Articles

Ministering on the Shore with Jesus

February 19, 2026 by Cindy Angela

by Sharon K. Williams

Shores of Hope, a Mosaic Partner in Ministry in West Palm Beach, Florida, ministers with Slavic refugees by supporting their immigration journey in the United States. Pavel and Marina Gailans are finding ways to introduce their new friends to Jesus.

“Most new immigrants will not come to a church service but will come to an informal, informational, family-oriented event at our house,” Pavel says. “As people get to know us and become our friends, they open their hearts and minds to good news and love of God, which will hopefully encourage them receive God’s salvation.”

This ministry, supported in part by a Missions Operational Grant, is reminiscent of Jesus’ lakeshore ministry with Gentiles in the region of Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 15:21–38). Most of Jesus’ teachings did not happen in a synagogue. His strategy involved going to the people. With just seven loaves of bread, a few fish, and prayer, Jesus brought healing, teaching, and nourishment to over 4,000 people in the region.

During the year, the Gailans host several gatherings in their home for up to 40 adults and children. The international group is predominantly Slavic, and they speak several languages. Everyone shares food of their national flavors, which is an incredible way of bonding new friendships. They gather in the living room to share updates on things that have happened since their last meeting. They welcome new people who have recently entered the United States. Many Ukrainian and Russian refugees are facing uncertainties. So every gathering is a great source of encouragement and inspiration.

Special occasions like birthdays are celebrated with gifts. The children also receive presents on special occasions. These community-building times of sharing are incredible moments to express appreciation for each person. Every gathering is a unique opportunity to share about the love of God.

The Gailans worship the Lord with other believers too. Pavel preaches at two churches every Sunday. Marina also meets with Slavic women and some children approximately three Sundays a month.

Meeting people where they are and addressing their needs with God’s love creates bonding and trust.

Sharon K. Williams

Sharon K. Williams serves as the minister of worship with the Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life Mennonite congregation.

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To share your thoughts or send a message to the author(s), contact us at communication@mosaicmennonites.org.

Let’s talk about the diversity of Mosaic!

February 19, 2026 by Cindy Angela

by Marta Castillo

As I return from a trip to visit Mosaic-aligned churches in Colombia who spent time together learning from the Mosaic Priorities Guides and experiencing the diversity within their own group, I am amazed at who we are—and who we are becoming together. For Mosaic Conference, those questions are never simple. We are a gathering of congregations shaped by different histories, cultures, convictions, and practices, yet held together by a shared commitment to follow Jesus at the center of our life together.

The group of Colombian leaders gathered in February for relationship building and equipping.

Diversity is not new to Mosaic, but it is something we must continually name, tend, and learn how to hold. When we come together as a conference—whether in worship, equipping spaces, or shared decision-making—we are reminded that unity does not mean sameness. It means choosing to remain in relationship even when our assumptions, comfort zones, and convictions differ.

“Just as a tile mosaic is comprised of many pieces that are different shapes, colors, and textures, so Mosaic Conference includes people from a variety of races, ethnicities, cultures, identities, language-groups, educational and economic backgrounds, geographies, political perspectives, faith journeys, and life experiences. We acknowledge the presence of these differences and the discomfort we often feel when we look around and see unfamiliar faces, perceptions, and experiences looking back at us.”
A Mosaic Identity: Clarifying our Center

These differences are not merely theoretical. They show up in everyday congregational life—in the choices we make, the practices we hold dear, and the convictions we carry. Often, they surface in small, ordinary moments that reveal just how wide the mosaic truly is.

For example, even something as familiar as community engagement can look very different from one congregation to another. What one church understands as a missional opportunity, another may approach with caution or concern.

Differences emerge around dancing. Some of us in Mosaic are comfortable dancing at weddings, for exercise, or as an expression of worship. Others of us believe dancing is inappropriate because it could lead to sexual sins.

Then there’s drinking alcohol. Some believe that all alcohol consumption is wrong, while others enjoy a beer or a glass of wine with dinner or at social gatherings.

Baptism also presents differences. Should it be through sprinkling, pouring, or immersion? Do candidates need a preparation class, and if so, what should it include?

