March 31st

Visioning Process Moves to Strategic Planning

Mennonite Church Manitoba’s two-year visioning process, Hope and Courage, has culminated in a new Vision and Mission Statement for MCM. Now that this process is complete, the information gleaned from it will inform the MCM board’s strategic planning for the next three years.

In June 2024 the MCM board approved the visioning process to review our 1998 regional church Vision and Mission Statement and, if necessary, to revise or replace it. Through the fall of 2024 and the winter of 2025, Moderator Cheryl Braun (pictured here) and Executive Minister Michael Pahl met with focus groups from across MCM, online surveys were collected, and a board task force reviewed congregational annual report books.

The MCM board produced a report on the process, as well as a proposed new Vision and Mission Statement for our community of congregations, seeking feedback through the fall of 2025. A final version of the statement was approved by congregational delegates at our 2026 Gathering, March 6-7 at Bethel Mennonite Church.

“Our visioning process was an engaging and educational enterprise for me,” says Cheryl. “Taking notes during our focus group sessions and reading through the survey responses and church reports left me both inspired and humbled for their candor and their resilient hope. The MCM community is filled with people who are deeply passionate about their faith and the church.”

On the new Vision and Mission Statement, she adds: “It is my hope that this statement resonates with the larger community as it does with me, and that in those words we find both our reality and our aspirations for who we can be, together as the church.”

In addition to discussing and approving the new statement, delegates at Gathering 2026 also generated important feedback regarding priorities, goals, and tasks for a strategic plan for MCM. Possible areas of focus include increasing our intercultural capacity, improving our financial health, and engaging our youth and young adults in fresh ways. These table discussions concluded with delegates giving a mandate to the board to produce a three-year strategic plan in light of this feedback.

Cheryl is grateful for the ways individuals and congregations have engaged in this process. “Many thanks to all of you who have been involved,” she says. “Thank you for sharing your hopes, your dreams, and your concerns with us. Thank you for your commitment to your congregation and to MCM. I am deeply grateful to and for each of you.”

The new MCM Vision and Mission Statement is available online, along with a commentary recently approved by the board. In addition, Michael is currently writing a series of weekly reflections on the new statement, also available on our Vision page. Pray that we might live into this vision in ever-increasing ways!