Mennonite Church Canada

THE CURRENT STRUCTURE

Congregations, area conferences, national church body, world-wide communion

Together working at ministry, identity and membership

Vision: Healing and Hope:

God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ

and by the power of the Holy Spirit

to grow as communities

of grace, joy and peace

so that God’s healing and hope

flow through us to the world.

A MISSIONAL UNDERSTANDINGOF THE CHURCH:

There is a God.I am not in charge; God is at work before me.

It’s God’s church.I belong to the church; it doesn’t belong to me.

The purpose of the church is to bless the world.God has blessed us with salvation not as an end,but as a means by which to bless the world.

PROVISIONAL Statement of Identity and Purpose:

God calls, equips, and sends the church to engage the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

we are a community of disciples of Jesus, a part of the Body of Christ,

covenanted together as congregations, area conferences, and a national church.

Gratefully responding to God’s initiatives,and empowered by the Holy Spirit,

we commit our resources and efforts to calling, equipping, and sending the churchto engage the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our Identity

Congregations

Ministry

-call people to faith

-worship, baptize, teach

-“calling, equipping, and sending members to engage the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” especially locally

Identity and Membership

-receive individuals as members

Area Conferences

Ministry

-shared ministries (camps, schools, youth, education)

-support and oversee pastors

-“calling, equipping, and sending the church to engage the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” especially regionally

Identity and Membership

-receive congregations as members

CHRISTIANWITNESS

MINISTRIES

CHRISTIANFORMATIONMINISTRIES

SUPPORTSERVICES

CHRISTIANWITNESSCOUNCIL

CHRISTIANFORMATION

COUNCIL

SUPPORT SERVICESCOUNCIL

MENNONITE CHURCH CANADA ...

GENERAL BOARD

EXECUTIVE

Delegate AssemblyArea Conferences and their Congregations

General Board relates to Mennonite World Conference & other church bodies

National Church Body

Ministry: Christian Witness

International mission (former COM and MBM)-full or shared support for 87 missionaries in 38 countries

National ministries-multi-cultural ministry-congregational partnership ministries-native ministries

National Church Body

Ministry: Christian Formation-Youth and Young Adult Ministries

-Christian Education and Nurture

-Publishing and Resources

-Ministerial and Congregational Leadership

National Church Body

Identity

Confession of Faith

and other statements

“Agreeing and

Disagreeing in Love”

“Guidelines for Building Faithful Relationships

in the Church”

How shall we deal with questions of theology, ethics, polity and practice?

Faith and Life Committee

-“This committee will attend to the interface between the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective and our identity as MC Canada.”

-Five members

-Reference group

-Discern … create and distribute resources for study and guidance to the church…

National Church Body

Membership

5 Member Area

Conferences

235 Constituent Congregations

Worldwide Communion:Mennonite World Conference

Ministry

Global Assembly

Global Gift Sharing

Global Mission Fellowship

Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN)

Identity and Membership

“Shared Convictions”

Mennonite Church Canada

THE CURRENT STRUCTURE

Congregations, area conferences, national church body, world-wide communion

Together working at ministry, identity and membership

Vision: Healing and Hope:

God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ

and by the power of the Holy Spirit

to grow as communities

of grace, joy and peace

so that God’s healing and hope

flow through us to the world.