Mission without conquest

Mennonite Mission Network

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Over the centuries, the Christian church has looked for effective ways to spread the gospel throughout the world while being faithful to the style of presence that Jesus lived and taught.

For more than 55 years, the missionary presence of the workers of the Mennonite team in the Argentine Chaco has been involved in the search for practices neither paternalistic nor colonial. Given the horrors committed in the name of Christ during the historic conquest of the Americas, mission among indigenous peoples requires such sensitivity.

This alternative style of mission is best summarized as walking as Jesus walked—with others who are seeking the life of Christ, prioritizing the integrity of groups and individuals, and with weakness and vulnerability instead of attitudes of superiority.

"Mission without Conquest," by Willis Horst, Ute Mueller-Eckhardt and Frank Paul—three former long-term members of the Mennonite team in the Chaco, which is supported by Mennonite Mission Network—is for everyone who seeks effective and faithful models of mission.
 
The book contains a historical account of the faith journey of the Toba-Qom people in the Argentine Chaco since the early years of their conversion to the path of Jesus. It describes the development of an indigenous church, strengthened by accompaniment, which has self-managed their own faith communities. And the book recounts the mission experiences of one of the couples who served with the Mennonite team—Mueller-Eckhardt and Paul.
 
The volume has been printed in Spanish by Argentine publisher Ediciones Kairós. A German translation will be printed in Germany, the home of Mueller-Eckhardt and Paul. The Spanish version may be purchased through Ediciones Kairos at ventas@kairos.org.ar. Some copies are available through Mennonite Publishing Network.
 
A grant from the Schowalter Foundation and donations from Mennonite Mission Network supported the creation of the book.
 
To watch Horst's Spanish-language presentation of the themes of the book, go online to www.youtube.com/user/Kairosvideos.

For general information, contact:
Equipo Menonita
Colón 2060
3500 Resistencia, Chaco
Argentina