Hello Brothers and Sisters,
It is a joy to bring you greetings on behalf of the Mission and Ministry Board, General Secretary, and the staff and volunteers who faithfully serve our church. It’s also a privilege to share a few stories of what God has been doing through our church over the past year.
Our General Secretary, David Steele, recently reflected on the first believers in Jerusalem – a community learning what it meant to follow Jesus together. They cared for one another, shared generously, and proclaimed the hope found in Christ. They weren’t a perfect community, but they were a faithful one.
That invitation is still ours today as we seek to follow – and join – Jesus in the neighborhood.
Across the Church of the Brethren, we are living out that calling in countless ways…
• We grow together as courageous disciples…
• We love and serve one another…
• We extend generosity and witness…
• And we steward God’s blessings.
I’d like to share a few glimpses of what that has looked like over the past year, and how God is working through us in our communities and around the world.
Together, we grow as courageous disciples
Following Jesus is a lifelong journey, and none of us is meant to walk it alone. That’s why the Church of the Brethren creates opportunities for people of every age to worship, learn, build relationships, and become courageous disciples.
• Christian Citizenship Seminar helps high schoolers explore how faith shapes the way we engage in public life…
• Young Adult Conference creates space for worship, friendship, and discerning God’s call together…
• National Junior High Conference helps younger youth discover they’re part of a much larger church family…
• At the end of July, hundreds of high school youth from across the country gathered for National Youth Conference – a week of worship, service, and shared life that deepened faith, forged lifelong friendships, and reminded a new generation that they belong to the body of Christ.
• And National Older Adult Conference, which happens every two years, reminds us that discipleship doesn’t end with retirement.
These gatherings do more than fill a calendar. They strengthen faith, build lifelong connections, and remind people they belong to a church much larger than their own congregation. Participants return home encouraged, equipped, and ready to serve.
Discipleship also means equipping those who lead. Through the Ministry Office, pastors receive guidance, continuing education, and support throughout their ministry. And churches are strengthened through initiatives like Part-time Pastor; Full-time Church and the Rural and Small Town Churches Initiative, which help congregations discover fresh opportunities to serve and share Christ’s love in their local contexts.
Discipleship also calls us to grow in our relationships with one another across cultures and experiences. Intercultural Ministries helps us live into that calling through relationship-building, intercultural learning, and partnerships like the Deportation Defense Response, which walks alongside Brethren families living with the threat of detention, deportation, or family separation.
Discipleship also leads us outward – sending us into the world to love our neighbors in practical ways.
Together, we love and serve one another
One of the clearest examples is Brethren Disaster Ministries. When disasters strike, emergency responders meet immediate needs. But long after the headlines fade, Brethren Disaster Ministries volunteers continue walking alongside families as they rebuild their homes and begin again.
Last year, 676 volunteers contributed more than 40,000 hours of service through rebuilding projects in eastern Kentucky and shorter-term responses following Hurricane Helene, helping dozens of families return to safe, stable homes – and reminding us that restoring a home is also about restoring hope.
Kids experience disasters differently than adults, and healing often begins with a safe place to play, create, and simply be children. That’s the ministry of Children’s Disaster Services. Trained volunteers provide that care in emergency shelters and disaster recovery centers, and because of their specialized training, they’re regularly called upon by the American Red Cross to serve alongside disaster response efforts.
This past year, CDS cared for children affected by wildfires, floods, tornadoes, and other emergencies, offering calm and compassion during some of life’s most difficult moments.
Not every act of service begins with a disaster. Sometimes it begins with a willingness to listen. Through FaithX, youth and adults spend a week serving alongside local communities, discovering that following Jesus means listening, building relationships, and serving with humility. They return home changed by the people they meet as much as by the work they do.
For some, that week of service becomes the beginning of an even longer journey. For nearly 80 years, Brethren Volunteer Service has invited people to put their faith into action through simple living and meaningful service. Volunteers of all ages serve alongside nonprofit organizations and community ministries in the U.S. and around the world, discovering that lives are transformed – not only through the work they do, but through the relationships they build. The BVS model of voluntary service has inspired generations of people to live simply, serve faithfully, and work for peace.
The relationships formed through service don’t end at our own communities. They extend across our global church family.
Church of the Brethren Global Mission strengthens relationships among Brethren bodies around the world through mutual encouragement and shared resources. Whether in Nigeria, India, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or elsewhere, these partnerships remind us that, in Christ, we belong to one another.
Those relationships also become practical expressions of God’s love. Through the Global Food Initiative, churches partner with local communities to strengthen food security through locally led efforts such as clean water systems, agricultural training, and nutrition education. Here at home, grants help congregations become “Jesus in the neighborhood” by responding to hunger with dignity and compassion through food pantries, community gardens, and other projects.
Whenever God is at work among us, we’re called to tell that story, encourage one another in faith, and invite others to become part of it.
We do that, in part, by helping the church stay connected.
Together, we extend generosity and witness
Through Brethren Press and Communications, churches and members receive resources, books, and stories that strengthen faith, support ministry, and connect us with the wider church – reminding us that we belong to something larger than ourselves.
Our witness also calls us beyond the walls of the church. Through the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy, the Church of the Brethren lives out its historic commitment to peace by equipping congregations and advocating for Brethren values in the public square – from peace and nonviolence to welcoming immigrants, caring for God’s creation, and responding faithfully to current events.
Our witness also invites participation… Some people volunteer. Others pray, give, or share these stories with their congregations and communities. Together, those acts of generosity make this shared ministry possible – from strengthening congregations and responding to disasters to supporting global partnerships and equipping future leaders. It’s one more way we participate in God’s work together.
Behind all these programs are people quietly stewarding the gifts God has entrusted to the church.
Together, we steward God’s blessings
From finance and technology to facilities and the Brethren Historical Library and Archives, these often-unseen ministries provide the foundation that allows every other ministry to flourish. They help steward resources wisely, preserve our shared story, and equip the church for faithful service today and into the future.
But faithful stewardship isn’t just about preserving what we’ve inherited. It’s also about discerning how God is calling us to serve in a changing world. At the end of 2025, we concluded the Church of the Brethren’s Material Resources program. For more than 80 years, generations of volunteers prepared and shipped relief supplies that brought comfort and hope to people around the world. While that chapter has ended, the compassion behind it continues to guide our response to human need.
Like those first believers in Jerusalem, we’re still learning what it means to follow Jesus together. That story is still being written… and each of us has a place in that story.
…Perhaps God is calling someone in your congregation to serve through Brethren Volunteer Service or Children’s Disaster Services.
…Perhaps your church is ready to begin – or strengthen – a ministry through a Faith in Action grant.
…Or perhaps your next step is simply to pray, volunteer, or give.
Whatever that next step may be, I encourage you to visit brethren.org to read more stories about God’s work through our church, and ways you can be part of it.
And thank you for the many ways you already pray, serve, lead, and give. Together, we are continuing to follow – and join – Jesus in the neighborhood.
This concludes the report of the Church of the Brethren.