“Becoming global congregations” is the focus of an upcoming conference for those in ministry that will be held at Canadian Mennonite University.
ReNew: Resourcing Pastors for Ministry takes place Monday, February 6 to Wednesday, February 8 at CMU (500 Shaftesbury Blvd.). The three-day event will feature stimulating Bible studies, inspiring worship, powerful stories, and enriching fellowship.
Dr. Jonathan Bonk, an expert in missions and evangelism, will appear at the conference as the keynote speaker. Bonk is Executive Director Emeritus of the Overseas Ministry Study Centre in New Haven, CT, a research professor of mission at Boston University, and author of Missions and Money: Affluence as a Western Missionary Problem.
“CMU and its predecessor colleges have a long history of holding conferences meant to resource pastors,” says Andrew Dyck, Assistant Professor of Ministry Studies and one of the conference’s organizers. “We are committed to helping support, encourage, and resource church leaders.”
The Christian Church is the body of Christ worldwide. It transcends geographical and denominational boundaries. Despite this conviction, and despite technology that makes the world smaller, it is easy for congregations to succumb to localism.
This year’s ReNew conference, titled, “Opening Our Maps: Becoming Global Congregations” will explore questions such as: How might congregations become more global in their worldview, practices, and endeavours? What might it mean to be a globally minded congregation, in relationship with the church in other lands, the church of other denominations, and the ethnically diverse church at home?
Representatives from a handful of churches in Alberta and Manitoba will share stories about what their congregations are doing. The churches range from a congregation doing evangelism in inner city Winnipeg, to a rural church where three different denominations gather together for worship services.
“We’ve worked really hard to include church leaders from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, including newcomers to Canada, so that we can learn from their experiences,” Dyck says. “I’m excited to hear what they have got to teach all of us.”
CMU faculty will lead workshops exploring the theological foundations of the Church as the body of Christ; innovative congregational partnerships; indigenous peoples as part of the global church; and more.
“Christ calls us to take the extra mile of welcoming people that we haven’t welcomed before,” Dyck says. “I hope this conference helps all of us reach just a little further and take a little more initiative to extend grace and welcome to people that we haven’t welcomed before.”
ReNew is intended for all who are involved in ministry. For more information and to register, visit cmu.ca/renew.
About CMU
A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU’s Shaftesbury campus offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences, and social sciences, as well as graduate degrees in theology, ministry, peacebuilding and collaborative development, and an MBA. CMU has over 800 full-time equivalent students, including those enrolled in degree programs at the Shaftesbury and Menno Simons College campuses and in its Outtatown certificate program.
For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.
For additional information, please contact:
Kevin Kilbrei, Director of Communications & Marketing
kkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
Canadian Mennonite University
500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N2
Held on February 25, A Transformative Moment was a ecumenical gathering of pastors and lay leaders to think creatively with one another about young adult ministry. Discussion considered new ways of understanding young adult faith transitions based on varied experiences with young adults, and reflecting on on ways of talking with young adults about topics like prayer, baptism, Jesus, and sex.
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