December 7th, 2020Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission appoints new executive coordinators
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
John Fumana (left) and Bruce Yoder (right) are new executive coordinators for Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM).
John Fumana and Bruce Yoder have been appointed to work as the new team of executive coordinators for Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM).
Tany Warkentin represented Mennonite Church Canada on the search committee and on the International Central Council (ICC). Warkentin serves as Mennonite Church Canada’s Liaison to Ministry in Africa from her home in Pincher Creek, Alta.
“We were very aware of God’s guiding through our discernment as the search committee,” said Warkentin. “We worked together as representatives from Burkina Faso, the Congo, the U.S. and Canada and unanimously decided to recommend two people from different continents. Having a team fill this role is new for AIMM, but this direction was further affirmed with the ICC board’s whole-hearted approval.”
John Fumana is a member of the Mennonite Brethren Church of the Congo (CEFMC) and serves as deacon of his local church in Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of Congo. He received a bachelor’s degree in education and has a certificate for Asset-Based Community Driven Development.
Fumana brings extensive experience working with international organizations such as Oxfam, World Vision, the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa and Interchurch Medical Assistance where he has served as program and operations manager, cultural affairs assistant, logistics coordinator and human resources manager. John lives with his wife and children in DRC.
“By God's grace, I see myself serving to contribute to facilitate, mobilize, and stimulate the church in Africa to move toward sustainability by valuing and making good use of local potential,” said Fumana.
Bruce Yoder and his wife Nancy Frey, with their two (now young-adult) children, served as Witness partners in Burkina Faso until 2019. Yoder is a member of Listowel Mennonite Church in Ontario. He has 26 years of experience working in intercultural settings in Latin America and West Africa, most recently serving with Mennonite Mission Network in missional development and as a teacher of missiology and of the history of Christianity in theological schools in the Republic of Benin and Burkina Faso.
“Time and again I am amazed and inspired by the vitality and resilience of the African Church and am pleased for the opportunity to engage partners on the continent and around the world to advance their collaborative mission initiatives,” said Yoder.
Yoder and Fumana will begin to transition into their roles in January 2021. They replace Rod Hollinger-Janzen, who retired after 15 years as executive coordinator.
The AIMM press release can be found at www.aimmint.org.
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Media contact:
Liason to Ministry in Africa
Mennonite Church Canada