A single guiding question — What will the world look like in 2040? — shaped the first in-person meeting of Mennonite Church USA's Structure Review Committee, held April 15–16 in Chicago. The 23 committee members were invited to hold both the challenges of today and the promise of what could come next.
Eric Massanari, executive conference minister for Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference, opened reflection with John 12:24:
« Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. »That image of letting go so something new can grow remained with the group throughout the meeting.
Executive director Glen Guyton described the process as « a disciplined way to explore multiple plausible futures for MC USA, test how our current structures might perform in those futures and equip the Executive Board to govern with greater clarity, flexibility and long-term faithfulness to our mission. » Participants reflected on shifting patterns of church belonging, declining affiliation with organized religion, the rise of bivocational ministry, and broader social forces including polarization, Christian nationalism, and rapid technological change.
« We have been through a lot in the last number of years, » said committee member Rosetta Landis. « We want to be intentional about who we are and where we're going. » Iris de León-Hartshorn, associate executive director of operations, grounded the conversation in Anabaptist identity: « We've always seen ourselves as a church on the margins. We're a discipleship committed to following Jesus — and that could be a house church or a church of a hundred. »
Working groups developed multiple scenarios for 2040 — some hopeful, some challenging — designed to stretch thinking and surface new ideas. A follow-up gathering to shape recommendations for the Executive Board was scheduled for May 13 in Indianapolis, with a final report expected in June 2026.