Whose Who of Mark Gingeriches

Hi, My name's Mark Gingerich. I am one of the 5 young adults traveling around the Central Plains Mennonite Conference this summer exploring our conference congregations. I grew up at Washington Mennonite Church in Washington, Iowa and later moved to Iowa City and was baptized at First Mennonite Church. I'm glad to be a part of the Central Plains conference but a little disconcerted in hearing some of the results of a survey done recently by Conrad Kanagy (see link) about the Mennonite Church. Aging population, waning identification with Anabaptist roots, etc.

I'm excited to spend a summer touring the Midwestern region, learning what our particular conference looks like and helping share inspiring stories between congregations of the ways Central Plains Mennonite Churches are living out the call to be set apart from the world - living out the Kingdom of God here on Earth.

Write me anytime at SeedsOfTheKingdom@gmail.com - just put "For Mark" in the subject line.

Why this summer?

Elizabeth Troyer-Miller here with a few reflections . Recently I have been fumbling with the question of "why this summer? why this trip?". I am leaving a job I love, a place I have come to see as home, and at times I feel as though I am disrupting every pattern the culture I live in tells me is normal. So why?-I have no simple answer.
I am excited to learn from others. Excited to renew with myself and with others the joy that comes when we are in deep relationship with the God of love. Our God who seeks peace and reconciliation not just among warring parties but in our communities of faith. Our God who invites us to work along side God's mission as we together build God's Kingdom today. I look forward to learning from other congregations how they are doing this, and how we can support each other in that mission.
In my faith journey I have been inspired by the way Jesus invites us to follow him, this is not just in word but in deed. This invitation challenges me to disrupt the patterns in which our cultures leads and to live a different way, God's way. I am excited to learn where this journey has taken others, how God has transformed their relationships to their neighbors, their enemies and the strangers in their communities.

Why I Want to Travel the Central Plains Mennonite Conference

Hi, my name is Matt Troyer-Miller. I'm originally from Shickley, NE, and my home church is Salem Mennonite Church. I graduated from High School in 2001, Hesston College in 2003, and Goshen College in 2005. I currently live in Elkhart, IN with my wife Elizabeth and a fake Christmas tree that I want to throw out the window (instead, I will donate it to a local thrift store). My time is spent working construction, also known as cleaning up the mess of people who work construction. I'm pretty new to the world of construction, so I'm on the bottom of the pecking order. I've learned something though, recently I held an extended conversation about general construction with several much more experienced construction workers. That made me feel good about myself.
I'm excited about this summer for several reasons. One, I look forward to meeting many of the congregations who are members of Central Plains. I look forward to getting to know them, learning about how God is moving in their community, and to listening to them as they reflect on their faith. I'm just a young guy (25), and I look forward to encountering the wisdom of Christians further along the Christian journey than I.
I'm also excited to visit and work with a Conference that is largely a rural conference. I was raised on a farm, and nurtured into faith in a small agricultural town . It was a good life, and a good way to grow up. And because of this, I feel like my home is still in Central Plains Conference. I look forward to using my gifts in the rural church, a church that faces many challenges in the coming years. Population is declining and the average age is rising, jobs and young people are fleeing to places with more opportunities...there's not always a lot of hope. But I believe God is at work in the Central Plains and that the rural church has something to offer the body of Christ. I look forward to being apart of it.
Finally, I'm excited to be putting my faith into action. I believe that Jesus brought good news; he revealed God's saving grace and he proclaimed a gospel of peace. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God made peace between Jews and Gentiles; God changed former enemies into brothers and sisters in the family of God (Eph 2.11-22). God is in the business of reconciliation, and because of this we have been reconciled to God and to each other. This truly is good news!

3 months of traveling? why so??

I am finishing up my senior year at Goshen College, and I'm starting to get the typical questions that any senior is undoubtedly hearing..."So, what's next for you?" Well, I don't really know what's next, but at least I have my summer figured out. As a member of the "Seeds of the Kingdom" team, I am starting to get excited about a summer of traveling, conversing, and most certainly learning! So, you may be wondering by now..."why do I want to travel around and talk about what it means to be a part of Gods Kingdom...today?" Well, there are numerous reasons that I chose to embark on this summer adventure. For one, I have experienced the disconnect between my rural Mennonite Church back home in Pennsylvania, and my college experience at Goshen in a very real way. No doubt, they are different cultures, a different language that is used, and most certainly, different ways to understand what it means to be a Mennonite in todays world. Having experienced two different Mennonite cultures, I see the need more then ever to bring more conversation to help bridge this gap. What we need is a middle ground to talk instead of more polarization. Secondly, I am excited to hear what excites other Mennonites about Church, and about being a Kingdom people. Yes, I bring some of my own bias's and convictions to the conversations, but no doubt I want to hear other peoples stories too. Finally, I am always in for adventures, and I love to road trip, so why not spend a couple months on the road with four other really sweet people!

Welcome

Welcome to the 'Seeds of the Kingdom' web log!

During the hot corn-growing months of summer, Matt and his wife Elizabeth Troyer-Miller, Randy Keener, Jessica Roth, and Mark Gingerich will be touring Mennonite congregations in the Central Plains Mennonite Conference. The agenda is to listen, learn and share about Jesus' exciting but difficult call to live out his teachings.

Be sure to visit this site often as we share our relections and learnings. Please leave feedback and we hope you too can grow by sharing this experience with us.

Mark
Gingerich