Iowa Mennonite School

IMS gathers as a community each morning for chapel. Worship takes place in Celebration Hall except for Tuesdays when the students meet in small groups with a staff/faculty member. Chapels are open to the public.  Feel free to join us!  Chapel begins around 9:45 a.m.

The chapel theme for this year is Un:  a prefix used to form verbs expressing a reversal of some action or to intensify the force of a verb already having such a meaning or the IMS chapel theme for this school year. 

It is understandable why the chapel committee chose this theme. Isn’t following Christ a reversal from society’s direction?  And, isn’t it a goal of a Christian to intensify the force of God in our lives?

This year’s chapel committee members are: Jacey Dehogues, Ting Davidson, Nathan Peters, Rachel Schrock, Sam Swartzendruber, Zach Weiss, Jesse Wenger, Keilah Brokaw, Laura Hochstetler, Reggie Hostetler and Anna Sheffield.  The faculty members are: Marcus Miller, Gloria Yoder and Pam Gerig Unruh (chapel coordinator.)

The weekly themes have included:  Undignified, Unique, Unaware, Unwritten and Unplugged. 

Marcus Miller reflects on the theme Unconformed.

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Spiritual Emphasis Days November 9 – 11

UN-ordinary: created in God’s image  is the focus that Jeff Miller will be using as he speaks to the student body on Nov 9-11 (Spiritual Emphasis days at IMS.) Jeff has a passion for Christ and Christ’s people; especially for people to know Christ.

After graduating from IMS in ’02, Jeff attended Northwestern College in Orange City and then Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.  After graduating from seminary with an M.Div. he felt called to India.  Jeff is presently living in Iowa City. 

Twice a year we set aside a week of chapels for Spiritual Emphasis- a time when we intentionally examine our individual spiritual health and growth. 

Chapels are open to the public.  Chapel time is from  9:45 -10:15 am

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A popular writer and dynamic speaker, James Krabill captures audiences with stories from his years living in West Africa and his passion for the global mission of the church.

Krabill began his mission experience in 1976. James and his wife, Jeanette, spent nearly 14 years living and teaching in Ivory Coast. In Ivory Coast, Krabill taught Bible classes and church history to French-speaking church leaders, and guided mission efforts in six countries as an administrator for West Africa from 1992 to 1996 with the former Mennonite Board of Missions. 

As one of four senior executives with Mennonite Mission Network, Krabill oversees its international ministries and short-term mission and service programs. Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, exists to lead, mobilize and equip the church to, together, share all of Christ with all of creation. With offices in Elkhart, Ind.; Newton, Kan.; and Harrisonburg, Va.; the Mission Network supports ministries in more than 50 countries and 31 U.S. states. 

Chapel begins at 9:46 on Wednesday. As always, the public is invited to attend.

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As part of the International Day of Prayers for Peace students participated in a chapel titled “Passing the Pieces,” originally planned by Chris Riley of the Manor Church of the Brethren in Luray, Virginia. Using sticks, stones, water, flowers, along with scripture and song, students shared about areas of brokenness and hard times in their lives with members of their small groups. Placing the broken sticks and rocks in vases, water was poured over them as a symbol of the cleansing power of Jesus. As a symbol of the peace and blessings Jesus provides in the midst of our brokenness, students placed flowers and grasses in the vases creating several beautiful arrangements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“UNaware” was the theme for chapels for two weeks. The story of Job was presented with puppets.  Job fits the theme both because it’s a story that some may be unaware of and also Job was unaware that Satan had made a deal with God to test and see if Job would renounce his faith in time of trouble. Job’s four friends came to give him comfort and advice on what to do about his suffering. 

Reggie Hostetler played “Job” and his four friends were played by Jacob Bruns, Jameson Lammer, Ben Miller and Dallas Nye. Other parts in the presentation were:  God – Christopher Perez, Satan – Dick Yoder-Short and narrators – Ting Davidson and Jacey Dehouges.

The puppets were borrowed from Gloria Yoder’s father, who made them when he was teaching from the book of Job in his adult Sunday school class.

 

 

 

Small Groups

Each year students sign up to be in a faculty/staff member’s small group. They are then divided by gender into groups of 6-8 per leader. 

The purpose of the groups is to strengthen our spiritual walks with each other through accountability, support, topic discussion, mixing of ages and ideas. Of course, a whole lot of fun mixes in! Whether it’s eating, playing sports, praying, discussing, planning parties and service projects, or enjoying a sleepover together, Chapel Small Groups help build community in various ways.