September 9thMCM Strategic Plan Goes Live
After a two-year visioning process that led to a new Vision and Mission Statement for Mennonite Church Manitoba, and with feedback from congregational delegates at MCM Gathering 2026, the MCM board has finalized a three-year strategic plan for our community of congregations.
The plan includes attending to regional church needs for supporting and coordinating youth and young adult ministry, shoring up our commitment to Camps with Meaning and the Light the Fire capital campaign, exploring the possibility of a study conference around our peace theology and witness, developing resources to strengthen our capacity for diversity, and more.
“A lot of listening has gone into this plan, along with a lot of thought and much prayer,” says Executive Minister Michael Pahl. “It reflects input from our congregations, their lay leaders and pastors, as well as from our staff and our nationwide church family.”
MCM Moderator Cheryl Braun adds: “Many times throughout the past two years I have been humbled and energized by the level of engagement and sense of vision and hope from church leaders, the folks in the pews, and the wider MCM constituency.”
Work has already started on the first initiatives of the plan, including developing templates of congregational policies for churches to use.
“Policies are not the most exciting things for us to think about, but without good policies our congregations risk causing unintentional harm to vulnerable people, not to mention being unprepared when a crisis hits or falling short of legal and insurance requirements,” says Michael. “We’re currently working on templates for a church constitution and bylaws, a congregational covenant, and a safe church policy—three of the foundational documents we most get questions about from churches.” These templates should be available for congregations by the end of 2026.
When asked if there is any one initiative in the strategic plan that she is most enthused about, Cheryl cannot decide. “I find myself frequently reordering my ‘top three’ when I go through our strategic plan,” she says. “In my mind, each plays an important role in the life and health of MCM and our congregations. So, I am thankful that we are not working on all of them at once!”
Reflecting on her hopes for this strategic plan, Cheryl says, “As this plan gets implemented, we want the results to serve our congregations well as they do the work of being the hands and feet of Christ in their own communities.”
Thank you to everyone who helped shape our new vision and strategic plan! For details on the strategic plan, see www.mennochurch.mb.ca/stratplan. Let’s pray and work together to see these ideas become reality!