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
- Global Food Initiative closes out 2025 with last set of grants for the year
The last set of grants for 2025 from the Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI) rounded out the year by supporting needs around the world, from Honduras to Rwanda, Nigeria to Ecuador, as well as local projects in Pennsylvania.
- Newsline Special: A pastoral response to the removal of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro and US military strikes
Many of us woke up Saturday morning with news of the U.S. military strike on Venezuela that led to the capture of Venezuela President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. We have received an official statement from the president’s office of the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela (ASIGLEH) calling for calm, prudence and peace
- Emergency Disaster Fund closes out year with large grant to Haiti following Hurricane Melissa, among others
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed the last grants for 2025 from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) headed by a large grant of $120,000 to support the Hurricane Melissa recovery program of Églises des Frères d’Haïti (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti) and $5,000 to support emergency relief in Cuba after Hurricane Melissa via ASIGLEH (the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela).
- The possibility of US military intervention abroad: Concern from a peace church perspective
On Nov. 20, I attended a congressional hearing on the redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.” Coming from a different meeting, I arrived 10 minutes before the start. The room was so full that there was a line down the hallway. This was the most interest in Nigeria that I’ve witnessed on Capitol Hill since the abduction of the schoolgirls from Chibok more than 10 years ago. I am hopeful to see this much attention on Nigeria, but the focus of this attention on potential military action is troubling.
- Burundi microfinance program: Get up and walk!
The Church of the Brethren in Burundi has developed a small microfinance platform as a branch of their fledgling “Brethren Bank.”
- Church of the Brethren Peace Conference is held in Tanzania
On Aug. 15-17, a Church of the Brethren Peace Conference in Mwanza, Tanzania, brought together church leaders as potters of hope, molding visions of amani (peace) and tumaini (hope) into forms that can serve their communities.
- GFI grants support food ministries at Church of the Brethren congregations, agriculture efforts in South Africa and Venezuela
The Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI) has given its latest round of grants to support food ministries at four Church of the Brethren congregations in Illinois and Ohio; the Beyond Abundance Program of Phahama Grain Phakama in South Africa; and the purchase of electric mills for indigenous Amazon communities to grind cassava, via the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela.
- Grants from Emergency Disaster Fund support Venezuelans affected by flooding, Child Life Disaster Relief
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed two $10,000 grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to a flood relief program of ASIGLEH (the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela) and to the work of partner organization Child Life Disaster Relief.