ministry of christian education
Our vision at Mellinger Mennonite Church is to, "Know Jesus, to be like Him, and to make Him known". To support our vision for both spiritual growth and discipleship, we offer Sunday school classes for all ages. Sunday school classes meet every Sunday from 9:00am to 9:50am. The classes allow participants to learn about living a life like Jesus, while building personal relationships with others in a small group setting.
Throughout the year, various elective Sunday school classes are offered to enrich and connect our church family. Topics for these electives range from studying a specific book, to an inter-generational Bible study, to lessons that seek out what scriptures have to say about specific topics.
We welcome people of all ages to join a Sunday school class and learn more about the Bible, build relationships with others, and together, live life like Jesus.
MINISTRY OF CONGREGATIONAL LIFE
At Mellinger Mennonite Church we are working to sensitively and compassionately make the caring ministries accessible to all who attend. We offer a broad range of caring ministries to help meet the variety of needs that each individual and family may face in the course of daily life. Receiving care, offering care, and learning from our experiences is a way we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
To support the whole person in our faith community, we offer multiple routes to receiving care from gifted care-givers in the congregation and from our ministry team. Reaching out for support is a sign of spiritual maturity and we desire to use the caring ministries in support of our church vision to help each attender to know Christ and to make Him known. Providing and receiving care is a practical way we are living out Jesus’ commandment to love one another. Our congregation has been blessed with many caring gifts and ministries.
MINISTRY OF MISSIONS AND EVANGELISM
At Mellinger, we are incredibly committed to sharing about Jesus with other people. We have found that what the Bible calls the “Good News” really is good news. So we work at being joyful people who are filled with Jesus and overflowing with Jesus. Our prayer is that people who are still unconvinced about Jesus will see in us, and hear from us, the salvation Jesus brings!
Our church vision statement says in part that we are committed, “To Making Jesus Known.” We see this expressing our commitment to evangelism and letting people know how Jesus has changed our lives and given us the joy of salvation and new life.
We are involved locally with the Conestoga Valley Christian Community Services. Their food bank and clothing center are great places of help in our community. We also, on a regular schedule, have teams of our members serve for a week with Mennonite Disaster Service. MDS helps all across North America to rebuild homes and communities after natural disasters.
Most summers our youth group is involved in some kind of mission or service project. They have been to Costa Rica, New York state, Wyoming, and Mexico on service trips.
The largest part of our financial giving goes to support Eastern Mennonite Missions. We have had many members, at some time in their lives, also serve with EMM.
Quite a few of our members support children through Compassion International and we strongly encourage our members in their involvement with Compassion.
Ministry of Worship
Worship at Mellinger Mennonite Church serves one primary purpose: to bring glory to Almighty God. It is God who created worship, God who directs worship, and God who invites us to participate in worship. We worship together in a variety of ways including scripture readings, song, prayer, silence, reflection, and the spoken word.
As we worship together we focus and reflect on God’s grace and love, uplift and support each other in community, and hear helpful and timely messages about how to live a life devoted to Christ in a culture that pulls us in different directions. Through music we sing songs from different cultures and genres that speak truths about God’s nature and challenge us to think deeper about a life of devotion. In our prayers we strive to hear from God in a variety of ways including extemporaneous, prewritten, and liturgical prayers. Through silence we reflect and remember the cross and confess our own shortcomings. In the reading of the scriptures, we engage with a God that has been working in believers throughout history.
Our Sunday morning worship services usually last between 75 and 90 minutes. Each worship service is architected for all to participate, while simultaneously learning to interact with God in new ways.
When we gather to worship corporately we are transformed by the working of the Holy Spirit in and through us by means of the revelation of Almighty God as seen in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Ministry to Children
Children are a blessing from God. At Mellinger Mennonite Church, we provide many opportunities for children to grow in their knowledge and love of Jesus. Children of all ages join a Sunday school class from 9:00am-9:50am every Sunday morning. Grouped by age, each Sunday school class provides a safe and caring environment for children to learn wonderful stories from the Bible as well as building positive relationships with others in their class.
Children ages 4 through grade 5 can also participate in our Children's Church on the first and third Sunday of every month during the Worship Service. While in Children's Church, children will learn powerful lessons about Jesus and His love in a way that speaks right to them...at their level.
Nursery care is provided every Sunday for children ages 6 months to three years from 10am until the end of the Worship Service. Children engage in free-play, listen to stories, sing songs, and learn that Jesus loves and cares for them. Nursery volunteers complete a screening process to ensure that your child will be in a safe and caring environment.
Vacation Bible School is also a big part of our ministry to children in both our church family and in the surrounding community. Each summer we provide an exciting, fun-filled week of Bible lessons, crafts, games, and so much more.
Ministry of Youth and Young Adults
Youth and young adults are at a pivotal point in their lives where they are figuring out faith for themselves. Our prayer is they will follow Jesus! Our goal is to give them the tools they need to define and solidify their faith. There are Sunday school classes for the various age groups from 9:00am-9:50am. We, also, offer fun and safe group activities for the different ages. Please click on ‘visit page’ for more information.