Core Values
- Mentoring and Life Coaching: Speaking truth and love into each other’s journeys
- Community: Deeply encountering Jesus and life together through scripture, prayer and worship
- Travel: Taking students out of their areas of comfort geographically, relationally and spiritually
- Education: Oriented towards non-conventional, experiential learning in a classroom without borders
- Service: Being changed through the giving of ourselves to others
- High adventure: Whenever possible, serving as a backdrop to the learning environments
Statement of Faith
The two statements of faith presented below represent the two Mennonite denominations that have contributed to the formation of CMU.
Mennonite Church Canada Statement of Faith
The following is a summary of the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective. The full text of the Confession can be obtained from CMU.
We believe
in God, the holy and ever-living God of love,
in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world,
and in the Holy Spirit, who empowers lives of faith.
We believe
that God created the universe and pronounced it good,
that humanity has chosen to sin,
that God offers salvation from sin
and a new way of life to all people.
We believe
that the faithful church remains under the authority of the scriptures,
that the church is the new community of disciples, the Body of Christ,
sent into the world to proclaim the reign of God,
that the church is called to become ever more like Christ
in its worship, witness, mutual love, care, and the ordering of its common life.
We believe
that we are empowered through God’s grace and Spirit
to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
We believe that following Jesus means
to preach the good news of salvation
to practice stewardship of money and possessions
to give full allegiance to Christ
to care for the earth
to celebrate a day of holy rest
to make peace and do justice
to show compassion
to reconcile.
We believe
that God rules over the universe in wisdom, patience, and justice
though creation has not yet recognized God’s rule.
We look forward to the coming of a new heaven and a new earth, and seek to live now according to the model of the future reign of God.
This is our hope.
This is our faith.
Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith
The following is an overview of the Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith, the full text of which can be obtained at CMU.
1. God
We believe in the one true God, the source of all life, who reigns over all things as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and who lovingly cares for all creation. God the Father planned the redemption of humanity and sent Jesus Christ the Son to be the Savior of the world. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God, bringing good news to the poor and triumphing over sin through His obedient life, death, and resurrection. God the Holy Spirit empowers believers with new life, indwells them, and unites them in one body.
2. Revelation of God
We believe God has made Himself known to all people. Beginning with creation and culminating in Jesus Christ, God has revealed Himself in the Old and New Testaments. All Scripture is inspired by God, and is the authoritative guide for faith and practice. We interpret the Scripture in the church community as guided by the Holy Spirit.
3. Creation and Humanity
We believe God created the heavens and the earth, and they were good. Humans, God’s crowning act, were created in the image of God. Sin has alienated humanity from the Creator and creation, but God offers redemption and reconciliation through Jesus Christ.
4. Sin and Evil
We believe sin is individual and corporate opposition to God’s good purposes and leads to physical and spiritual death.
5. Salvation
We believe God saves all people who put their faith in Jesus Christ. By His obedient life, sacrificial death and victorious resurrection, Christ delivers people from the tyranny of sin and death and redeems them for eternal life in the age to come. All creation eagerly awaits its liberation from bondage into the freedom of the glory of God’s children.
6. Nature of the Church
We believe the church is the covenant community called by God through Jesus Christ to live a life of discipleship and witness as empowered by the Holy Spirit. The local church gathers regularly for worship, fellowship and accountability, and to discern, develop and exercise gifts for ministry.
7. Mission of the Church
We believe the mission of the church is to make disciples of all nations by calling people to repent, to be baptized, and to love God and neighbor by sharing the good news and doing acts of love and compassion.
8. Christian Baptism
We believe baptism by water is a public sign that a person has repented of sin, received forgiveness, died with Christ and has been raised to new life through the power of the Holy Spirit. Baptism is also a public declaration of a believer’s incorporation into the body of Christ as expressed in the local church.
9. Lord’s Supper
We believe that in obedience to Christ, the church observes the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance of His atoning death and to celebrate forgiveness, new life, and the fellowship and unity of all believers.
10. Discipleship
We believe Jesus calls people who have experienced the new birth to follow Him in a costly life of service to God. The power of the Holy Spirit transforms believers from the unrighteous pattern of the present age into a life of joyful obedience with God’s people.
11. Marriage, Singleness and Family
We believe that singleness and marriage are honored by God and should be blessed by the church. God instituted marriage as a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman for the purpose of companionship, encouragement, sexual intimacy, and procreation. Children are a gift from God and should be nurtured by parents in the ways of God.
12. Society and State
We believe that God instituted the state to promote justice and to maintain law and order. Christians’ primary allegiance is to Christ’s kingdom. Believers are called to witness against injustice, exercise social responsibility, and obey all laws that do not conflict with the Word of God.
13. Love and Nonresistance
We believe that God in Christ reconciles people to Himself and to one another, making peace through the cross. We seek to be agents of reconciliation, to practice love of enemies, and to express Christ’s love by alleviating suffering, reducing strife, and promoting justice. Because violence and warfare are contrary to the gospel of Christ, we believe that we are called to give alternative service in times of war.
14. The Sanctity of Human Life
We believe that God is creator and giver of life, and highly values each person. Procedures designed to take human life are wrong. We oppose all attitudes which devalue human life, especially the defenseless lives of the unborn, disabled, poor, ageing and dying.
