Mennonite Church USA Delegate Assembly votes to change Everence agency status
Proposed repositioning as ministry partner received widespread approval
Everence President and CEO Ken Hochstetler (right) talks with visitors to the Everence booth at the 2023 Mennonite Church USA Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo: Brian Yoder Schlabach/Everence)
GOSHEN, Indiana – At the 2023 Mennonite Church USA Convention, the denomination’s Delegate Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of repositioning Everence® from a denominational agency to a program entity (ministry partner) of MC USA.
Delegates approved the resolution with a vote of 305 to four. The decision will simplify MC USA’s structure, by reducing the number of agencies from five to three. Once finalized, the three remaining agencies will be MennoMedia, Mennonite Education Agency and Mennonite Mission Network.
While repositioning as a ministry partner with MC USA will require a new, adapted governance relationship with the denomination, it will not impact how Everence serves its 78,000 members and more than 30 church denominations and networks – including MC USA. Guided by its core Anabaptist values, Everence is committed to walking alongside individuals, organizations, churches and denominations interested in being faithful stewards of God’s resources.
The vote now authorizes the MC USA Executive Board to make the necessary bylaw changes and transition plan, which the Executive Board likely will take up at its fall 2023 meeting. Both the MC USA Executive Board and Everence Board of Directors will work on a new memorandum of understanding, with hopes to finalize the transition in early 2024.