And communion. Is the table for members only? For all who follow Jesus as Lord? For anyone seeking Christ? Should children receive grapes and crackers? Should communion be solemn with confession or joyful in anticipation of Christ’s return?

Membership raises questions, too. Can only members lead worship or anyone who is committed and involved? Do we keep a meticulous membership list? Can regular attenders consider themselves members? What about those who seldom attend but claim belonging?

Worship styles vary widely. Do we worship in more than one language? What instruments do we use? Do we value jubilation or meditation in song? Are musicians live or recorded? Is worship charismatic, with tongues and altar calls, or quiet and contemplative? Some of our congregations regularly anoint for healing. Others never include an altar call because it may feel like pressure.

We also differ in how we talk about creation care, peace, and justice. How do we address Israel and Gaza? Do we preach about the last days and Christ’s return? Is politics openly discussed or intentionally avoided?

Evangelism also takes different forms. Some give out tracts or hold outdoor services. Others focus on small groups, deep friendships, and long-term presence. Some distribute food or care for the unsheltered as an expression of witness. In the Colombian indigenous community, Mosaic leaders are prohibited from openly sharing the gospel in a community that has no words in their language for love.

Pastoral roles vary, too. Are pastors fully supported or bi-vocational? Does authority lie with the pastor, elders, or church council? Do pastors drive nice cars or junkers? How strongly do we embrace the priesthood of all believers?

We differ, too, in our views on gender and giftedness. Do we affirm the gifts of all genders or primarily men? How do we express love and welcome? Through inclusivity and affirmation, through clear and kind limits, or through calling people to holy living?

Our approaches to children also vary. Do we have strict child protection policies or a more relaxed system? Are children embraced in worship or do they leave for children’s church? Are we attentive to sensory needs and food allergies, or is that a non-issue?

There are many more differences across Mosaic congregations. Many of us might not choose to attend a church that practices differently than our own. And yet, the question before us is not whether we are comfortable with all these differences, but whether we are willing to remain connected through them.

What holds us together is not uniformity, but a shared center, Jesus. When we gather across languages, cultures, and convictions, we are practicing the difficult and holy work of staying at the table with one another. As we move into a new year, may we continue to trust that Christ is present at the center of our mosaic, shaping us not into identical pieces, but into a faithful and beautiful whole.

“We believe that discerning God’s presence in our differences will lead to mutual transformation, forming us together into the image of Jesus. This vibrant Mosaic is God-breathed, a witness to the reconciling love of Jesus in our broken and beautiful world.”
A Mosaic Identity: Clarifying our Center

Marta Castillo

Marta Castillo is the Associate Executive Minister for Mosaic Conference.

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To contact Marta Castillo, please email mcastillo@mosaicmennonites.org.

A Board Member’s Call Shaped by Listening and Storytelling

February 19, 2026 by Cindy Angela

Editor’s Note: This profile is part of a series of articles introducing the three board members joining the Mosaic Conference board in 2026.

Jenny Fujita comes to the Mosaic Mennonite Conference Board as an at-large member with a deep love for the Mosaic community and a commitment shaped by years of listening, discernment, and collaborative leadership.

Her journey toward board service began through serving as a co-facilitator of Mosaic’s Listening Task Force in 2022, where she worked alongside pastors and leaders from across the Conference to co-lead a listening process and review of Mosaic’s relationship with Mennonite Church USA. Over four weeks, the task force listened to voices representing more than 8,500 Mosaic members, 150 credentialed leaders, over six language groups, from 64 congregations, 27 Conference-Related Ministries, and Mosaic staff members across six states.

“It was a gift to hear the voices of so many of our siblings in Christ,” Fujita reflects. “We truly are a mosaic.”

That experience led to her role on the Pathway Steering Team, where Fujita spent two years helping envision how Mosaic would build our future together. As those efforts begin to bear fruit now, Fujita sees this season of Mosaic’s life as pivotal, challenging, and hopeful.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to discern the Holy Spirit’s will for Mosaic and to collaborate with the growing Mosaic family in the years ahead,” Fujita says.

