Little Embassies of Heaven

Strength to Strength Sisters welcomed Tania Taylor to discuss how our communities can be a piece of heaven on earth.

Getting the bigger picture of our calling as sisters, to further Christ’s kingdom through the local church body.

One of the biggest threats to the church in any given age or place is that of nationalism. How easily we can become sidelined and distracted by the transient problems and interests of our earthly parent country, entangling ourselves with all manner of political causes and ideals that have absolutely nothing to do with our calling to be pilgrims and strangers in this life. When this happens, we ultimately experience confusion and impotence. Where does our allegiance lie? We as Christians have a distinct calling to represent the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Our calling to represent Christ’s Kingdom is best promoted through the everyday expression of local church life. When we get this bigger picture, we can invest ourselves in our local churches with abandon, and in the process, fulfill our divine calling as sisters to help represent little embassies of Heaven—Christ’s Kingdom displayed on earth, just as it is in Heaven.

An interactive question-and-answer period follows.

I’ve been married to Dean Taylor for 35 years. We have 6 children; 3 are married and we have 3 grandchildren, all boys. Two years ago we brought my 86-year-old mom here to live with us at our home in Sugarcreek, Ohio. Two of our children still live at home, and one of our married sons and his family live in a little house in our basement. Our “baby,” is 19, and just started the 2-year teacher apprentice program at Faith Builders in Guys Mills, PA.

We are members of Crosspointe Mennonite Church here in Baltic, Ohio, where my husband serves on the ministry team. We’ve been working in a ministry to refugees on Lesvos Island, Greece, since 2017, and in cooperation with Mine Road Mennonite Church and CAM since 2018. Most recently my husband has taken on a new role as president of Zollikon Institute here in Sugarcreek. Zollikon is a college and trade school dedicated to serving the needs of the Anabaptist community.

I was born in Texas and raised in the Assemblies of God Church. I met my husband, Dean, in high school, and we were married in 1987. We then served together in the US Army in Germany, where we eventually came under conviction about our role as Christians in the army. Our whole lives changed when we began to ask ourselves the life-changing question, “What if Jesus really meant every word He said?” This encounter with Jesus resulted in our leaving the army as Conscientious Objectors. Since then we have been on a journey to follow Christ and embrace the Anabaptist community to help further Christ’s Kingdom here on earth.

I’m passionate about serving the needs of my family and the people around me, encouraging others in their faith journeys, and helping to build meaningful connections between all the wonderful people I meet. I think 2 Timothy 2:22 best sums up my passion: “to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”