Put another way, if the church is more of an “organism,” like a vine (see John 15:1-17), it still requires some “organization” or structure, like the trellis for the vine. The “vine” is expanding in some ways, contracting in others, growing, and being trimmed. How do we see the church experiencing this? What exactly are these changes? And how does the “trellis” of our structure need to be modified to allow the Spirit to move us through these current changes into God’s new thing for us?

The goal of this process is to develop a fresh vision for MCM which would draw us together as congregations with a renewed enthusiasm for a shared identity and mission. This could form the basis for a series of 3-year strategic plans, providing sustainability for MCM for the next 15-20 years. A supplemental goal is to spark these kinds of conversations within our congregations, for congregations themselves to experience renewal in their identity and mission.

Put simply, these two virtues—these holy habits or faithful practices—are what we need as a church right now.

Hope is a future-focused faith, centred on Jesus. We trust that God is working in and through all things to bring about God’s good thing for us: being conformed into Jesus’ likeness (Romans 8:28-29). This hope is grounded in God’s resurrection of Jesus from the dead: because God has raised Jesus from the dead, we can be confident that God can and will bring renewal to us and all creation, even through death (Romans 8:18-25; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14; 1 John 3:1-3).

This hope is needed in these days. Events in the world and changes in the church make many people feel hopeless, even despairing for the future. As followers of the resurrected Jesus, we are called to practice hope, to trust in God’s good future in the midst of suffering and lament, even when surrounded by despair.

Courage is this hope-filled faith put into action while facing a particular challenge, even while experiencing understandable fear. Courage involves a willingness to risk, to step out in hope-filled faith to bring about change for the better, without knowing for sure how things will work out (Joshua 1:5-9; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

We also need this courage in these days. We may not always be sure of the best decisions to make or the best way to move forward, but standing still is not an option. We need to step courageously into the future, discerning that which must be kept and what which needs to be cast aside, embracing the change that is required to follow Jesus into an uncertain future.

May we as a church—as individual congregations, as a regional church, as a nationwide church, and as a worldwide community of Anabaptist believers—practice this hope and step out in this courage as we move toward God’s good future, assured by Jesus’ words, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Web Survey

Anyone who is a member of an MCM congregation and who is not participating in a focus group (see below) is welcome to complete either of two online surveys (short-form or long-form) after January 1, 2025.

Focus Groups

Two types of focus groups are being planned.

One set of focus groups will bring together 8-12 lay members of MCM congregations at a time, each group representing a cross-section of geographical, gender, age, and (as much as can be discerned) theological diversity. We hope to have six of these focus groups between fall 2024 and spring 2025. If you are a lay member of an MCM congregation and you would like to be considered for participating in one of these focus groups, please fill out the form below.

A second set of focus groups will bring together particular groups of leaders within MCM, or at least representatives from these groups: MCM board, MCM staff, pastors, and congregational chairs and treasurers. If you are a pastor or congregational chair/treasurer and you would like to be considered for participating in one of these focus groups, please fill out the form below.

Both types of focus groups will, ahead of meeting, work through the long-form web survey. Meetings of focus groups will provide space for dialogue around the questions from the survey. Each focus group meeting will be attended by the executive minister and a member of the board, and notes will be kept on the meetings.

Gathering 2025

The 2025 MCM Gathering will provide opportunity for learning and conversation related to our visioning process. Worship times, plenary addresses, and breakout sessions will all relate to this. More details to come!

Focus groups will meet between October 2024 and May 2025. Web survey submissions will be received between January 2025 and May 2025. Gathering 2025 will take place February 28-March 1, 2025.

In June 2025 a report will be prepared by the executive minister and presented to the board. This report will summarize common themes, language, questions, and concerns that have emerged from the web survey and focus groups, and provide some suggestions for moving forward.

One possible outcome of this process is the development of a new vision statement. Our current statement of vision, mission, and values is over 25 years old, and at the very least is not widely known and regularly acknowledged among us.

If the decision is to revise the current statement or create a new one, the board and executive minister will develop a draft of a revised/new vision statement for Mennonite Church Manitoba between July and September 2025. That fall, this draft statement will be tested with those who have participated in the focus groups, and perhaps other constituency members as well. The board will begin drafting an initial strategic plan in light of the general vision that has been approved.

Between December 2025 and February 2026, the board will finalize the vision statement and strategic plan. The vision statement—whether re-affirming the current one, revising it, or creating a new one—and the initial strategic plan will be presented to delegates for discussion and approval at MCM’s 2026 Gathering.

Once the vision for MCM is approved, it will be the task of the board and the executive minister to carry this vision forward into the future. Crucial to this will be developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating strategic plans on a regular cycle (suggested 3-year), based on the vision.

It is also hoped that MCM congregations will be energized by this process to do their own fresh visioning if they have not done so recently. The executive minister will be available to advise congregations on this.