Tag: Jon Zirkle

  • New Building and Thriving Community

    New Building and Thriving Community

    By Jon Zirkle

    On Sunday March 15, Eastside Church in Harrisonburg, VA celebrated its 16th anniversary as a congregation.  While on a Mennonite Men visit to Virginia, I had the pleasure to see the building firsthand and later had a conversation with one of the pastors about Eastside past and present.

    For many years the congregation rented worship space, and as many can attest, renting worship space can present some challenges and constraints.  “I don’t know what we would have done during COVID if we were still worshipping in a school,” said pastor Peter Eberly.

     In November 2021 Eastside Church moved into its current building, having raised enough money to purchase the building and secure a loan.  Among several sources of funding, Mennonite Men’s JoinHands program awarded the congregation a $40,000 grant, representing about 10% of the funds Eastside needed to make the purchase possible.  Skipping ahead to 2026, the congregation just paid off one of its loans this week, perfect timing for a celebration. 

    I asked pastor Peter Eberly what impacts the new building has had on the life and mission of the congregation.

    “First of all, our current church building’s location is near a busy intersection.  I estimate that 25% of our current congregation has started attending since we moved into this space.  People see our sign when driving by and decide to check us out,” said Eberly.

    Current attendance at Eastside is approximately 200 people on a given Sunday.  Pastor Eberly noted the remarkable variety of groups and activities now filling the building.

    “Upstairs we have two tenants who pay rent to use space.  On Friday nights, we have over 100 college students come to use our space through Young Life.  On Saturday we have a training for Isaiah 1:17 House, an organization providing physical and emotional support for children awaiting foster placement.  On Sunday mornings we have Haitian folks who come for worship, and after the service many of them stick around for prayer.  All of this is possible because we have space,” says Eberly.  

    I could tell from our conversation that Eastside is a unique congregation and has taken deliberate action to meet people on their faith journey and articulate an Anabaptist commitment.  I could also sense this when reading about them on their website, which states:

    We are firmly in the Anabaptist tradition, but do not find our value or identity within denominationalism. We strive to translate Anabaptist faith to this generation by lowering cultural hurdles, speaking God’s truth to political powers and setting our sights on the Kingdom of God. 

    Join us in praying for Eastside Church and for congregations throughout the U.S., Canada, and around the world who are trying to build their ministry, live out their faith as followers of Jesus, and secure a safe place for worship.

    Mennonite Men’s JoinHands grant program continues to accept applications for new Anabaptist congregations pursuing the purchase of their first worship space.  We hope to receive applications from congregations in 2026, and also want to raise additional funds to bolster this ministry program.  Access to funding for purchasing a building can be challenging for new congregations, and we want to help, continuing Mennonite Men’s long tradition of helping grow the church.  To learn more or to donate to this ministry, visit https://mennonitemen.org/joinhands/ today. 

    Photo credit: Eastside Church

  • JoinMen: A conversation with Isaya

    JoinMen: A conversation with Isaya

    By Jon Zirkle

    A few weeks ago, I was in downtown Goshen for a midday meeting and encountered high school students marching to the Goshen courthouse square in protest of ICE.   I was moved to see so many young people taking prophetic public action.  Many of them were youth I recognized from nearby Mennonite congregations. 

    One of the youth was Isaya Magatti, a high school junior who attends Assembly Mennonite Church and is part of the Mennonite Youth Fellowship (MYF) group.  The next day I saw him and several other MYF members in photos from the march included in our congregation’s weekly prayer and sharing email.  On a number of occasions, I’ve had a chance to hear Isaya read Scripture aloud and make announcements in Sunday morning worship.  His maturity, sincerity, prophetic voice, and heart for justice are noteworthy.  It being Black History Month, I felt it could be a good opportunity to hear from a teenager who identifies as a Black male and possibly write an article for our Mennonite Men newsletter.  I reached out to Isaya’s father, Tobias, to see about interviewing Isaya, and I was grateful that he and Isaya agreed. 

    Meeting up with Isaya for a conversation was both a good opportunity to hear about his experiences and to share about Mennonite Men.  First, we talked about the MCUSA convention back in July that we both attended and its theme, “Follow Jesus”.  I asked how that theme and phrase lands for him.

    “’Follow Jesus’ encompasses faith, following Jesus’ example and his radical approach to making good in the world.  It makes me want to do good in the world, too.”

    When I shared our Mennonite Men mission statement—engaging men to grow, give, and serve as followers of Jesus for God’s shalom—with Isaya, I was moved to hear his reflections. 

    “The last part of Mennonite Men’s mission statement, “…for God’s shalom,” is a good reminder of the end goal, of why we give, grow, and serve, and why we try to follow Jesus”, says Isaya. “It’s for God’s shalom.”

    I asked Isaya what feels significant to him about Black History Month and why it is important to him personally.  Sharing that his mom is from the U.S. and his dad is from Tanzania, he expressed there is a difference for him in relating to Black History as a first-generation American and as someone with an African father.  At times he feels more connection to the words “African” and “American” separately.

    “I don’t feel all that connected to the history of Black culture in the U.S.   That said, the reason I even exist is due to the Civil Rights movement and the legalization of interracial marriages, which is only about 60 years old.  That’s not that long ago.  So, I do feel a really direct connection to the Civil Rights movement.”

    Our conversation wove between topics of what it’s like having brothers, service trips for youth and young people, and how masculinity shows up in everyday life.  Isaya had important points to make and questions pertaining to how Mennonite males can show up online. 

    “How do we follow Jesus in online spaces?  How do we cultivate community in our online age?” he asked. 

    “Part of being people of faith is being in right relationship with other people.  This includes how we interact with others online.  Masculinity portrayed online is usually communicated as taking control, not being weak, and making sure you can dominate situations.  I wonder how we as Mennonites can discuss masculinity online with other men, including with those who fully believe in a masculinity of domination.”

    “There is relationship happening online, both good and bad.  It’s also important to build community outside the online world,” he concluded.

    Men having authentic and respectful conversation with other men of differing life experiences, ages, and racial identities can be a powerful and transformative experience.  I believe that Christ can show up in our midst as we relate in this way.  Though not always the case, we men might also experience greater trust, curiosity, solidarity, joy, and friendship with each other as well.  These are gifts of the Spirit.

    Join me in praying for Isaya and other young Black male Mennonites who strive to follow Jesus and usher in the kin-dom of God by building relationships.  I look forward to ways Mennonite Men can encourage, deeply listen to, and act on the questions, ideas, and leadership gifts of our Black brothers in the Mennonite Church and beyond.