Fujita is a member of Blooming Glen (PA) Mennonite and previously served for several years as pastor of Upper Milford (PA) Mennonite. She describes that season as one of the most meaningful experiences of her life.

“Upper Milford is a small but very active church,” she says. “They taught me that the size of a congregation has no bearing on its faithfulness or mission. Small can indeed be mighty when a church is congregationally led and everyone plays a role in God’s kingdom work.”

Preaching has long been central to Fujita’s ministry. While Blooming Glen offered her the first opportunities to preach, Upper Milford provided the space to deepen and refine that call.

“Preaching is storytelling that helps both listeners and the storyteller fall more deeply in love with our God of love,” Fujita reflects. “Writing and delivering sermons is a form of worship and a sacred collaboration with the Holy Spirit. I now see preaching as my primary ministry”

Fujita serves as an itinerant preacher, offering sermons at Mosaic congregations and beyond, when she is asked. This includes churches of other denominations and multidenominational gatherings, both in person and online.

“Preaching itinerantly helps ensure that I’m sharing God’s good news to and with all people, not just those I know or who share our Anabaptist values,” explains Fujita. “Our Anabaptist essentials are for everyone.”

Outside of itinerant preaching and work with Mosaic, Fujita has led a community relations business on the island of Kaua‘i for more than 25 years, established during the years she lived there (1994-2010). The hard work and dedication of her Kauai business partner and colleagues keep the business thriving and give Fujita space to focus on ministry in Pennsylvania.

Fujita grew up in Puerto Rico, where her family owned an Italian restaurant. She later moved to Bucks County, PA and graduated from Pennridge High School. As a teenager, she once dreamed of becoming a forensic pathologist, and while she was supposed to be volunteering at Grand View hospital, she interned in the morgue.

We are grateful for Fujita’s gifts, perspective, and faithful presence, and we look forward to her leadership on the Mosaic Mennonite Conference Board.

Meet Lindy Backues: Chair, Conference-Related Ministries Committee

February 12, 2026 by Cindy Angela

Editor’s Note: This profile is part of a series of articles introducing the three board members joining the Mosaic Conference board in 2026.

Lindy Backues brings decades of cross-cultural ministry, organizational leadership, and global perspective to his role as chair of Mosaic’s Conference-Related Ministries (CRM) Committee. For Backues, saying yes to this role felt like a natural extension of a long journey of service within Mosaic and beyond. As chair of the CRM Committee, Backues is most looking forward to helping Mosaic deepen and expand its missional focus through Conference-Related Ministries.

Much of Backues’s ministry has been shaped by nearly twenty years in West Java, Indonesia, where he lived from 1989 to 2007. During that time, he founded three nongovernmental organizations and engaged in economic development and missional community work, including several years living in a densely populated under-resourced urban neighborhood in Bandung, and also in the city of Tasikmalaya.

Since returning to the U.S., Backues has taught and mentored leaders, first at Eastern University and now at Eastern Mennonite University, where he teaches economic development and missional community development.

Backues’s connection to Mosaic Mennonite Conference spans nearly twenty years. He has served with Mosaic since 2008, was credentialed in 2016, and is now ordained with the conference. In addition to nearly a decade of service on the CRM Committee, he has also served on the Faith & Life Committee and has taught multiple times through Mosaic Institute, helping to shape its development as the conference’s Anabaptist school of leadership.

Backues was instrumental in the formation of Taproot, a Conference-Related Ministry that emerged from Philadelphia (PA) Praise Center, where he is a member. He is also actively involved with Indonesian Light Church and Nations Worship Center in Philadelphia. He recently joined the board of the CRM Amahoro International.

Outside of work and church leadership, Backues enjoys traveling, reading, long bike rides on the Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia. Recently, he has been learning the art of throwing pottery on a wheel. A lesser-known chapter of his story includes coordinating tsunami relief in Aceh after 2005, where he was able to fly in small helicopters over virgin rainforests many times. He also once moderated and interpreted a 600-person NGO meeting in Indonesia with the World Bank president seated right beside him.

Mosaic is grateful for Backues’s depth of experience and ongoing commitment to God’s mission through Mosaic’s Conference-Related Ministries.

