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@usmb2stg.wpengine.com.
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Church Planting Spotlight

Lakeview Church

Lakeview Church, a Mennonite Brethren church plant with campuses in Stansbury Park and Grantsville, Utah, is growing and changing.

Lead Pastor Phil Wiebe and his wife, Melissa, launched Lakeview Church in Stansbury Park on Easter Sunday 2019. With steady growth, in February 2021, Lakeview launched a second campus in Grantsville, led by Pastor Jeff Hubrich and his wife, Heather.

Wiebe reports an attendance of 350 across both campuses, and the church has celebrated 53 baptisms. About 50 percent of those who attend are new believers, many of whom come from an LDS background.

“Jesus is changing people’s lives from the inside out,” Wiebe says. “It has been such a privilege to have a front row seat to watch eternity unfold right before our very eyes.”

Recently, a staff change has brought new challenges for church leadership. After two years of serving at the Grantsville campus, Hubrich and his wife prayerfully decided to return to his previous career as a commercial airline pilot. Their departure left a large hole in the staff and ministries at Lakeview Church, Grantsville.

As leadership began to search for a new campus pastor, they realized the median wage in Tooele County has increased significantly over the past four years, so much so that a salary position is now more than the church budget can maintain. For now, Wiebe plans to reorganize the existing pastoral staff, including moving worship director Jason Unruh into an associate pastor role, to cover both campuses until consistent church giving increases to support an additional pastor.

Please pray for Wiebe and the leadership team as they navigate this transition. To learn more about the ministry of Lakeview Church, visit their website.

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