An emphasis on peace and justice and evangelistic outreach can go hand in hand.

For the last few years U.S. Mennonites have heard a lot of conversation about the divide among our churches. Liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, red and blue, National Public Radio and Focus on the Family listeners. Real or perceived, this congregational “culture war” is often considered a result of the religiously polarized election of 2004, in which “moral issues” became not only a political topic but a controversial conversation among many Mennonite Church USA members. We members of the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference’s peace and justice committee also sometimes find ourselves confounded with how to speak of “justice and peace” and “spirituality and faith” in the same sentence.

At an early meeting of our committee last year, we shared our faith journeys. One thing we found interesting is that few us grew up in a Mennonite congregation. Our group included an ex-Presbyterian, an ex-Church of the Nazarene, an ex-Catholic and an ex-Christian Missionary Alliance member. And over a five-year period, all of our new members came from other-than-Mennonite traditions. While it would be impossible to carry out our work without support from “lifelong Mennonites” who have invested in this ministry for many years, we have experienced some of the most enthusiastic support of our conference’s peace and justice ministry from “new Mennonites.”

Earlier this year, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released results of a nationwide survey of Americans’ religious life. One the most widely noted statistics was that 44 percent of Americans change their religious tradition while moving from childhood to adulthood. More than ever, our neighbors are searching for new ways to discover and express their faith.
In 2007, Conrad Kanagy in his Road Signs for the Journey: A Profile of Mennonite Church USA writes: “Racial/Ethnic congregations, more than other Mennonite congregations, effectively combine evangelistic outreach with social action. They do not appear to be torn between these two callings but live in contexts where they are daily faced with the realities that Jesus Christ is the answer both for broken individuals and for unjust social and political structures.” These churches, sometimes described as the growing edge of Mennonite Church USA, seem uniquely aware of the evangelical dimension of a peace and justice church.

The delegate assembly in San José, Calif., in July 2007 enjoyed the active participation of young adults, and our Executive Leadership invited them to draft a summary statement of their visions for the church. Their reflections included a longing for a church where “social justice and a visible, active witness for peace are integral to our faith.” Young adults, growing up in a rapidly changing social and technological whirlwind, hunger for a church that holds together deep faith, active peace and social justice.

At its meeting in March 2006, the General Council of Mennonite World Conference adopted as one of its seven Shared Convictions: “The Spirit of Jesus empowers us to trust God in all areas of life so we become peacemakers who renounce violence, love our enemies, seek justice and share our possessions with those in need.” Our global Mennonite sisters and brothers recognize the evangelical power of a peace and justice church.

Last spring, one of our committee members shared about a conversation he had with a Lutheran pastoral colleague who seemed strangely curious about how Mennonite Church USA has been able to hold onto its peace and justice voice. He said that while some Lutherans are enthusiastic supporters of this dimension of ministry, he felt that as a result of becoming too affluent and willing to organize their church toward its traditional center rather than its growing edges it has lost its prophetic voice. “Don’t let it go,” he implored, “because once you loose your prophetic voice, it is hard to get it back.” Some of our ecumenical sisters and brothers long for an evangelical peace and justice church.

If instead of seeing peace and justice ministries as an optional, tangential or controversial element of Mennonite Church USA’s life, could our church’s peace and justice commitment be a key to our evangelical future?

When we hear about plans for denominational reorganization and conversations about “scaling back,” “right sizing” or making our fledgling denomination “more efficient,” we hope we don’t lose our focus on our church’s Healing and Hope vision. We are not proposing a reckless “if you build it they will come” or a flippant “God will provide” financial or organizational strategy. We are suggesting that if we invest intentionally and courageously in our church’s unique peace and justice ministry at this time in American history, it may well be the most hopeful missional venture and radically healing gift we have to offer our communities and world.

We encourage churches not to understand peace and justice ministry as a playground for radical protesters or evangelism ministry as the home of radical fundamentalists. If we learn from the experiences of our racial-ethnic sisters and brothers and muster the courage to listen across artificial ideological stereotypes put upon us by our nation’s political culture, we may not only discover Christ’s reconciling Spirit among our congregations but a powerful missional opportunity. Our neighbors would receive an evangelical peace and justice church as a refreshing faith option.

We encourage conferences to take advantage of their unique role as a network of local congregations and create relationships not only among peace and justice leaders but among rural and urban, outreach and church-planting coordinators. Local church planting efforts that grow out of local peace and justice issues proclaim that “Jesus Christ is the answer both for broken individuals and for unjust social and political structures.”

We encourage Mennonite Church USA to increase its financial, structural and personnel investment in the areas of peace and justice ministry as a part of an evangelical vision. Such efforts would be aimed at developing and supporting creative new local mission and outreach projects based on needs identified in communities that address local issues of justice and peace.

More than any single recommendation, we long for us to recognize the potential vision of an evangelical peace and justice church. A significant denominational, regional and congregational investment in our church’s peace and justice ministry could be a great evangelical catalyst. When we look to the most vibrant edges of our church, take seriously the voices of our young adults, learn from the global church and talk with colleagues, neighbors and friends, we hear a longing for a church that has both the historical integrity and creative vision to be a peace and justice church for the 21st century.

Perhaps our vision statement describes us better than we think. Should we have the courage to allow God to heal the divides among us, perhaps we would discover anew Christ’s message of hope for the world moving through us.

Matt Friesen, pastor of Albany (Ore.) Mennonite Church, wrote this article, and the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference’s peace and justice committee
submitted it.

Above: Rosy Guzman (keyboard) and Lupita Hernandez (guitar) lead worship at the House of Healing Mennonite Church in Dallas on Oct. 26. Photo by Everett Thomas.