Called to Intercessory Prayer that Heals and Restores

February 12, 2026 by Cindy Angela

The Call Story of Grace Pam

I was born in Nigeria into a Christian family. I attended girls’ ministries and was active in church life, but I didn’t truly know Christ. I had knowledge of God but I knew not the way. When I became an adult and married, I noticed a transformation in my husband, Chuwang Pam, after he gave his life to Christ. I began to covet being like him, and soon I surrendered my life to Jesus as well. That moment marked the beginning of my journey with God.

Together, my husband and I quickly began preparing for ministry. We took leadership development classes and I was consecrated as a children’s ministry teacher (much like a youth pastor). We also organized music events to evangelize high school and university students in Nigeria.

Grace Pam with her husband, Chuwang Pam.

In 1994, we moved to the United States and joined a local church in Los Angeles. We served faithfully—my husband in leadership and I continued working with youth and children. Eventually, our growing influence caused tension, and we felt led to step away. We began hosting Bible studies in our home, and out of that small group LA Faith Chapel was born.

As the church grew, God gave us a strong call for outreach to the homeless in our city. I opened our kitchen to serve them—starting with puff puff and donuts, and later preparing hot meals. For over 20 years, this outreach has continued. We were drawn to this ministry because we saw the deep emotional, physical, and spiritual losses in the lives of the unhoused. Many had lost not only homes and families but also trust, hope, and faith in God.

Through this ministry, we bring the hope of Jesus Christ to those who feel forgotten. As we’ve shared the Gospel, we’ve seen many hearts turn back to God. That’s the joy of this calling—helping those who’ve become broken encounter the healing love of Jesus.

When LA Faith Chapel sought to affiliate with a larger church body, a member suggested that we meet with Jeff Wright. At the time he was Conference Minister for Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference. Jeff and his family have always encouraged and coached us and helped to open doors.

Early on, I thought youth ministry was my primary calling. But over time, God began to shape me for worship and intercessory prayer. As a child, worship didn’t come naturally but now praise flows from me freely. Prayer, especially, became the core of my ministry. I remember trying to pray with just a few words, and suddenly God opened a deep well of intercession in me. When God says to pray, the words simply pour out.

Through prayer, I’ve witnessed healing. Over 20 years ago, a woman I prayed for was facing a serious medical procedure. After prayer, follow-up scans showed the issue was gone—and she never suffered it again. These kinds of miracles have only strengthened my faith. I pray with passion, holding onto God’s hand like a child—completely trusting Him.

I have a regular devotion time and when I pray, I stand on the word. God’s promises are always being fulfilled. “Remember your promise to me; it is my only hope. Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.”- Psalm ‭119‬:‭49‬-‭50,‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When I remember God’s interventions throughout the Bible, I hope confidently that He will do it again.

I’ve also become like family to many immigrants who’ve come to the U.S. alone, offering support and love.

Women’s ministry is one of my great passions. I host retreats that focus on prayer, self-care, and rest. We take women to a peaceful place for worship, devotions, and healing seminars.

International missions are another important part of our work. We provide food for local families in LA and support outreach in Africa—especially to women displaced by war. We fund vocational training for these women and equip them with tools like sewing machines and cooking supplies upon graduation. We also help sponsor college tuition for young people and distribute school supplies through local churches.

I currently work at a children’s mental health treatment center, while continuing to pastor, pray, and serve. I am an ordained pastor with credentials transferred into Mosaic Mennonite Conference.

I have served three terms on MCC West Coast Board, on the Camp Keola board, was an elder with the Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference serving four congregations and attended the Constituency Leadership Council of Mennonite Church USA. I am currently on the board of the African, Belizean & Caribbean Mennonite Mission Association, and I have been a partner for the MCC West Coast annual fundraiser for 25 years. I love travel, experiencing new cultures, reading, and writing. But what gives me more joy than anything is church work; it is synonymous with who I am.

My husband Chuwang and I are blessed with three children and four grandchildren. I’m grateful for the call of God on my life. It leaves little personal time, but the joy I receive from serving far outweighs the cost. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s a privilege to be called—and to answer.

