Virginia Mennonite Missions’ Board of Directors is reviewing new name options as part of a strategic planning process that began in 2021.

“We realized that more and more of the people serving with us and supporting us fall outside the categories present in our current name,” said VMMissions President Aaron M. Kauffman. “A third of our mission workers are not only from beyond Virginia, but from other countries. And while most of our donors are Anabaptist, a growing portion live in other states and represent other Christian traditions.”

The missions organization distributed 2,500 surveys in November and presented findings to the board. A majority (87%) supported changing the name, with 64% expressing strong affirmation. Of the 84% of constituents who are Anabaptist, 41% come from Virginia Mennonite Conference, 26% from LMC, 4% from other Mennonite Church USA conferences and 12% from other Anabaptist groups.

A website about the name change process explains that the organization is not just made up of Virginia Mennonites, with workers coming from at least 12 countries, and one third coming from Wesleyan, evangelical or liturgical streams of Christianity. Just over half of church donations now come from beyond Virginia Mennonite Conference.

Some potential workers have found the current name a barrier to participation if they are not Mennonite or from Virginia, and others confuse it with other similarly named organizations in Virginia.

The VMMissions board hopes to make a decision on a new name in April or August, after conducting focus group sessions in March and April.