities of each district, says Morris.
One key responsibility will be overseeing the new national Church Planting Council. The council, consisting of representatives from each of the five USMB districts, will keep abreast of all church planting happenings within districts and nationally, supporting and encouraging “organic” networks of pastors/churches for planting new churches and campuses and potentially assisting with church renewal projects.
National Leadership Mobilizers
USMB is also looking for up to four individuals who will recruit for USMB’s new national internship program, The Leadership Pipeline.
These individuals will work five to seven hours a week. Hours will be flexible, and the mobilizers can work from home. Salary will depend on hours, experience and responsibilities.
“We’re looking for mobilizers who know the USMB family and our churches and can make good connections between those churches and potential new leaders for this crucial element of leadership development,” Morris says.
Morris, USMB Youth and the Leadership Board first planned to hire one part-time leadership mobilizer but have shifted to a team of individuals.
“We felt that three to four people giving a few hours per week was going to be more feasible than finding someone who could incorporate this half-time,” Morris says. “Plus, more mobilizers mean more people that have various contacts, each one knowing potential young leaders who they can shoulder-tap. This is the kind of work, and amount of time each week, that could even be added to what a person is already doing.”
Individuals interested in applying for the position of church planting mobilizer or national leadership mobilizer should contact Morris at don@usmb.org.
Connie Faber joined the magazine staff in 1994 and assumed the duties of editor in 2004. She has won awards from the Evangelical Press Association for her writing and editing. Faber is the co-author of Family Matters: Discovering the Mennonite Brethren. She and her husband, David, have two daughters, one son, one daughter-in-law, one son-in-law and three grandchildren. They are members of Ebenfeld MB Church in Hillsboro, Kansas.