Mosaic Conference Board Update – January 2026

February 5, 2026 by Cindy Angela

The Conference Board supervises the business of the conference, including conference committees, and does strategic planning to ensure that the conference is maintaining alignment with its vision and following the lead of the Spirit into areas of growth and change.

Report from the January 26, 2026, Board Meeting

New Conference Moderator Roy Williams (College Hill Mennonite [Tampa, FL]) opened the meeting with a welcome and by sharing Psalm 116: 1-2, a verse he learned shortly after becoming a Christian. Recognizing that many board members are new or in new roles, Williams invited board members to introduce themselves and reflect on that scripture.

The board welcomed Lindy Backues (Philadelphia [PA] Praise Center), new Chair of the Conference-Related Ministry Committee; Jenny Fujita (Blooming Glen [PA] Mennonite), at-large member; and Michael Howes (West Swamp Mennonite [Quakertown, PA]), new Chair of the Ministerial Committee, to their first board meeting.

Board members in new roles are Williams as Moderator; Janet Panning (Plains Mennonite [Hatfield, PA]) as Assistant Moderator; and Haroldo Nunes (Resplandece Mennonite [Pembroke Pines, FL and hybrid]) as Member at Large. Board members spent time getting to know each other better.

Strategic Plan Updates

The board reviewed the ongoing work on the strategic plan, including the use of the priorities guide and Vibrant Mosaic. Vibrant Mosaic is in its second year, with two active cohorts of congregations.

The priorities guide was released during the Fall Assembly weekend, and congregations are encouraged to use the lessons as discipleship opportunities in Bible studies, small groups or sermon series. Congregations who use them are encouraged to give feedback to the Priority Leadership Ministers who will continue to make updates in response.

Assembly 2026 Date

The board discussed possible dates for the 2026 annual Delegate Assembly. While a change in date or location may be possible in future years, in 2026, the board voted that the annual Delegate Assembly will be on November 7 in southeastern PA.

2026 Budget

After reviewing the proposed budget, the board unanimously approved the 2026 (February 1-January 31, 2027) budget of $1.4M. Included are increased calculations from grant contributions and stable contributions from congregations.

Sale of East Greenville, PA Building

The FMC Properties Board proposed moving toward the sale of the building where Bike and Sol operates. The board reviewed and unanimously approved the sale of the East Greenville building, former site of Peace Mennonite, to Bike and Sol at the price of $200,000.

Congregational Alignment and Sustainable Growth

During the executive minister’s report, board members were updated on and reflected on congregations that may vote to leave Mosaic Conference, as well as congregations currently exploring membership. Though no actions were taken, those present reflected on what sustainable growth looks like for Mosaic Conference.

Staff changes and partnership updates, including a recent partnership development with MennoMedia, were also shared.

The annual in-person Mosaic board retreat will take place March 27-28 in Lansdale, PA. In February, Williams and Panning will join credentialed leaders in Florida for their quarterly gathering.

Leading Through Growth and Change in Mosaic

February 5, 2026 by Cindy Angela

by Kiron Mateti

Editor’s Note: We are deeply grateful to the Mosaic Mennonite Conference board members who concluded their terms at the end of 2025. This article is part of a short reflection series from these leaders on their service with the Mosaic board.

When I first agreed to join the Mosaic Mennonite Conference Board back in 2018, I wasn’t sure what I was stepping into. My wife, Rachel, had introduced me to Anabaptism, and I was still new to the Mennonite world. When fellow Plains Mennonite (Hatfield, PA) member Jim King’s term was ending, he asked if I would consider being nominated.

I was open to it, though I didn’t have experience serving in the leadership of an organized religious body. I wasn’t a pastor, didn’t grow up Christian, and didn’t come from an ethnic Mennonite background. I was a robotics engineer with a PhD. It was Executive Minister Stephen Kriss who helped me see that those differences would provide valuable perspectives on the board.

I’ve now served two terms, and as I finish my time on the board, I have been invited to reflect on how these years have shaped me.

One of the most meaningful experiences came early on, in 2019, when I traveled with a group of Mosaic leaders to Mexico City for the 60th anniversary celebration of Anabaptist churches there. I only spoke a little Spanish but the warmth, hospitality, and exuberant worship I encountered transcended language. I’ll never forget how joyfully people welcomed us. That trip helped root me in Mosaic’s intercultural identity as a lived, relational reality.

