The Global Mission office works with autonomous Brethren bodies in various countries around the world through mutual encouragement, sharing resources, and supporting each other’s efforts. It also supports emerging and ongoing missions and projects.
Global mission prayer updates and signup
Global mission prayer updates primarily share prayer requests received from the global Church of the Brethren and our partners around the world. See the most recent prayer update here.
You could be a Mission Advocate!
Learn about the Mission Advocates Network at congregational and district levels. Check out ideas and tools to support Mission Advocates.
Vision for a Global Church of the Brethren, 2018 Church of the Brethren Statement
Global Church of the Brethren Communion
For the Global Mission office, an area of particular energy and growth is the Global Church of the Brethren Communion (GCBC). We are part of a fellowship with eleven other Brethren denominations around the world: Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Honduras, India, Nigeria (general Nigeria page & history) (Nigeria Crisis Response), Rwanda, Spain, Uganda, United States, and Venezuela.
Brazil: One fellowship. Community outreach programs and family therapy.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): 32 churches, 8,000 members.
Dominican Republic (DR): 15 churches, 10 fellowships, 2,800 members (including two districts).
Haiti: 22 churches, 8 stations, 4,500 members. Haiti Medical Project.
Honduras: Formally affiliated with GCBC on December 5, 2023. Details to come.
India: 29 churches, 39 worship centers, 10,000 members.
Nigeria: 605 local church councils (congregations), with additional preaching points and church plants under most councils, 750,000 or more members. A full denominational program including women’s and youth programs, agriculture program, educational institutions and a seminary, missions in neighboring countries.
Rwanda: 4 churches, 724 members, 12 choirs, 2 schools. Significant outreach to the Batwa community, preschool, and Bible school.
Spain: 6 churches, 275 members. Open-air revivals, community gardens.
Uganda: 15 churches with 732 members. Orphanage.
Venezuela: 40 churches, 1,611 members. Outreach to Indigenous people.
Project sponsored by the U.S. Church of the Brethren
South Sudan: This mission project sponsored by the Mission and Ministry Board has one full-time Global Mission staff person and several local staff working in the areas of agriculture, reconciliation, trauma healing, prison ministry, and evangelism. Two churches have been planted.
Emerging missions and projects
In addition to the countries where churches are members of the GCBC, there are emerging missions and projects in the following places:
Burundi: 50 churches and 6,000 members since 2006. Registered in Burundi but not yet formally recognized by the Global Church of the Brethren Communion.
Cameroon, Chad, Niger Republic, and Togo: Missions of EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria.
China: Hospice and autism projects (China is a former Church of the Brethren mission).
Colombia: Churches started by refugees from Venezuela.
Ecuador: Agriculture project (Ecuador is a former Church of the Brethren mission).
Kenya and Tanzania: Churches planted by the emerging church in Burundi.
Mexico: Long-term Church of the Brethren-founded community project in Tijuana (Bittersweet Ministries).
Ukraine: One fellowship.
Vietnam: Vision project for retinopathy of prematurity treatment (a former Brethren Volunteer Service location).
Other worldwide connections
Other worldwide connections not listed here include Brethren Volunteer Service projects and disaster recovery grants give through the Emergency Disaster Fund. Global Food Initiative partnerships are located in many of the countries listed.
Global mission ministries
The ministries of Global Mission seek to integrate faith and service as they challenge and equip Brethren to respond to human need and grow the church of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
Global Mission ministries include:
- Global Food Initiative
- International ministries (this page)
- Global Church of the Brethren Communion
The programming of Global Mission falls into six broad categories:
- church development
- health and well-being
- education
- peacebuilding
- economic empowerment and
- agriculture development
Global Mission envisions the development of a global Church of the Brethren consisting of autonomous groups that witness to their broader communities while mutually encouraging one another as branches from the denomination vine. It seeks to deepen faith and relationships with established mission points, promoting outreach ministries and developing leadership. With emerging mission points, it seeks to promote core Brethren beliefs and practices while building organizational capacity and deepening faith.
Marcos Inhauser, GM staff in Brazil, has created an eight-minute YouTube video explaining the beliefs and practices of the Church of the Brethren. It is in both Spanish and English. We invite you to view it here:
Related news
- Church of the Brethren staff and leaders meet in Uganda to plan for increased humanitarian needs in South Sudan
Roger Schrock as former mission staff in South Sudan, Roy Winter as executive for Service Ministries and Brethren Disaster Ministries, and I traveled recently to Uganda to meet with South Sudan staff Athanasus Ungang and two of his team members* to consult on positioning for the future in South Sudan.
- Grants support increased humanitarian needs in South Sudan, among other responses to violence and war
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to fund planning for increased humanitarian needs in South Sudan; an aid program by l’Eglise des Freres au Congo (Church of the Brethren in the DR Congo) for displaced families and refugees in Burundi who have fled the M23 violence; and purchase of medicines and medical equipment for hospitals and clinics serving Palestinians displaced in Gaza City due to the Israel-Hamas war.
- Global Church of the Brethren Communion delegates and alternates meet online
What a joyous occasion following Easter for our Global Church of the Brethren Communion to gather online for the first meeting of 2025. All 12 countries in the communion were represented.
- Latest round of GFI grants support agricultural training and farming in Africa, clean water in Haiti
The Global Food Initiative (GFI) has given its latest round of grants to support well drilling by the Haiti Medical Project, an agricultural training component for students at the Great Lakes Bible School in Rwanda, and “Farming God's Way” in the Church of the Brethren in Burundi.
- South Sudan journal: A first international trip as executive director of Global Mission for the Church of the Brethren
My first international trip as executive director of Global Mission for the Church of the Brethren was to South Sudan from Feb. 1-15. I was fortunate to travel with a group led by Carolyn and Roger Schrock. Here are excerpts from my daily journal of the trip
- FaithX registration closes April 1
Registration for summer FaithX service trips closes on Tuesday, April 1. There are still open spots on several youth and adult trips. More information about the trips and availability as well as registration are at www.brethren.org/faithx.
- Brethren bits
In this issue: Remembering Marianne Rhoades Pittman; New and Renew offers March Madness discount; prayer requests for South Sudan, those affected by severe weather, those continuing to suffer impacts of fires in southern California; truck for Uganda; "Toward COP30" webinars from the WCC; threat to the US Institute of Peace, which got its start with help from the Church of the Brethren among other religious groups
- EDF grants since start of year fund Nigeria Crisis Response and aid responses to wars in central Africa, Gaza, and Ukraine
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to continued support for the Nigeria Crisis Response, to aid those affected in three central African countries by the warfare in Goma and the surrounding area, to aid those affected by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and to aid those affected by the war in Ukraine, among others.