|
| |
| Mennonite Brethren History |
|
|
|
 |
| Menno Simons |
North Fresno Church is affiliated with the Mennonite Brethren denomination. The history of the
Mennonite Brethren denomination dates back almost five centuries to the Protestant
Reformation. Well-known reformers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli called
for a return to the faith of the New Testament. Menno Simons, a Catholic Priest in Holland,
joined in that reform movement. Together with several reformers in Switzerland, they called for
a genuine rebirth on the part of the Catholics and Protestants along with a new life of obedience
to the teachings of the New Testament. The public witness of this new birth was to be believer’s
baptism. In Europe, where most persons had been baptized as infants, this called for a re-baptism
as adults. Because of this, the participants in this movement were given the name “Anabaptists”
(rebaptizers). Menno Simons became an influential leader of the Anabaptists and drew many people
to faith in Christ. The members of the new movement simply called themselves “brothers,” or
“followers of Jesus.” Soon, however, they were nicknamed “Mennonites” or followers of Menno
Simons. The label stuck, and today most Anabaptists are usually called Mennonites.
Missionary zeal was strong among the Anabaptists and soon they were found in many places throughout
Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Because of frequent and even fierce persecution,
a sizeable number died gruesome deaths. Persecution and a promise of religious freedom caused many
Mennonites to immigrate to other countries in search of freedom and a peaceful life. Some fled to
the United States while others fled first to Prussia (present day Poland), and later to Russia. In
1860, a spiritual renewal occurred among the Russian Mennonites and a new group formed. At first
they were simply known as the “brethren.” Eventually they became known as the “Mennonite Brethren.”
In 1874 Mennonite Brethren began to immigrate to the United States, once again in search of freedom
of worship and a peaceful life. They settled in Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, California,
and Saskatchewan. In the mid 1920's, another large group emigrated from Russia to South America and
Canada. By 1879 the Mennonite Brethren pioneers had organized a conference of churches to provide
fellowship, maintain unity in doctrine and practice, and carry out their mission in the world. From
its small beginnings, the Mennonite Brethren Church has grown to include around 212,000 believers in
20 countries of the world.
Historically, Mennonite Brethren have been a people of mission. As early as 1884, funds were gathered
to send missionaries to India. In the same year the first church-sponsored school was founded on the
Kansas prairies. Today the mission is extensive. Most of it is carried out by regional groups of
churches called “conferences.” In the United States there are five such conferences known as districts
(Pacific, Central, Southern, Latin American and North Carolina). They focus primarily on church
planting, congregational care ministries, schools and camping. There are similar regional conferences
in Canada and national conferences in countries such as Congo, Angola, Germany, Austria, Spain,
Portugal, India, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Paraguay, Panama, Venezuela, Russia,
and Lithuania.
|
|
|