 Tony Jones |
September 29, 2006
Matthew Troyer and Angela Lederach wrote a manifesto for a future vision for young adults in the Mennonite Church. Elizabeth Garza enjoys speaking out on controversial issues. Mark Horst and Karissa Miller drove all night long to attend a youth ministry symposium that discussed passion in the church. Eric Miller takes classes to prepare himself for the pastorate. Sarah Thompson biked across the United States this summer asking Mennonite congregations along the way to share their dreams for the Mennonite Church. And Christopher Erb asks the kind of hard questions about the church and faith that few others have the courage to ask. All these persons care about the church.
And all of these young adults have something else in common—they will present their dreams for the church on October 27-29 at the Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series at Hesston College.
Titled “Church in My Dreams: A New Generation Speaks Out,” the purpose of the conference is to listen intentionally to Mennonite youth and young adults and to facilitate the process whereby the generations listen more fully to each other. “We want to provide a space for Anabaptists of all ages to re-imagine what a passionate, faithful church could be,” said Michele Hershberger, conference convener and chair of the Hesston College's Bible and Ministry Center.
“However,” Hershberger continued, “this is and has to be a conference for all ages. Listening and dreaming together is the point.”
Eric Miller, Pastoral Ministries student at Hesston College, agreed. “I believe that vision is simply getting a picture of what God would want our denomination, our churches, and our lives to look like if there were no barriers to God’s will. This conference is so exciting for me because it gives us the rare opportunity to dialog about this vision in an open and multi-generational setting.”
Tony Jones is another featured speaker. “But again,” said Hershberger, “even Tony won’t do the typical plenary address.” Jones has agreed to listen to the youth and young adults and then to other participants. In his speech he will address what he hears, combining the contributions of the group process with his prepared notes. “If this is a real conference about listening across the generations, then we have to model that,” said Hershberger.
Jones, who lives with his wife and children in Edina, Minn., is national coordinator of Emergent-U.S. He is a doctoral fellow and senior research fellow in practical theology at Princeton (N.J.) Theological Seminary, where he earned his doctorate in practical theology. He has written five books, including Postmodern Youth Ministry: Exploring Cultural Shift, Cultivating Authentic Community, Creating Holistic Connections.
Members of a group called BikeMovement will also speak at the conference. A core group of 10 young adults, plus others who joined them for part of the journey, traveled more than 3,350 miles on bikes across the U.S., beginning in Oregon and ending their travels in Ocean City, N.J. Stopping at different Mennonite congregations along the way, they too asked the primary question of the conference, “What do you dream the church could be?” Sarah Thompson, a BikeMovement participant and Church in My Dreams presenter, said, “Biking across the U.S. helped me see the country in new ways, and hearing from young adults and intergenerational groups helped me see the church in new ways.”
Hershberger added, “Listening to the different generations, whether it’s BikeMovement or church in My Dreams, brings fresh vision. When people ask me, ‘Is this just a youth and young adult thing?’ I say no. Doesn’t everyone want more passion in the church? Doesn’t everyone have dreams of who we could be as a church? And of course, this conference is more than just dreaming. The workshops in particular will provide practical steps on how to be a healthy intergenerational congregation. But on the other hand, what could be more practical than truly listening to each other? It’s a start—I hope a great start—to the passion we seek.”
For more information or to register, contact Elaine Schmidt at 620-327-8290 or e-mail her at ElaineS@hesston.edu.
Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series