Evana Q&A

                                                                            Evana Q&A

Not long ago I was made aware of a few conversations that were happening about our affiliation with Evana. There were questions being asked and I referred them to Matt Hamsher (our regional pastor and Evana’s executive director) and he answered them wonderfully. In my annual report I wrote a bit about the fact that it’s been almost a year since we joined Evana and so it’s probably good to be reminded of who Evana is and our relationship with this new network of churches…

1. Are we Mennonite anymore?

            This question needs a little more clarification because the answer might be a bit different depending on what one means by “being Mennonite.”  If you are asking whether we still believe the same Mennonite teachings, then yes we are still “Mennonite.”  We continue to affirm the 1995 Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective.  Many of us left Mennonite Church USA in order to continue to affirm the same teachings and practices rather than accept the proposed changes to the confession of faith and congregational accountability. 

            However, if you are asking whether we are “culturally Mennonite,” then I would say we are trying hard to get rid of any cultural barriers that we consciously or subconsciously impose on whether people from other backgrounds can truly belong.  Our bond as brothers and sisters in Christ is based not on whether we are related by blood, or whether we grew up in Mennonite homes, or whether we eat specific foods or worship in specific ways, but in Jesus Christ himself, our Lord and Savior, who shed his blood on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. 

            As long as we are clear about both of these points, whether churches or individuals want to identify as Mennonite is completely up to them.  I expect our churches and our members to discern whether that name is something that will aid them in their mission and outreach or whether it is an unnecessary stumbling block to someone coming to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

2. Are we an Anabaptist Mennonite Church?  What does this mean?

            Because people outside Mennonite churches often associate the name “Mennonite” with the plain community (Amish and other Old Order Mennonites) or increasingly associate it with a liberal commitment to social justice, we have felt better using the word Anabaptist, a word that describes the larger theological tradition that Mennonites share with groups like the Brethren in Christ, Amish, Mennonite Brethren, the Brethren Church and others.  By referring to ourselves as Anabaptist, we hope to signal our commitment to biblical and theological beliefs rather than any one particular human cultural identity that is so often associated with being Mennonite. 

            To be Anabaptist is to be an orthodox Christian (believing the same things as other biblical Christians) with an emphasis on daily discipleship, seeking to live life in community in contrast to individualism, and following Jesus’ example and teaching on peace and nonviolence.  It also includes being open to the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit and having a commitment to evangelism (just as early Anabaptist martyrs often praised God and told others about His love as they were being led away to their deaths).

            Although this was not part of the question, there are two other important parts to our identity.  We are also evangelical as well as being Anabaptist.  This means that we believe that every person needs to repent and confess their sins and have their hearts and lives transformed through a “born again” experience of confessing Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  It also means that we need to live out the gospel message in our culture and all cultures as missionary ambassadors for Christ.  As evangelicals, we have a high regard for biblical authority and seek to be obedient to its teachings.  And, finally, it means that we stress the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as necessary to the redemption of all humanity.         

            The third stream that forms our identity comes from our desire to be Spirit-led.  We confess as Mennonites that we have not always had a very high awareness or appreciation of the Holy Spirit.  Yet we believe in the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit because of biblical teaching and the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives and our worship.  While we reject the so-called “prosperity gospel” and other excesses that can come from focusing on the Spirit apart from Jesus and Scripture, we do want to see the gifts and work of the Holy Spirit that were manifest in the early Church and seem to be present in a greater degree in the worldwide church than in North American churches.

3. How many churches are part of Evana (and how does this compare to Ohio Conference)?  How many Evana churches are Mennonite or from other denominations?

            There are currently 46 member congregations of Evana, stretching from Iowa to Maryland and from Ontario to Florida.  Although there has been a slight drop in the number of congregations joining Evana lately, perhaps due in part to the transition between executive directors, Evana has averaged about one new congregation joining the network every month.  In addition to the number of member congregations, there are also five potential church plants that are in the initial stages of development and launching.

            The Ohio Mennonite Conference website currently lists 49 congregations.  This is down from a high of 80 congregations in 1986 and is likely to decrease even further as some congregations may still leave Ohio Conference if they stay in MC USA while other congregations may leave the conference if they do not stay in MC USA.

            Of the current Evana churches, the vast majority (42) were formerly part of Mennonite Church USA.  Of the other four, one is part of Mennonite Church Canada, one was a church plant from a former Ohio Conference congregation, and the other two were independent before joining Evana.  Because we do not require congregations to leave their prior affiliation, we have several congregations that are members of Evana as well as other denominations:  five are also members of LMC (Lancaster) and three are also members of MC USA Conferences (Ohio, Virginia, and Atlantic Coast).

4. Is there a concise statement as to who Evana is along with its focus and role?

            Here is the statement from our website:  “Evana Network is a ministry community of pastors and churches with a heart to see lives transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Our common ground is in Anabaptist and Mennonite theology and our common vision is to live out Jesus’ Great Commission to make and grow disciples.”

            We are a Spirit-led, evangelical Anabaptist network of churches providing fellowship, accountability, and resources to help churches, church leaders, and individual Christians proclaim the Kingdom of God in an increasingly postmodern and post-Christian culture.  We have focused our efforts on developing resources for mission and outreach.  We also provide pastoral credentialing and congregational oversight just like more traditional denominations, but we choose to identify ourselves as a network because we would rather partner with others who share our core beliefs than to create our own institutions and agencies and we would rather focus on relationships and keep our structure as flat as we can in order to avoid as much bureaucracy and overhead as possible.

            There are four “C”s that form the core of our identity:

            1. Confession—Confessing Jesus Christ as our Savior and the Bible as authoritative in our lives.

            2. Covenant—Submitting to God and others in accountable relationships that foster obedience.

            3. Community—Caring for people with self-sacrifice and love.

            4. Commission—Sent by the power of the Holy Spirit to evangelize, heal, and make disciples in Jesus’ name.

5. Do we contribute to Evana as a church?  What does Evana do with the money?

            Yes.  The Evana Network asks that each of its partner members contribute at least 3-5% of their annual operating budget to Evana.  One-third of your contribution goes to support your regional pastor and the other two-thirds goes to support the work and ministry of Evana.  This includes salaries for three full-time employees:  Matt Hamsher, the Executive Director; Wes Furlong, Director of Church Development; and Lori Ann Izeke, Operations Manager and three part-time employees:  Michelle Oyer, Communications Coordinator; Jen Tapp, Director’s Assistant; and Gene Yoder, Director of Operations.  Contributions from churches also help pay for the development and implementation of outreach resources like the Vital Impact Assessment, the community mapping process, discipleship strategies, and (coming soon) a gifts discernment instrument. 

            Your congregational contributions and individual donations enable Evana to develop curriculum for pastors’ huddles that meet monthly in each region, an annual pastor-spouse retreat, Re-Gen (our national youth, family, and delegate convention), Workplace—a secure place online to communicate with other members of Evana, and PULSE—a monthly newsletter with information about Evana events, announcements, and what God is doing in the lives of our churches and members.

            Because we do not yet have as many congregational members as we need in order for our operating budget to be fully self-sustaining, we would like to encourage individuals and families to consider giving to support the mission and the work of Evana.  We currently depend on those donations to close the gap in our budget.  We also have funds set up to receive designated contributions in three areas:  church planting, the pastor spouse retreat, and a grant fund to help churches with the cost of developing a child safety policy with GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment).

That’s the end of the Q and A for that conversation-I welcome any questions or concerns you may have about Evana and or SMC for that matter. Clear communication and understanding is a goal I continually strive for-especially when it comes to church relations-and I hope this helps.