While sometimes the latest action of the Annual Conference completely replaces an earlier position, our mission statements of the last decade are an example of how we have built upon an earlier action to yield a more complete understanding. As a result, we offer these two statements together as the best current thinking of the Church of the Brethren about mission.

The Church of the Brethren, through its Annual Conference, passed two statements during the 1980s that guide our global mission efforts. The first, adopted in 1981, is a wide-ranging and educational statement with a prophetic voice that draws together learnings from decades of mission experience. It is shaped by earlier Annual Conference statements that emphasized working together with indigenous churches and Christians, rather than planting the Church of the Brethren in other nations.

The understanding that we are a U.S.-based denomination was eventually felt to be too limiting. This perception prompted a second look at our mission understanding and led to the 1989 action. The major change to mission approach added by this statement was to affirm the planting of congregations in the name of the denomination outside the borders of the United States. These guidelines also encouraged congregations to see their own communities as a mission field.

These two mission statements are a rich source of mission understanding worthy of our study and reflection. They are well-grounded in the New Testament and deeply rooted in our historic traditions of peacemaking and service. These statements remind us of who we are as followers of Jesus. They highlight the unity and wholeness of the gospel message, and they press us to actively reach out to those around us with the Good News.

We have in these statements clear-sighted vision for mission in the present and future, and tremendous challenges that we have only begun to engage and implement. We heartily recommend them for study and reflection, seeking, as a faith community, to become a fuller part of God's mission among our neighbors near and far.

1981 Mission Statement

1989 Mission Statement