In February 2025, we are partnering with Mennonite Mission Network to provide an opportunity for growing intercultural capacity and racial justice by offering a United States Civil Rights Tour. A few details are listed below and there is a flyer available using the More Information button below. Please consider if you’d like to be a part of this and reply to me by November 22.

Here are a few details:

• Trip Dates: February 18-25, 2025.
• Cost: $300 + travel to/from Tennessee/Georgia.*
• See the attached for more details on the trip itself.

* The actual cost of the pilgrimage is $900, but 2/3 is being covered by IMMC. There will also be a van going from Elkhart Co for those would want to carpool and share that travel cost.

Thanks for considering!

Learn more here

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and we are so thankful for the ways you engage with IMMC!

After celebrating the abundance of God’s blessings given to us, it is natural to want to give back. Giving Tuesday is a day to shift our attention outward, considering the variety of organizations that contribute to our lives in one way or another.

As you consider all that you are grateful for around Thanksgiving, we invite you to consider a gift to Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference on Giving Tuesday (or before). Keep your eyes out for more info on Giving Tuesday on December 3!

• “Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen.” (1 Cor 13:7-8a) We  celebrate this reality as we live into our theme verse in the coming year.
• We were blessed by Spirit guidance as the Missional Leadership Team (the board) met for our annual retreat November 8-9. Moderator Steve Slagel invited reflection and play around our theme verse from I Corinthians 13. Joanne Gallardo invited deeper engagement with the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and led discussions about ways to grow our intercultural competence.
• Joanne and Leadership Enhancement Team are celebrating conversations happening between potential sister congregations.

• Michelle joins staff and volunteers from churches and church-related institutions at weekly meetings hosted by Good Steward Church Academy. The agency focuses on empowering bookkeepers, pastors, and treasurers to manage finances with integrity and follow legal compliance.  
• Sharon joined the Kalamazoo Mennonite Fellowship for their evening worship on November 3.
• Joanne is grateful to have attended an alumni reunion at Princeton Theological Seminary where she was able to hear a lecture by Priya Parker, author of “The Art of Gathering.”

• Sharon Norton will conclude her transitional ministry at Fellowship of Hope on November 24. Sharon Yoder will be there for her final day, to bring the message and join in blessing Sharon Norton’s ministry.   
• We hosted 16 people in-person and 11 folks on zoom for our annual Healthy Boundaries training, held at East Goshen Mennonite Church on November 13.
• Joanne and Leadership Enhancement Team (LET) are looking forward to Pastors Retreat November 22-24 with input sessions on anti-racism and intercultural competency by Nekiesha Alayna Alexis.
• Joanne and LET hosted a congregational coach training on October 16^th.

Journey: A Missional Leadership Development Program

• God calls you to ministry and a journey begins. Have you wished for mentors and peers along the way? In the distance-friendly Journey program, learners join with a mentor to explore spiritual leadership together in their own context. Whether you are an active member of a congregation, a pastor with or without a formal education, a church planter, or lay leader preparing for ministry in the church or community, Journey can support your growth.
• The next Journey cohort begins Jan. 24, 2025. Apply by Dec. 4 to save $100!
• Learn More and Apply

Pastors & Leaders 2025 – Anabaptism at 500: Looking Back, Living Forward

• As we celebrate 500 years of Anabaptism, join us to examine how the values of the early Anabaptists still resonate today and can guide us into the future. Gain intercultural perspectives on how reading the Bible in community can help us connect more authentically in our present and future contexts.
• Monday, Feb. 17 – Thursday, Feb. 20
• Learn More and Register

Practical Leadership Training – Leadership clinics
In-person at AMBS | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET, unless otherwise noted.

• Biblical Interpretation across the Two Testaments | Instructors: Mary Schertz, Jackie Wyse-Rhodes
• Healthy Boundaries 101 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET | Instructor: Ed Kauffman
• Introducing the Anabaptist Community Bible | Instructor: John D. Roth
• Orienting With the Word | Instructors: Malinda Elizabeth Berry, Naomi Wenger
• Starting with the Spirit | Instructor: Jamie Pitts
• Worshiping with the Global Church | Instructor: Rashard Allen
• Learn More and Register by Feb. 10!

Understanding Anabaptist Approaches to Scripture

• Study how 16th-century Anabaptists approached Scripture — as compared with Catholics and other Protestants. Which of those approaches might we nuance today, or repudiate, or embrace whole-heartedly?
• Jan. 29 – March 11, 2025;
• Learn More and Register by Jan. 8 to save $50!

Ministry Reflection Circles

• Ministry Reflection Circles are designed for experienced pastors who would like the opportunity to reflect deeper on current ministry challenges, and develop relationships of support with peers and consultants. In this program, you will deepen your pastoral identity, understanding, and practice through writing and sharing reflections, hearing feedback from others in a facilitated process, joining in times of worship, and learning from experienced consultants.  Two cohorts will be offered in 2025 – the Spring cohort is in person and the Fall cohort is online.
• Apply by Feb. 24 to begin March 31.
• Learn More and Apply