Europäisches Mennonitisches Evangelisationskomitee

The Europäisches Mennonitisches Evangelisationskomitee (EMEK; European Mennonite Mission Committee) was organized in August 1952 as the central mission committee of the Mennonites in Europe representing the four countries of Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and France. A preliminary meeting was held at Elspeet, Holland, in 1950. The committee met annually in the four countries in rotation. By 1995 meetings had been held in Germany (1953), Switzerland (1954), and France (1955). The committee promoted the mission cause among the Mennonites, particularly the support of the work of the Dutch Mennonite Board in Indonesia and New Guinea, but it did not administer any work itself. It was composed of 11 members appointed as follows:

1. Four by the Dutch Mennonite Mission Board;
2. Three by the German Mennonite Mission Committee;
3. Two by the Swiss Mennonite Mission Committee;
4. Two by the French Mennonite Mission Committee.

The chairman and treasurer of the Dutch Mennonite Mission Board (Doopsgezinde Vereniging tot Evangelieverbreiding) were ex officio the chairman and treasurer of EMEK, and together with a vice-chairman and secretary chosen annually by EMEK constituted the executive committee. -- HSB

---

This mission agency developed gradually through the cooperation of the Mennonites in West Germany, France, Switzerland, and The Netherlands. All missionaries from Mennonite groups in these countries were, in 1987, sent out by EMEK.

Upon the request of the French Mennonites, responsibility for the work in Chad was assumed by EMEK in 1963. In 1986 a couple was sent to Burkina Faso jointly by EMEK and the Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission, Elkhart, IN. When it appeared that the African doors for missions were being closed, EMEK began work with African students in Paris (Foyer Grébel), together with the Mennonite Board of Missions (MC), Elkhart.

Administrative responsibility was divided among the various members of EMEK. Thus Mennonites in The Netherlands were responsible for Java, Mennonites in Switzerland for Irian Jaya (Indonesia), and Mennonites in France for Chad. The 1986 budget equaled 730,000 West German marks, of which Mennonites in The Netherlands supplied 28 percent and those in the other member countries each 24 percent.

Important issues in 1986 were: the relationship between emission and relief work, the peace witness as mission and the responsibility for mission in secularized Europe. The latter work was carried on together with American agencies.   --   LLau

See also Deutsches Mennonitisches Missionskomitee; Doopsgezinde Zendingsraad; Mission Boards; Schweizerisches Mennonitisches Evangelisationskomitee.

Bibliography

Laurense, Leo. 125 Jahre Zusammenarbeit in der Mennonitischen Mission, 1847-1972. EMEK, 1972.

Jahrbuch (1984): 115.

Author(s)	Harold S. Bender
	Leo Laurense
Date Published	1987

Cite This Article

MLA style

Bender, Harold S. and Leo Laurense. "Europäisches Mennonitisches Evangelisationskomitee." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1987. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Europ%C3%A4isches_Mennonitisches_Evangelisationskomitee&oldid=87420.

APA style

Bender, Harold S. and Leo Laurense. (1987). Europäisches Mennonitisches Evangelisationskomitee. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Europ%C3%A4isches_Mennonitisches_Evangelisationskomitee&oldid=87420.

---

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 202; v. 5, p. 276. All rights reserved.

©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.