"Every church a mission outpost."
Born in Iowa in the 20th century, Joseph D. "J. D." Graber was both a product of the Mennonite Church of his time and a visionary who helped shape Mennonite identity and engagement with the world. Nearly two decades of work in India reinforced Graber's commitment to missionary witness and convicted him of the need for new attitudes and approaches for a postcolonial era--including in North America, where Graber cultivated the idea that congregations could be empowered to engage in local missions.
Sowing Seeds digs into Graber's promotion of a "new day" in mission that shed colonial, paternalistic thinking and practice in favor of shared responsibility for missions. For Mennonites with a seclusionist posture, this new vision also offered a way to engage the world without forsaking faith values. Graber's advocacy planted seeds for churches rooted in diverse ethnic traditions and cultures, nurturing commitments that reverberated through the church's mission identity and activities even to the present day.
For Mennonites and other Christians whose faith motivates their work and community engagement, the story of "Mr. Missions of the Mennonite Church" provides insight into the development of Anabaptist faith and practice. For scholars seeking to understand the 20th-century growth of North America Mennonite engagement with the world, this biography illuminates initiatives that influenced the emerging global Anabaptist movement.
About the Author :
R. Bruce Yoder has served as co-executive coordinator of African Inter-Mennonite Mission for four years. He has lived and worked intercultural settings in Latin American and West Africa for over two decades, serving in roles of community development, theological education, and church development. His research and writing is focused on the history of 20th-century North American Anabaptist mission engagement and the emergence of world Christianity. He has a PhD in church history and world Christianity from Boston University School of Theology as well as degrees from Goshen College and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary.
Review :
"Sowing Seeds tells the remarkable story of J. D. and Minnie Graber, whose shared vision helped shape the global Anabaptist movement. With clarity and depth, R. Bruce Yoder captures the Grabers' bold call for every congregation to be a mission outpost and the Grabers' conviction that faithful mission requires humility, justice, and partnership across cultures. Starting with the Grabers' experience in India, we can trace their evolving understanding for how to share the gospel through equitable relationships. Their legacy continues to inspire those committed to God's reconciling work in the world. This book is a vital resource for leaders who want to bear witness to the way of Jesus in our diverse, interconnected world."
--David W. Boshart, president of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary
"A small-town, plain coat-wearing Mennonite from rural Iowa sails to India to share the gospel in a land teeming with anticolonial activism. His journey to the other side of the globe--and back--is a fascinating missiological story, expertly told by R. Bruce Yoder."
--David Swartz, professor of history at Asbury Seminary and author of Facing West: American Evangelicals in an Age of World Christianity
"As the first executive secretary of the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities (MBMC), Joseph Daniel Graber played a crucial role in shaping mission initiatives. He advocated for the proposition that each church should function as a mission outpost. His legacy encompasses the promotion of a diverse and global Mennonite identity. Graber's leadership markedly expanded the church's international mission activities, and he was instrumental in advancing postcolonial mission strategies. This noteworthy scholarly contribution is essential reading for those who uphold the mission of God in the world."
--Nelson Okanya, leadership consultant and former president of Eastern Mennonite Missions
"In this well-written and carefully researched biography of a Mennonite missionary couple, Joe and Minnie Graber, R. Bruce Yoder presents a minority perspective on the high era of US missions in the mid-twentieth century. We learn how Mennonite mission leaders challenged their denomination's ethnocentrism and developed an engaged approach to the world that was at the cutting edge of questioning colonial mission practice and pioneered a global partnership approach."
--Kirsteen Kim, PhD, Paul E. Pierson Professor of World Christianity and associate dean for the Center for Missiological Research at Fuller Seminary
"J. D. Graber was the face of missions for many twentieth-century North American Mennonites. And now, in turn, R. Bruce Yoder offers us the face of J. D. Graber--his origins, his love of Christ and the church, and his passion for God's reconciling work in the world. This long-anticipated study fills an important gap in our understanding of Mennonite mission history and the growth of Anabaptist faith families around the world."
--James R. Krabill, mission worker and administrator (1976-2018) with Mennonite Board of Missions, now Mennonite Mission Network
"Through R. Bruce Yoder's clearly written and thoroughly researched biography of J. D. Graber, we discover the twentieth-century transformation of Anabaptist missions from a Eurocentric and paternalistic enterprise into a world Christian movement calling for decentralized, interdependent, and contextualized understandings of what it means to be a Mennonite. As one of the most important leaders in Mennonite missions, Graber's legacy for the goals and values of postcolonial mission work continues to reverberate today. Yoder is to be commended for sharing Joe and Minnie Graber's story in such a thoughtfully analyzed--and enjoyably readable--way."
--Troy Osborne, dean and associate professor of history at Conrad Grebel University College and author of Radicals and Reformers: A Survey of Global Anabaptist History
