Pathways of Partnership in a Global Anabaptist Community

by Stephen Kriss

For over 20 years, Franconia Conference’s and now Mosaic’s structure has included a category for partnerships (called Partners in Mission) in addition to membership. These partnerships are based in mutuality and vary in depth and duration. Some involve a specific collaborative project; others are built on historic relationships; and others serve as transitional relationships for congregations exploring full membership.

At the heart of these connections is a balance of mutuality and autonomy. Rather than enforcing uniformity, we seek shared understanding, allowing relationships to evolve over time.   

This long-standing framework shaped our approach to redefining our relationship with Mennonite Church USA (MC USA). Recognizing significant changes in both Mosaic and MC USA over the last decade, our Pathways Team recommended exploring new possibilities for how to relate. We believed that MC USA was open to this and moved accordingly after conversations with key MC USA leaders.   

For most of its existence, Franconia Conference worked in partnership with the denomination rather than as a member. We had a degree of autonomy and leaned in to work together in various areas. When Mennonite Church USA formed, Eastern District, Franconia, and Southeast Conferences were all member communities. Mosaic’s initial formation carried this organizational alignment, yet the partnership orientation that existed for generations from Franconia is in our DNA.

The Pathways Team’s desire to establish partnership sought to offer a way of relating rather than emphasizing separation. In May 2025, Mosaic Conference presented a proposal to MC USA to become a program entity/ministry partner. The proposal offered that Mosaic would provide services in areas of Mosaic’s strength and capacity, including intercultural ministry, next-generation formation, and church planting. We intended to commit staff time and resources that would be shared across the denomination.   

Though our proposal was rejected unanimously by the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board (and we have yet to fully learn why it was found to be problematic after negotiating together with MC USA leaders to bring the proposal forward), the posture to share and engage with our sibling communities remains. In the months since, we have been in conversation with other conferences in MC USA, exploring future partnerships that could include shared staff, joint initiatives, and dual affiliations.  

Should the board recommendation be affirmed by the delegates, Mosaic would move away from U.S.-centric affiliation and toward membership in Mennonite World Conference (MWC). This reflects our increasingly globally-influenced Anabaptism (as evidenced in our new Centering document).

As part of joining MWC, we have already agreed to a mediated conversation, facilitated by MWC, to address any ongoing issues with Mennonite Church USA. MWC General Secretary César García, in a recent visit with our staff, described this as “a separation, not a division.”

We still anticipate working alongside MC USA conferences and the denomination in some ways, particularly around Spanish-speaking leadership development—an area where collaboration has already borne fruit through shared staff like Marco Güete. 

Mosaic continues to explore partnerships that may strengthen ongoing Anabaptist vision. This includes historic partnership with groups like LMC (formerly Lancaster Conference), and new connections with the Anabaptist-minded Jesus Collective. Our global partnerships with emerging and established Anabaptist communities in the UK, Mexico, and Indonesia also continue to shape us.   

Our conversations with Mennonite Church Eastern Canada have opened possibilities for cross-border witness and shared leadership development, particularly among French-speaking communities. Mosaic’s orientation toward a healthy, global Anabaptism will continue to require both nimble, humble, and patient risk-taking and open-handed conversation. 

Just this week, we hosted leaders from the Meserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia—the largest Mennonite body in the world—in our Lansdale, PA offices, to explore ways to support leadership development in their rapidly-growing community. 

Mosaic is not an Anabaptist island unto itself. These conversations and connections are important in ongoing ways, with the understanding that “to whom much is given, much is required.” We seek to work alongside the Spirit in considering the pathways ahead.