ICOMB Members
ICOMB’s members are national churches, located in every continent. Some were established over 100 years ago (India, Canada, USA). God continues to bless with the planting of churches in new areas of the world, which, once organized at a national level, first become associate members and eventually achieve national membership status in ICOMB.
Each of our 21 member national churches plays an important role in ICOMB. We meet annually at Summits to connect, explore mutual concerns, encourage each other, and hear reports of what’s happening around the world. The Church On Mission in Thailand 2017, was the first time that associate members were also present for ICOMB meetings.
Many of our members also connect through area cohorts: the European cohort and Latin American cohort meet to discuss issues specific to their region.
National churches also connect on an individual level, for example: Brazil has sent a training team and a missionary to Angola, and a German congregation sent funds to the Japan conference after the 2011 tsunami.
Africa
Igreja Evangelica dos Irmaos Menonitas em Angola is a Portuguese-speaking national church with 14,090 members in 118 churches.
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: the construction of unfinished temples, which until now continue to limit local churches in carrying out their activities, and the lack of financial supports, which makes especially the work of the National Staff difficult (to visit regions and to plant new churches).
Current programs and goals include: learning how to prepare and respond to catastrophic emergencies, whether natural or induced, like the Covid-19 pandemic, and the training of new disciples.
Communauté des Églises des Frères Mennonites au Congo is a large, French-speaking national church with 99,770 members in 540 churches.
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: the presence of conflicts in the southern part of the country, difficulty of leaders visiting all churches due to distance, and the training of new MB leaders.
Current programs and goals include: evangelization and mission, economic development, health services and education.
Mennonite Brethren Church in Malawi is a national church with 14,000 members in 37 churches. Lithuania is the most recent member to join ICOMB, becoming an official member in 2020.
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: the need for formal education for leaders, and the poverty affecting many people in the country.
Current programs and goals include: providing Bibles to new disciples and church members, and church growth.
Asia
The Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Church in India is the largest national church with 212,000 members in 992 churches. Telugu is spoken by a majority of MB churches, but the country is known for its many languages and multiculturalism: 22 official languages, and hundreds more without official status (Operation World).
Challenges facing MB leadership include: a shortage of trained pastors and support for many church extension workers; finding ways to reach out to the thousands of unreached people groups in the country.
Current programs and goals include: creating a mission training center and upgrading the library for the Bible College; church planting; creation of a medical services and training center.
Nihon Menonaito Burezaren Kyodan is a national church of 1,785 members in 28 churches. In May 2015 it celebrated its 65th anniversary. (Operation World).
Challenges facing MB leadership include: an aging Japanese society and an aging church population due to low birth rates and low rates of new conversions, a financial crisis developing due to decrease in membership.
Current programs and goals include: sending missionaries to Thailand and Rwanda, new strategies for evangelism, managing the Evangelical Biblical Seminary, training young leaders.
Khmu Mission is a national church of the Khmu people, a tribal group in both Laos and northern Thailand. The church has 60,000 members in 430 churches, and a training program for Khmu leaders at the Changed Life Center in Thailand (Operation World for Laos).
Challenges facing MB leadership include: traveling between many isolated groups to train leaders, a lack of religious rights in Laos and Myanmar, a young church with many new believers.
Current programs and goals include: unity between the different Christian denominations within the Khmu people, sharing the gospel with other tribal groups, training 1,000 leaders by 2020, training missionaries to send to Khmu people in other countries.
Europe
Mennonitische Freikirche Oesterreich is a national church with 385 members in 6 churches.
Challenges facing MB leadership include: Strengthening leadership and promoting young coworkers, and church planting.
Current programs and goals include: the promotion of the Mennonite identity, and continuing bringing help to asylum seekers in the country.
Germany has three national Mennonite Brethren churches.
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Brudergemeinden in Deutschland (AMBD) is a national church with 1,568 members in 13 churches.
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: dealing with the restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and helping churches in the Conference that are struggling.
Vereinigung der Menoniten Brudergemein von Bavaria (VMBB) is a national church in south-east Bavaria with 165 members in 3 churches.
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: starting small groups among the Church, and recruiting new workers and leaders for the Kingdom of God.
Current programs and goals include: finding new ways of evangelism to reaching out to the people in the area.
Bund evangelischer FreikirchenTaufgesinnte Gemeinden (BEFTG) is a national church with 12,000 members in 50 churches. The Conference also has a Bible Seminar and four mission agencies.
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: the start of a new mentoring program for pastors and young leader.
Current programs and goals include: the writing of a Confession of Faith.
Lietuvos Laisvųjų Krikščionių Bažnyčia (Lithuania Free Christian Church) is a national church of 197 members in 9 churches.
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: finances (many people lost their income due to the Covid-19 pandemic), getting the new generation more involved in the church, and division among people in the church due to political and cultural issues.
Current programs and goals include: partnership with other evangelical organizations (including Multiply) and summer camps programs.
Igreja dos Irmaos Menonitas de Portugal is a national church of 105 members in 4 churches.
