A Diocese with a Global Vision— Under Bishop Mark’s leadership, the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes has cultivated a deep commitment to mission—both locally and globally. The Diocese supports a sister diocese in Burundi, missionaries serving in multiple regions around the world, and several Anglican mission partner agencies, including Anglican Mission Africa, Church Army Africa, Ekklesia, United Adoration, and New Wineskins Missions Network. A Global Mission section in the diocesan newsletter regularly highlights this ongoing work and encourages engagement. Yet the heartbeat of this mission is not limited to diocesan leadership—it is reflected in the life of local parishes.

The Anglican International Student Ministry Network (AISMN) exists to mobilize, connect, and resource Anglicans to love, serve and learn from international students and scholars.

Since the birth of this first New Wineskins Missions Network in 2017 (during the ACNA Provincial Assembly at Wheaton College), we have sought to discover which churches—and who within ACNA—are involved in mission among international students.

I got to see what most people never see: Transformation That Multiplies— Timothy, orphaned at age six, is now a Coordinator in a Father’s Family program at another church in the diocese. He is strengthening families so the children in those families are not orphaned as he once was. In other communities, we see these families become role models, informal marriage counselors, and trusted advisors on how to save, invest, and build healthy families.

This is how transformation happens. It is not quick or always visible—but over time, it multiplies.

When we talk about missional leadership, we aren’t just talking about generically “good” leadership, or your church having a mission statement. We’re saying something quite specific. I want to try and spell that out…

Almost 20 years after the publication of Missional Church by Darrell L. Guder, there is a lot of misunderstanding and misuse surrounding the term missional. But the missional movement generated by Guder and his colleagues is substantive, and I’d like to give the authors of the book a fresh hearing.

Missional leadership in this time of anxiety can seem like facing a heavyweight prize fighter who comes at us with steady jabs of guilt and demoralizing right hooks.

Group 21. Jakarta, Indonesia. August 2016. The Lausanne Movements’ Younger Leaders Gathering was finally getting underway, and I was excited to meet my mentoring group of six up-and-coming Christian leaders from all over the world.