I’m especially proud to have been part of the merger between Franconia Conference and Eastern District. It felt, at the time, like such a hopeful act: two bodies aligned in mission choosing unity. I remember thinking, “If only more churches could do this.” That season remains one of the most rewarding parts of my board service.

Serving on the Pathway Steering Team was one of the most challenging experiences. We met for nearly two years, on Zoom and in person, and got to know each other fairly well. What we were tasked with, though, trying to craft recommendations about Mosaic’s future, including related to affiliation with Mennonite Church USA, amid such a diverse constituency, was very challenging. When there was miscommunication, it drained me. And now, the end result of discontinuing membership with Mennonite Church USA feels painful.

Consensus, deeply valued in Anabaptist tradition, can be both beautiful and excruciating. Sometimes it leads to clarity and sometimes it leads to paralysis. I often felt torn between honoring unity and honoring my own convictions.

Ambiguity, uncomfortable as it is, can also be a space of forbearance. The 2025 Centering Document revealed that tension—it satisfied neither edge fully, perhaps because living in unity requires us to live amid some ambiguity. Yet we also need to make space to talk about some of the polarizing issues of our time, like queer inclusion.

In six years, Mosaic has changed drastically. When I began, the board was far less culturally diverse. I had to adjust to Robert’s Rules of Order and a kind of formality that felt foreign to me. Over time, though, our leadership and membership has shifted, and a sense of relationality has increased.

We have gained many Spanish and Indonesian-speaking congregations and become more geographically diverse. At the same time, some predominantly white, theologically conservative churches have departed. Intercultural growth has been rapid, and even jarring for some, but I’ve witnessed genuine transformation. Watching more people of color step into leadership has changed power dynamics in healthy, necessary ways.

As I step off the board, my hopes for Mosaic are rooted in what I’ve already seen emerging: stronger regional collaboration like the MennoNights for youth in southeastern PA, more connection across geography and culture, and continued growth in intercultural transformation and immigrant justice. I hope we can find ways—whether through in-person relationships or creative uses of Zoom—to help congregations interact with others who are different from them. I hope we keep leaning into diversity as a gift rather than a threat.

And I hope we can agree, at minimum, to practice forbearance with each other. That may mean clarifying bylaws so congregations can live out their convictions, without guilt by association, and remain one body, moving toward Jesus together.

Kiron Mateti

Kiron Mateti attends Plains Mennonite Church (Hatfield, PA) and lives in Telford, PA with his wife Rachel, and kids.

Citizens of the Celestial City, A Church Formed Across Borders

January 29, 2026 by Cindy Angela

By Zacharie René

Editor’s Note: Citizens of the Celestial City was a recipient of a Mosaic Conference Church Plant grant in 2025.

Across Mosaic Conference, new communities of faith often emerge not from buildings or strategic plans, but from Scripture, relationships, and a longing to follow Jesus faithfully. Citizens of the Celestial City (CCC) is an emerging Mennonite fellowship shaped by migration, resilience, and discipleship.

CCC did not begin with the intention of planting a church. Its roots stretch back more than a decade, to a small Bible club formed in Haiti in 2013. What started as a small gathering for children and youth to read Scripture and pray together, slowly expanded into multiple Bible classes across five different communities. Known as the Hope and Love Ministry, these gatherings combined biblical teaching with worship, life-skills learning, and moral formation, reflecting a holistic vision of Christian nurture.

Participants in the Hope and Love Summer Ministry in 2016. Photo courtesy of Zacharie Rene.

As leaders walked closely with the youth, especially young teenage girls, deeper needs became visible. Many lived in precarious circumstances where even basic hygiene items were inaccessible. In a context where help often came with harmful expectations, these vulnerabilities exposed young people to serious risks. In response, the ministry began providing monthly hygiene kits and practical support such as replacing worn sandals. These acts were not seen as only charity but as pastoral care through concrete Gospel-grounded expressions of dignity and love.

Over time, the children grew up. Some remained in Haiti; others migrated to Brazil, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. Life scattered them across borders, but the spiritual bonds remained.

