What We Believe

Willow Avenue Mennonite Church (WAMC) prioritizes following Jesus as the center of our faith, sharing in community as the center of our lives, and building peace as the center of our mission (see below for our mission statement). We distill these core values, which we share with other Anabaptist Christians, with three words: belonging, inquiring, and transforming. We find belonging in a community that keeps asking how to follow Jesus on a transforming journey that builds peace. As we like to say, and we hope to live out, “Jesus welcomes all and so do we.”

Our Mission Statement

Willow Avenue Mennonite Church is a welcoming and affirming community where people care for each other, our neighbors, and the earth. We wrestle thoughtfully with scripture, openly asking how we can follow Jesus in lives of service to help build a more just and peaceful world where all may flourish. We freely share our gifts with each other, embracing creativity in worship that fosters health and wholeness within us that may also flow to others.

In short, our mission is: welcoming all, following Jesus, and fostering wholeness.

For those interested in reading further, the following are recommended:

Palmer Becker, What is an Anabaptist Christian? Elkhart, Indiana: Mennonite Mission Network, 2008, 2010 Revised Edition.
This influential booklet (28 pages) describes core Anabaptist beliefs and values and can be found here. Becker has a long history in church ministry and educational roles in the Mennonite Church USA, and so writes out of a lifetime of experience as an Anabaptist Christian.

Stuart Murray, The Naked Anabaptist: The Bare Essentials of a Radical Faith. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2010.
Murray is a British author who has embraced the Anabaptist understanding of faith along the way.

Our Story

WAMC was born in the 1960s under the name College Community Church Mennonite Brethren as an alternative fellowship, pursuing a rebirth not unlike earlier renewal movements. WAMC seeks the Spirit of the radical Reformation of Western Europe in the 1520s and 1530s who were ridiculed as "re-baptizers" (or Anabaptists) because they practiced baptism for adult believers upon their confession of faith. WAMC has also been shaped by the revival of the Mennonite Church (so named after the Dutch Reformation leader Menno Simons) in Ukraine in the 1860s.

We joined Mennonite Church USA in Jan 2023 after we adopted the following resolution that led to the dissolution of our membership within the US Conference of Mennonite Brethren churches: We resolve to welcome, accept, and affirm LGBTQIA+ people without reservation to all aspects of the life of the congregation including but not limited to membership, baptism, marriage, volunteer leadership, employment, and pastoral ministry.