A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

e Mennonite Brethren would early adopt the itinerant ministry as a way to nurture local congregations and evangelize the unconverted. Following the June Reform of 1865, Christian Schmidt and Jacob Jantz were appointed for an itinerant ministry. Peter M. Friesen de- scribed them as "the ideal messengers of love and peace."*4 Itinerant ministers strengthened God's people through house visitation and preaching in public gatherings. They were instrumental in kindling revival fires in the life of the community of believers and bringing unbelievers to salva- tion.45 This ministry provided a spiritual pollenization and nurtured a spirit of love and unity. The 1872 conference, in Russia, provided limited stipends to set ministers free for such service. The congregational reading of their reports in the form of diaries generated unity and stimulated intercessory prayer.46 Conference reports from 1872-1906 recorded the concern for an effective itinerant ministry as the major mission of the larger church. Friedensstitnme in Russia and Zionsbote in America give central place to reports of itinerant ministers. Under the category of home missions, this ministry continued, into the 1940s, as a significant force for spiritual renewal and revitalization 68 CHAPTER 6 In The World But Not Of The World A fervent belief in two kingdoms-that the people of God are to be separate from "the world" in belief and lifestyle-Jay at the heart of the formation of the Mennonite Brethren Church. While citing worldli- ness in the parent church as the underlying reason for the withdrawal, the secession document nonetheless emphasized the breakaway group's agreement "with our dear Menno, ac- cording to our convictions from the Holy Scriptures."1 A par- ticular point of agreement was Menno's articulation of a visi- ble, separate identity for the community of the redeemed: "The entire evangelical Scriptures teach us that the church of Christ was and is in doctrine, life and worship, a people sepa- rated from the world-"2 This, they believed, was an identity the parent church had lost. The June Reform of 1865, the ear- liest record of a corporate action by the new movement, did not address issues of doctrine and beliefs but dealt extensively with biblical relationships and the lifestyle of a people living separately in the world.3 The words of Jesus are the basis for the Mennonite Brethren two-world concept: "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" 0ohn 17:1 6). This did not mean separation from people but from the patterns of thought and behavior that domina