Reflections on the “Meeting House” Tour

This week Jenny and I had the privilege of hosting a learning tour from a BIC church called the “Meeting House” based out of Toronto, Canada. It seems like she has already given her thoughts on the tour so I will try not to be redundant. I guess I can say I was along for the ride since Jenny did all the planning and arranging for the trip. I did all the background support that needed to be done, acted as tour guide to the work MCC is doing through our partners here in Mozambique and drove people around. The group was wonderful and quite refreshing. They came fully prepared and ready to learn from and love those around them. They had brought bubbles, soccer balls and other things to play games with the children. They did well at showing love and I am sure these children will never forget it.

We learned a lot about this church, “The Meeting House”, as well. I guess it is a seeker church in Toronto where God is really moving. In a few years the church has grown to a weekend attendance of almost 6000. They meet for teaching and worship on the weekends in several different sites. They receive the bible teaching on Sunday on the overhead from the main site and their main focus is in communities that meet together during the week for study and fellowship. My first inclination was to think mega-church but one member let me know that this was not who they were. In fact the more I got to know them the more amazed I was. They are very active in partnering in their community doing compassion ministries and are now partnering with MCC Southern Africa to help us fund projects. In fact there whole philosophy seems bent on becoming active followers of Christ by doing. Their focus is on community, compassion and relationship. In fact, they look very Anabaptist without having to even say it. It was quite encouraging seeing that this kind of movement is happening in North America where in the news always shows a dismal outlook for the church. It was quite encouraging for us as well because it made us feel like we have people behind us and people who are interested in building relationships here with people in MCC and the people of Mozambique.

As part of the partnership between The Meeting House and MCC Southern Africa, learning tours will come to visit the continent from the church to build relationships with our partners and churches here in Mozambique and the rest of Southern Africa. This is the second trip. There is a pastor for the compassion ministries who will be traveling along and helping them prepare. There also is a family living in Zambia that will help organize the tours from this end. I really feel good about this because it means there is a long term commitment to build a relationship between this church and the churches doing the work here. MCC is just the vehicle to make it happen. After the first tour I feel greatly encouraged by how God will work through these visits in the future. It helps encourage Jenny and I as we continue to follow what we feel Jesus is calling us to do in Mozambique.