In 2023, after leaving Haiti, I remained in contact with several former participants. One former member reached out and asked if we could continue Bible study online. That simple request reopened a door I did not realize God had been preparing for years. I began leading online Bible studies again, and soon felt prompted to invite others former members, friends, believers seeking depth, and people longing for community.

What emerged has become more than a Bible study. It is a spiritual home for a dispersed Haitian people longing for Scripture, connection, and shepherding amid isolation, displacement, and vulnerability.

Today, Citizens of the Celestial City has participants in Haiti and across the diaspora. Many face disabilities, social marginalization, economic hardship, or immigration uncertainty. These realities have deeply shaped the community’s identity and practices.

Because of distance and accessibility challenges, gathering online is not a convenience—it is a necessity. Teaching and worship are conducted in Haitian Creole, ensuring clarity, dignity, and full participation. CCC is not built around performance or location, but around presence, mutual care, and faithfulness to Christ.

The community’s name reflects this theological grounding. Citizens of the Celestial City affirms that before belonging to any nation on earth, we belong to the Kingdom of God. It expresses the conviction that the Church is not merely an institution, but a people shaped by heaven’s values while living faithfully on earth.

Many members have experienced loss, displacement, and exclusion, sometimes even within traditional church settings. CCC emerged as a space where people are not reduced to their limitations, but recognized as bearers of God’s image. Faith, resilience, and communal survival are deeply embedded in Haitian culture and naturally align with Anabaptist commitments to shared life, mutual aid, and discipleship.

Worship within CCC follows a Mennonite spirit and rhythm. Gatherings include simple, reflective singing, Scripture reading, teaching, prayer, and open sharing. There is room for silence, testimony, and communal discernment. Worship is unhurried and relational. Participants are invited to pray, reflect, and speak as the Spirit leads.

Though the community is not physically together, members experience God’s presence through consistency, prayer, and pastoral follow-up. To strengthen connection beyond weekly gatherings, I have launched an online radio ministry and mobile app. The radio offers teaching, encouragement, worship, and Scripture throughout the week, serving as a spiritual companion that sustains communal life beyond scheduled gatherings.

Our challenges include limited resources, health concerns, immigration uncertainty, and the complexities of serving a largely disabled and marginalized population. We navigate these challenges through patience, flexibility, prayer, and shared leadership. We move slowly, listening carefully, refusing to build faster than people can grow.

My encounter with the Mennonite church through Mosaic Mennonite Conference deeply shaped this ministry. Values such as peace, community, simplicity, mutual care, and discipleship are not theoretical, they are lived realities in CCC.

Several pastors now participate in our studies and have expressed a desire to transform their own congregations into Mennonite-style communities. I have begun working with some of them separately, accompanying them in discernment and formation as they await further guidance and structure.

Our hope is not rapid expansion, but faithful formation. We dream of a rooted, healed, and discipled Haitian Mennonite community, locally and across the diaspora. We envision accessible spiritual formation, leadership development, and communities shaped by peace and mutual responsibility.

We invite the Mosaic Conference to pray for:

wisdom and discernment in leadership,
spiritual and emotional healing for members,
provision for those living with disability and instability,
unity across distance,
and faithfulness as we continue to listen for God’s leading.

Citizens of the Celestial City exists because God met a scattered people through a simple question: Can we keep studying the Word together? From that question, a church was born that bears witness to the truth of Ephesians 2:19: “So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.”

Zacharie René

Zacharie René is a pastor, biblical teacher, and Christian formation leader committed to the Gospel, discipleship, and spiritual and communal transformation within an Anabaptist perspective. He is a member of Lakeview Mennonite in Susquehana, PA. Married to Roodeline Jean Louis and the father of four children, he views family as a gift from God and a vital place of faithfulness, perseverance, and prayer.

Articles

Sharon K. Williams

Marta Castillo

Report from the January 26, 2026, Board Meeting

Strategic Plan Updates

Assembly 2026 Date

2026 Budget

Sale of East Greenville, PA Building

Congregational Alignment and Sustainable Growth

Kiron Mateti

Zacharie René

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