Good News Fellowship

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In the early 1940s the Lancaster Mennonite Conference established an Itinerant Evangelism Committee to work at outreach, included the USA southeast. Teams of persons with roots in the Lancaster Conference gave a portion of their summers to Summer Bible School outreach in the South. They would set up a tent and hold Bible classes for children during the day and revival meetings for the community each evening. By 1949 six teams ran 24 Vacation Bible Schools in rural areas near the Florida/Alabama border.

In some of these locations churches were started. The first church to be planted was in East Brewton, Alabama. Others followed in surrounding communities including Bethel, Appleton, Atmore, Crestview, etc. Later churches began in more urban areas like Mobile and Birmingham, Alabama.

In 2000 the Lancaster Mennonite Conference "released" the 14 churches then established in the southeast to form a new network called Good News Fellowship (GNF). This allowed the churches to work more effectively towards a common mission. J. D. Landis and Steve Longenecker gave early leadership to this newly formed network.

In 2015 the Good News Fellowship consisted of approximately 35 churches in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana. Congregations were grouped in regions and served by a Primary Leader. GNF's stated purpose was to empower and network leaders and churches for Jesus-centered ministry. It was not linked to a Mennonite denominational entity.

In 2017 there were eight "Primary leaders" in GNF: J. D. Landis (at-large), Steve Longenecker & Ralph Garth (Birmingham, Alabama area), Dave Lambert (Atlanta, Georgia area), David R. Landis (Gulf Coast area), David Weaver & Ruskin Clay (MLA area (Mississippi, Louisiana & Alabama), and Geraldo Navarro (Spanish).

Bibliography

"History." Good News Fellowship. 2015. Web. 2 June 2017. http://www.gnfonline.org/?page_id=17.

Ruth, John L. The Earth is the Lord’s: a Narrative History of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2001: 993-999.

Additional Information

Website: http://www.gnfonline.org


Author(s) Samuel J Steiner
Date Published May 2017

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "Good News Fellowship." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2017. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Good_News_Fellowship&oldid=164912.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (May 2017). Good News Fellowship. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Good_News_Fellowship&oldid=164912.



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