JoinHands Updates

Jubilee Mennonite Church, Bellefontaine, OH, is the result of two congregations merging in January, 2001. The two congregations were Bellefontaine Community Fellowship begun in 1981 and Jubilee Mennonite begun in 1996.  Former pastor Tim Lehman said, “Currently we have 55 members.  These are our baptized youth and adults who have signed our annual covenant.”  “We are happy to tell you,” said Dan Sims, Church Chairperson, “that we moved into our new building in December, 2005.   Since moving into our own building our attendance has remained stable.”  Jubilee has been without a pastor since May, 2007.  Members have assumed pastoral responsibilities, which has given greater actual participation and ownership at Jubilee.  Dan says, “We remain optimistic, confident that God has begun a good work here at Jubilee.  We do appreciate the support of Mennonite Men in this process.”  Jubilee, a member of Ohio Conference will receive a JoinHands grant of $35,000.

See The 25th Anniversary Bulletin Insert by clicking Here

Tithe grants will be given to Mennonite Mission Network to provide $5,000 grants to two congregations.  The Protestant Anabaptist Church of Ivory Coast began in 1994 when Raymond Affouka Eba, founder of the church, left a promising career as leader of a large Baptist church to follow God’s call to faithfulness.  A year after beginning his new church he re-examined Anabaptist beliefs and realized how closely they expressed his own convictions.  “Anabaptists care about lifestyles and living out the Christian life,” Eba said, “One of the biggest challenges in the Ivory Coast is the influence of Islam and much violence.”  The church grew from 200 members in three congregations in 1994 to more than 1,500 members in a dozen congregations today.   After nearly a decade of phenomenal spiritual growth and meeting under makeshift tarps the congregation decided this year that the time to build had come.  In the picture at the left members of the Yopougon congregation of the Protestant Anabaptist Church of Ivory Coast lay hands on the walls of the church building they are constructing block by block as they pray for the resources to complete the structure.

Salem Mennonite Church in Jhilmila/Saraipali, India will be the recipient of the second $5,000 tithe grant.  The Jhilmila mission compound is situated close to National Highway No. 6 and has been an old missionary center. There were, previously, an institute, a workshop, and a Bible course training centre.  For those institutions there was a small chapel.  The local Christians and government workers who lived nearby began to come here to worship.  But this chapel is small, and the congregation is growing.  Most buildings are in poor repair.  The conference and congregation are in agreement that there is a need for a large church building because this small city is growing rapidly.   The conference believes that a larger church building will be beneficial for the growth of the congregation, for the women’s fellowship, for youth Sunday School, and for revival meetings open to all.

Church of God Prince of Peace, Miami, FL, a Haitian congregation, which began in 1997, to which JoinHands participants contributed in November received a JoinHands grant of $45,000.    Because of  the help of a $10,000 grant from Schowalter Foundation, Newton, KS, we were able to help them with unexpected costs related to renovations, roof repair and air conditioning.  Pictured are persons who participated in giving the grant.  Standing in front of the Church of God Prince of Peace building in Miami are, from left, Ivan Kaufman, Mennonite Disaster Service Florida unit leader, Hilaire Louis Jean, pastor; and Jose Hernandez and Royce Roth, Mennonite Men board members.