I wanted to talk to a friend after the church service, but I remembered the “three-minute guideline” presented at a leadership meeting. For three minutes after the service, we were asked to talk to folks we didn’t know. So I looked for newcomers. I spoke to a man I didn’t recognize, but he seemed nervous and put off. Since he hadn’t been to church in a long time, I tried to make him feel comfortable, joking about the crowded parking. He seemed more at ease …

One Sunday this past spring our congregation gathered, as we do each year, to celebrate a baptismal service. The event is a highlight of the church year and an important part of our congregational identity. We gather in the fellowship hall for breakfast. Then, as the tables are being cleared, someone leads out in the folk hymn “I Went Down to the River to Pray,” which we sing with gusto before piling into cars to caravan to a local pond …

Learning the ropes of cooperative communication Homer J. Simpson might say, "It was like that when I got there," but that doesn't unravel many knotty

For years, Adrienne De Forrest, a member of Boulder (Colo.) Mennonite Church, had driven a 1991 Subaru station wagon that now had over 250,000 miles on the odometer. The car had been reliable and the engine was strong, but some peripherals were starting to go bad due to age and weathering. Aware that she might have to replace the car sometime, she researched dealers’ prices for used cars and put away enough money to cover the cost if it came to that …

The essence of a missional vision is to align with the purposes of God. But what does that mean? …

Some time ago a friend asked me, “Why have you and your son had long tenures in pastoral ministry but some of us have moved every couple of years? Some of us have left the ministry. What’s your secret?” …

A colleague walked into Sara’s office one day at the seminary and talked about how going to church was causing him to lose his faith. “So much of church is deadly,” he said …

In 2006, more than 2,200 members of Mennonite Church USA completed the Mennonite Member Profile, a survey of beliefs and practices. This profile was a follow-up to two previous studies conducted in 1972 and 1989. Included in the profile was a question about an individual’s frequency of Sunday school attendance …

There is an old treasure that some are glad to claim and others prefer to bury. Traditionally it has been known as Sunday school, but it also goes by Christian education, nurture or discipleship classes. The rationale behind its inception, if we dig deep enough, still applies today …

Part two in a three-part series Sarah K. Burkhalter and Andrew Burkhalter, who attend Seattle Mennonite Church, both work for environmental non-profit organizations. While planning

Something happened our last night in Evansville. It all started around midnight. The adults had gone to sleep and we youth were still up …

My earliest memory of church takes place in a Sunday school classroom. I am 3 years old, seated at a low, rectangular, wooden table with a half-dozen other children my age. Our kind, smiling Sunday school teacher has just finished telling us a Bible story. Then she removes the tabletop, and inside the table we discover an amazing surprise—a sandbox. For the rest of the class session, we play together busily …