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: to achieve unity, and to consolidate and involve new leaders.
Current programs and goals include: to create a conference spirit and bring other conferences and their leaders into the life of the conference, and a social project that aims to support the community and create new relationships.
North America
The Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches is a national church with 35,000 members in 235 congregations.
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: strengthening the relationships between provincial conferences and national, and raising new leaders for the mission in Canada.
Current programs and goals include: to engage in the implementation of the new strategic plan.
The U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches is a national church with 35,727 members in 227 churches.
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: We have several older, rural congregations that are experiencing a steady decline in membership. Younger adults are moving away from their rural roots, leaving many of these churches without renewed leadership. We have several older, rural congregations that are experiencing a steady decline in membership. Younger adults are moving away from their rural roots, leaving many of these churches without renewed leadership.
Current programs and goals include:
- Several immigrant groups are looking to USMB for connection and fellowship. For the past 20 years or more, we’ve enjoyed a good relationship with many Ethiopian churches and that continues to grow. Now, we have 30-40 Congolese immigrant churches that are connecting with us. We’ve held online cohorts for both groups and are helping provide discipleship-oriented gatherings for them. There are other immigrant groups now coming to us as well, as our Anabaptist theology is a good fit for many people who are seeking affiliation and accountability. We want this ministry to be about good relationships.
- ICOMB’s members are national churches, located in every continent. Some were established over 100 years ago (India, Canada, USA). God continues to bless with the planting of churches in new areas of the world, which, once organized at a national level, first become associate members and eventually achieve national membership status in ICOMB.Each of our 21 member national churches plays an important role in ICOMB. We meet annually at Summits to connect, explore mutual concerns, encourage each other, and hear reports of what’s happening around the world. The Church On Mission in Thailand 2017, was the first time that associate members were also present for ICOMB meetings.Many of our members also connect through area cohorts: the European cohort and Latin American cohort meet to discuss issues specific to their region.National churches also connect on an individual level, for example: Brazil has sent a training team and a missionary to Angola, and a German congregation sent funds to the Japan conference after the 2011 tsunami.
Latin America
Convenção Brasileira das Igrejas Evangélicas Irmãos Menonitas is a national church with 7,317 members in 48 churches. The MB church in Brazil was historically German-speaking, but has become primarily Portuguese-speaking. (Operation World)
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: corruption in the country and the corruptibility of church leaders, theological alignment for church leaders, unity between churches in two distinct areas – north and south – plus a recently added group of churches.
Current programs and goals include: church expansion programs, integrating Haitians into existing German and Brazilian churches, mission work in Angola, Senegal, India, and Guinea-Bissau.
Asociación de Iglesias Hermanos Menonitas de Colombia is a national church with 2,800 members in 47 churches (Operation World).
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: violence, insecurity, and corruption in the country; lack of trained pastors; lack of funds for training
Current programs and goals include: expanding and growing in two regions; discovering new leaders and helping them discern their call to serve in full-time ministry; social programs for minorities.
Iglesia Cristiana de Paz en México is a national church with 622 members in 9 churches. The church is included in the Latin America region because it is is Spanish-speaking (Operation World).
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: need for restoration in relationships and trust between churches and leadership.
Current programs and goals include: evaluation, establishing a good administrative base, restoring trust, supporting students studying at Instituto Bíblico Asunción in Paraguay.
Iglesia Cristiana de Paz en México is a national church with 622 members in 9 churches. The church is included in the Latin America region because it is is Spanish-speaking (Operation World).
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: need for restoration in relationships and trust between churches and leadership.
Current programs and goals include: evaluation, establishing a good administrative base, restoring trust, supporting students studying at Instituto Bíblico Asunción in Paraguay.
Paraguay has two national Mennonite Brethren churches. (Operation World)
The Spanish-language national church, Convención Evangélica de Iglesias Paraguayas Hermanos Menonitas, has 3,304 members in 56 churches. (Facebook page)
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: unity and shared vision between churches, lack of full time pastors.
Current programs and goals include: a new church planting program reaching the different districts of Paraguay.
The German-language national church, Vereinigung der Mennoniten Brüder Gemeinden Paraguays, has 3,165 members in 22 churches.
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: sustaining support of significant media programs and a prison church.
Current programs and goals include: Instituto Biblico Asuncion which serves the wider Latin American church region; church planting in schools; Obedeira (radio station); Red Guarani (TV station); La Libertad (MB church in a national prison).
Conferencia Peruana Hermanos Menonitas is a national church with 505 members in 9 churches. (Operation World)
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: a need for stable leadership, lack of full-time pastors.
Current programs and goals include: short-term mission trips and mission conferences to train and inspire in-country missions, biblical training for leaders.
Conferencia Peruana Hermanos Menonitas is a national church with 505 members in 9 churches. (Operation World)
Current challenges facing MB leadership include: a need for stable leadership, lack of full-time pastors.
Current programs and goals include: short-term mission trips and mission conferences to train and inspire in-country missions, biblical training for leaders.