15. Stewardship
We believe the universe and everything in it belong to God the Creator and that we have been entrusted by God to manage its resources. All God’s gifts, including money, time, abilities and influence, are to be received with thanksgiving, used responsibly, and shared generously.
16. The Lord’s Day, Work and Rest
We believe God’s act of creation provides the model for work and rest. In work, we use our abilities to glorify God and serve others. In rest, we express thanks for God’s provision and trust in God’s sustaining grace. In worship, we gather to commemorate the resurrection through worship, instruction, fellowship, and service.
17. Christianity and Other Faiths
We believe God’s atoning work in Jesus is the only means of reconciling people with God. God has not left any without a witness to the Creator’s goodness and power. Christians treat people of other faiths with respect, but urgently proclaim Christ as the only way of salvation.
18. Christ’s Final Triumph
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return triumphantly at the end of this age to destroy all evil powers, condemn all who have rejected Christ to eternal punishment, and unite believers with Christ to reign forever with God in glory.
Baptism Policy
Matthew 28: 19-20 – Jesus commands his followers to “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.”
In this passage, Jesus links discipleship, baptism, teaching and obedience, all important elements in the Outtatown Discipleship School program. It is no wonder then that students who are studying the Bible, growing in faith and being discipled, will want to consider baptism if they have not already done so.
The Outtatown Discipleship School program is a Christian ministry that is rooted in the Anabaptist faith tradition, moved and transformed by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ (CMU mission statement). As such we would affirm “believer’s baptism” and the “priesthood of all believers”. In other words, baptism is a symbol that expresses one’s commitment to follow Jesus Christ and to be a disciple; for life. The person who has discipled this person, or the spiritual leader of the Christian community where this takes place, is a natural and appropriate person who can perform the baptism.
However, the symbol of baptism is not just a personal commitment to God, but a commitment viewed or witnessed by others. Much like a wedding vow, the new believer is joining the body of Christ, the Christian community. In the Anabaptist Church tradition, a person becomes part of the body of Christ by joining the local Church; where we hold one another accountable and grow together in faith and obedience to God.
A group of students and leaders on the Outtatown program form a very close community that models what the Church should be like, but it is a temporary community, not “the Church”. If a student in the Outtatown program professes his/her faith in Jesus Christ and wants to be baptized, we want to make sure that this new believer (newly committed believer) has a place to “belong” in the body of Christ. We want this person to continue to grow and to be a member of a group of believers, a Church, where discipleship, accountability and continued faithfulness to Jesus Christ will be taught and encouraged.
As a result we do encourage baptisms in the Outtatown program where it is sincere, genuine, and serves well the purpose of witness and long term growth and commitment. It can be an amazing experience, a very powerful witness in the Outtatown community and is well linked to what is intended in scripture. However, in doing so we would encourage the following:
1. Students wishing baptism need to write a short testimony and include in that a commitment to tie into a local home church upon returning to their own community. If there is a natural place of belonging from the past, that should be encouraged. However, since students are often in transition during this time in their life, it may require “finding” a Church to belong to upon their return.
2. Students who have a “home Church” should be encouraged to seek their blessing prior to baptism. The church needs to know that we are baptizing on their behalf and that students will return, ready to serve and join in the life of the Church. When contacting a “home Church” it would be good to ask for any helpful information such as a Baptism Policy, Membership Policy or a Confession of Faith. These can be used as instructional guides preparing the student for a baptism that reflects their own Church context. (Please inform the Director of the Outtatown Discipleship School so that at CMU, the President and others are aware of these things when visiting various churches.)
3. Students should invite the blessing of their parents. In some cases this will simply not be possible because families may not be active followers of Christ. But wherever possible, this should be done, providing strengthened support in some cases and an important witness in others.
5. A Site Leader who mentors the student would be a natural candidate for preparing the student for baptism and may wish to perform this event (priesthood of all believers). Other team leaders, country partners, or various instructors (for example: Blayne Greiner, Gareth Goosen, etc.) may be called upon to assist, and would be very helpful in providing baptismal instruction to students being baptized. It is important that the student knows what this important symbol signifies, and is helps to assure our constituent churches that the baptism is being carried out with some depth of thought and spirit. It must not be a last-minute/shallow decision.
6. When students return home, it would still be very important for them to share their testimony in their new/home Church context, taking steps toward membership and accountability. We would want the Site Leaders who mentors this student to encourage this process following the Outtatown program.
The following Bible passages may be of some help in this process: Mt 3: 1-17, Mt 28:19-20, Mk 1: 1-28, Lk 3: 1-22, Jn 1: 1-34, Jn 3: 1-36, Acts 16: 25-40, and I Cor 1: 1-31.
Final Thoughts:
Please be aware that this policy may be in tension with some Church traditions. In fact, it is in some tension with both of CMU’s supporting denominations, the Mennonite Brethren Church and Mennonite Church Canada. In both cases, baptism is understood to be linked directly to membership in a local congregation, taking place in community.
We need to consider is the possibility that a student has been reluctant to be baptized in a local Church due to various issues that require counseling; requiring both grace and forgiveness. These should be discussed if there is any willingness to do so.
There is a current tendency to have negative attitudes toward all institutional systems, especially the institutional Church. Students will need to be taught how to love the Church of Jesus Christ despite the many very real issues that may stand in the way of arriving at this position.
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