A guiding question — What will the world look like in 2040? — shaped the first in-person meeting of Mennonite Church USA’s Structure Review Committee April 15-16 in Chicago.
Eric Massanari, executive conference minister for Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference, invited the 23 committee members to hold both the challenges of today and the promise of what could come next.
He cited John 12:24: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
That image of letting go so something new can grow stayed with the group throughout the meeting.
Executive director Glen Guyton described the process as “a disciplined way to explore multiple plausible futures for MC USA, test how our current structures might perform in those futures and equip the Executive Board to govern with greater clarity, flexibility and long-term faithfulness to our mission.”
He said the work focused primarily on the role and structures of the Executive Board and staff, with the goal of strengthening the church’s ability to serve its congregations.
“This process is essential for MC USA,” said committee member Rosetta Landis. “We have been through a lot in the last number of years, and we want to be intentional about who we are and where we’re going.”
The meeting built on months of listening and preparation across the denomination.
Following the 2025 Delegate Assembly, a small MC USA team launched resources for congregations, gathered feedback and invited a diverse group of leaders to help guide the work. Additional research and interviews helped paint a clearer picture of what is shaping the church today.
The heart of the meeting was a workshop that helped leaders ask: How can we prepare today for the church we are becoming?
Participants named the realities affecting the church. These included changes in leadership, shifting expectations around church life and new ways people connect and belong.
They reflected on broader changes in society, such as fewer people identifying with organized religion, younger generations approaching faith differently and more pastors serving in bivocational roles.
They considered larger forces shaping the future, including polarization, the influence of Christian nationalism, evolving understandings of authority, rapid technological change and a growing desire for authenticity, especially among younger people.
These conversations led to questions about how MC USA engages in peace and justice work, how it invests resources and what kind of leadership and structure will best support ministry.
“We’ve experienced a lot of attrition and losses in the church,” Massanari said. “Though these bring grief, they also give rise to a certain degree of clarity and some new creative energies that I find very hopeful.”
Iris de León-Hartshorn, MC USA associate executive director of operations, said: “We’ve always seen ourselves as a church on the margins. We’re a discipleship committed to following Jesus, and that could be a house church or a church of a hundred. Size, in my experience, has never been at the forefront.”
Committee member Alicia Maldonado-Zahra said: “Something that surprised me during the table conversations was the sense of agreement. We could just understand each other, even though we are coming from different places and have different lived experiences.”
Participants worked in groups to imagine what MC USA might look like in 2040. Each group developed a different picture of the future. Some were hopeful. Some were challenging. All were designed to stretch thinking and spark new ideas.
The next gathering, to shape recommendations for the Executive Board, was scheduled for May 13 in Indianapolis. A final report is expected in June.
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