Kevin Gallagher (left) and Amanda Tarntino, young adult members of Corning (New York) Mennonite Fellowship, pose at the rummage sale the church held to raise funds for their service in Guinea-Bissau and Wales. Photo: Martha Manikas-Foster

Small church rallies to send two of its own into missions

CORNING, New York – Harold Miller didn’t know whether to be excited or scared.

Pastor of Community Mennonite Fellowship (CMF) near the Pennsylvania/New York border, Miller had always been an enthusiastic missions supporter. So he was genuinely pleased to see two young adults from the church volunteering to serve through Eastern Mennonite Missions.

But in August as fund-raising was grinding slowly along, Miller said he became worried and anxious.

Then in September after both volunteers had already left for pre-field training, Miller sent the following joyful note to Stacy Nofziger, department manager for Discipleship Ministries (EMM's short-term sending department) at EMM:

“We were in the middle of trying to raise money to send Amanda Tarntino as a mission intern to Wales and Kevin Gallagher in Youth Evangelism Service to Guinea-Bissau. One of them would be a lot for our small church (around 60 regular attenders) to send, and yet we were trying to send two. We were at 50 percent of their support, and unsure how to get very much higher.

Somehow the Lord pulled it off! We are now at 90 percent. A family in our fellowship gave generously; Kevin sent out a round of letters that have gotten a remarkable result; several pledges came from you folks at EMM; and we got a large anonymous check from Mennonite Foundation.

Instead of feeling saddled by an impossibly large fund-raising burden, which threatened to darken and dampen our excitement for mission, we're enjoying the thrill of partnering with our unlimited God in his kingdom work! Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.”

Jimm Derksen, associate director of Human Resources at EMM, worked closely with Amanda Tarntino, the mission intern. “I am thrilled to see this type of partnership between missionaries’ home congregations and EMM,” said Derksen. “We’re all in this together.

“When I realized how the congregation and the volunteers were struggling, I sent out an e-mail to all EMM staff. I don’t know how many made personal contributions, but it was truly awesome to get this note and see how God was moving many different people who knew about Kevin and Amanda’s vision for service – and the need for funds.”

Kevin Gallagher is serving on the first Youth Evangelism Service team to Guinea-Bissau in West Africa, and Amanda Tarntino, a mission intern, is assisting Alan and Carol Wert in a new house church planting initiative in Ynysybwl, Wales.

Their home congregation, Community Mennonite Fellowship in Corning, New York, grew out of Mennonite Disaster Service work in the aftermath of flooding and destruction precipitated by Hurricane Agnes in 1972. In 1974 the emerging church chose its first pastor and held its first baptism. Also in that year an Eastern Mennonite Missions Voluntary Service unit began in Corning and neighboring Elmira. Over the next 20 years more than 100 volunteers shared God’s love with people in need in the Corning community.

In 1986 the congregation built its current facility. In 2002 they sent four families to begin a congregation in Dundee, 45 minutes north of Corning. In the summer of 2006, 11 youth from CMF served on staff at Penn-York Christian Camp in nearby Ulysses, Pa.

CMF is a member of the New York Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA, an EMM partner conference.

-Jewel Showalter

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