Church Multiplication
Studies show that planting new churches is the most effective way to bring people into the family of God. So, church planting and multiplication is a crucial area of mission and ministry for USMB.
Church Planting Mobilizer Brian Harris spearheads our national church multiplication vision to plant churches that will produce new disciple-making, reproducing Mennonite Brethren churches. Harris leads USMB’s Church Planting Council (CPC), which connects with local churches and district conferences to provide a national vision, cohesion and collaboration for planting new MB churches. The CPC is made up of members Brian Harris (SDC), Aaron Hernandez (LAMB), Christian Kohs (CDC), Henri Ngolo (EDC), Andy Owen (SDC) and Don Morris.
We are working to create regional and cultural networks that collaborate together for church multiplication. An American church planting expert said, “Networks and collectives are the primary church planting force in evangelicalism today.” Consider these networks as the parents of the plants. Each network is called to discover, develop and deploy church planters.
To move forward with planting more churches, we are actively praying
and searching for committed and gifted church planters.
Mennonite Brethren have always been a missionary people. While our church-planting initiatives have varied over the years, our mission remains the same. In 1996, USMB established Mission USA as its church planting and church renewal arm. Under the direction of Ed Boschman (1996-2001) and Don Morris (2004-2016), many churches were planted.
We retired Mission USA in 2016 in favor of a church planting connection with Multiply. In October 2019, Multiply ceased church planting operations in the U.S., creating a church planting leadership void. So in 2020, the USMB Leadership Board launched the CPC to continue our efforts to plant churches and renew existing congregations.
We unabashedly ask for much-needed funds to invest in this eternity-changing vision. Furthermore, we’re seeking prayer warriors who will commit to pray for direction, wisdom and protection. And we ask for prayers for increased connections with people who don't know Jesus…yet.
Partner with us as we seek to live out the Great Commission by spreading the Good News in our own communities and around the world.
Contact Brian Harris at brian@usmb.org.
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Church Planting Spotlight
SouthLife Church
Kevin Friedberg grew up in south Wichita, Kansas, a place that for him was one of brokenness and pain. After leaving south Wichita for college, he vowed to never go back. However, after marrying his wife, Kendra, and growing in his faith journey, Kevin developed a strong burden to go back and bring life to this underserved community.
Meanwhile, a struggling church in south Wichita reached a critical turning point. The leadership wanted to see local ministry continue and made the sacrificial decision to give the facility to Ridgepoint Church, a USMB congregation in north Wichita. A vision was born.
Ridgepoint hired Andy Owen as pastor of equipping and multiplication, with a main role to build a team to pursue God’s heart for the south facility and community. The facility has been a center for prayer, training and equipping for many years. This new core of leaders has carried on that heart by developing a vision to see this church be a place out of which springs true life for south Wichita and for the world.
The vision for SouthLife Church is for this south campus to be a home to a unique church family that is marked by the empowering presence of God through the Holy Spirit in their gatherings, as well as a Christlike presence in their community. A safe space for families, for diversity and for fruitful service – a place where true life springs up to display God’s Kingdom for His glory.
The Friedbergs will serve as the part-time pastor and church planter, with Andy Owen providing pastoral and administrative support. They are planning an official launch on Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023.
To partner with this new church in prayer and financial support, contact Andy Owen at andy@ridgepointwichita.com.
