Dear IMC churches,

Following up on previous listening gatherings, your brothers and sisters in Christ who are serving in IMC leadership invite churches to send representatives to meet at Camp Menno Haven on Saturday, November 4. The morning starting time will be announced later and we should conclude by 3 pm.

Our objective for the day is to actively discern and create a path forward as to how IMC will credential
pastors. Our work will build on the foundation of our gatherings these last two years of carefully
listening to each other, sharing stories, worshiping together, and learning and wrestling together within our own congregations. We will take time to center on Jesus, invite the presence of the Holy Spirit, consider credentialing options presented so far, and options anyone may bring. Again, we hope to discern specific paths forward and have invited Dr. Malinda Berry of AMBS to guide and facilitate this shared work.

We encourage you to send people with gifts of creativity and discernment, empowered by your
congregation to listen to others and God’s Spirit as we meet. Please reply by October 27 with the names of those who will attend.

Over the following four to five months, IMC leaders plan to meet with congregations to listen and answer your questions. During this time window, congregations will be asked whether they can support the credentialing option (or one of the options) presented. This canvasing procedure will be explained and questions answered at this Nov. 4 meeting. IMC leadership will use this canvas to determine how pastors will be credentialed in IMC.

Further information about our gathering will be passed along ahead of this meeting.

In faithful anticipation of God’s guidance,

IMC leadership