The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding.

God is doing something amazing among us

I’ve worked for ICOMB as director for seven years. During that time, I tried to build the community and identity as a foundation for sustainable mission.

We saw the International Confession of Faith translated into many different languages, the most recent being Chichewa in Malawi, and Russian for the Ukraine church. The confession is a major tool for building both identity and community.

We made fraternal visits to all conferences. These visits also build identity and community.

Thailand 2017 was the high point for me. A core ministry role for me is to bring the people of God together to discern where he wants to direct us. This was beautifully evident in Thailand. We pushed one another as we thought about mission!

As a direct result of Thailand 2017, almost 20 emerging networks will officially join ICOMB in the future.

As I see Rudi Plett’s vision for strengthening each conference toward their capacity for mission, I am very excited about handing the baton to him. I believe Rudi has the gifting to take off with speed and skill.

—David Wiebe, executive director