Bryant and I traveled to Oregon and Washington last week with board member Harold Troyer and his wife Larissa. It was time for a sending church encounter, and we used the opportunity to meet with two other sending churches in the area. From conservative Mennonite, to German Baptist (New Conference), to Dunkard Brethren, we encountered brothers and sisters in Christ, warm hospitality, and open fellowship.
We began with the Mennonite church that is preparing to send a single brother in the next couple years, perhaps to Colombia. The three of us spoke for about an hour:
- All-Nations update with PowerPoint (Bryant)
- A Vision for Indigenous Church Planting (Aaron)
- A Vision to Serve as a Sending Church (Harold)
The next morning was a follow-up meeting with the support team. Following an outlined discussion guide, we made good progress with these goals:
- To lay the foundation for a partnership between All-Nations and the church
- To understand All-Nations’ vision, goals, and mode of operation
- To consider some challenges and methods of indigenous church planting
- To clarify the roles of All-Nations, the church, and the support team in sending
- To discuss potential team role, people group and location, and team mates
The next two evenings we met with brothers from two other churches where the official encounter has already been done. It was helpful to discuss such things as financial support, team members' expectations, and a plan for annual review of our partnership with each church.
We left the West, more convinced than ever of the value of spending time in person with those we're partnering with to send.
