When Christian mission is effective, at least two things occur. First, it is empowered by God’s Holy Spirit. Second, mission forms and sustains communities distinct from society and provides alternative ways of living. Mennonites often do well in the second task but look for help with the first. In contrast, Pentecostals emphasize the role of God’s Spirit. Yet some Pentecostal leaders worry that their congregations and their behaviors are becoming more like that of mainstream society. Most Pentecostals have forgotten, and few Mennonites know, that Pentecostal churches were peace churches when they began.
To learn from and mutually strengthen each other, 20 representatives from Mennonite Church USA and the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), a Pentecostal denomination, gathered for a Consultation on Mission at Reba Place Church and Fellowship in Evanston, Ill., Sept. 8 through 10. It was the second organized encounter between these denominations. A preliminary discussion among three members from each group took place in Cleveland, Tenn., in May 2005. Conversation with Pentecostals is one of four on-going priorities for the Interchurch Relations work of Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership.
This meeting provided plenty of time for getting acquainted, times of laughter and several surprises, such as when Church of God representatives found Pentecostal influences in worship at Reba Place. All participants preached at Mennonite congregations or participated otherwise in their worship Sunday, Sept. 10.
The major discussion times focused on the two issues mentioned above: the Holy Spirit’s role in the missional church and the forming and sustaining of alternative communities. Participants took a tour of one such community, Reba Place Church and Fellowship, which hosted the event.
The consultation concluded by recommending three proposals to the respective executive bodies: 1) that several COG and Mennonite Church USA congregations share resources and undertake joint projects, and perhaps even exchange a few members temporarily, during the next year; 2) that another consultation occur in about a year, of approximately the same size and among many of the same people to deepen relationships; 3) that a conference on holiness and salvation be held in 12 to 18 months involving scholars, pastors and other church leaders.
All the participants expressed gratitude for the consultation and a desire for more such deliberate conversations among Pentecostals and Mennonites. Encounters between Mennonites and Pentecostals are happening in many other settings. In March, for example, the Mennonite World Conference devoted a substantial portion of its council meetings in Pasadena, Calif., to a symposium on “Global Anabaptists and Global Pentecostals: Creating Understandings.”
Participants in the consultation from Mennonite Church USA included Jonathan Brown, Tom Finger, Gilberto Flores, Alan Kreider, Esther Martinez, Jim Schrag, Gerald Shenk, Zenobia Sowell-Bianchi, Blanca Vargas, Virgil Vogt, and Sally Schreiner Youngquist, recorder.
Nov. 2 2006 Mennonite Church USA News Service