All pics on this page is from The Martyr’s Mirror, a collection of memories of Anabaptist martyrdoms from the 16th century.
Are mennonites a rare species of insect? An ancient tribe that lived near the Hittites? A strange cult that doesn’t believe in driving cars? Mennonites are none of these things. In fact, Mennonites are a group of Christians that date from the early 1500s that are distinguished from both Roman Catholics and Protestants.
Mennonite Origins
When Martin Luther first began his reformation of the Roman Catholic church in 1519, there were many who agreed with his focus on faith and Scripture, and they called themselves “evangelicals”. There was a small group in Zurich, Switzerland that felt that the evangelicals were not focusing enough on what the Bible really said, especially concerning that baptism is for those who have faith, not for infants. They were called Anabaptists (which means “re-baptizers”) because they baptized those who were supposedly baptized as infants. Because the Anabaptists held to these positions in opposition to both the Catholic and Evangelical (or “protestant”) governments, which legalized religious beliefs, the Anabaptists were declared criminals and arrested, tortured and killed by all governments in Europe for the next 100 years. Even evangelical leaders such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli encouraged political leaders to arrest and kill Anabaptists.
Fleeing persecution and seeking to spread the gospel around the world caused Anabaptists to spread all over Europe, from the Netherlands to Russia. Later, the Anabaptists moved to America, seeking to hold their beliefs without persecution. As they came to the United States, the immigration officials saw that most Anabaptists carried a writing of Menno Simons, a popular Anabaptist writer of the mid 1500s, and so they labeled them “Mennonists” or, later, “Mennonites”.
Today there are more than a million people who are a part of Anabaptist or Mennonite communities. There are many Anabaptist groups, including the Mennonite Church, the Brethren in Christ, the Amish and the Hutterites. More than half of all the Mennonites in the world are found in Africa, India, Indonesia and Brazil. Mennonites have established many cooperative ministries including international aid organizations, health services, mutual insurance programs, service to the needy in North America, and conscientious objector programs.
Mennonite Beliefs
Many Mennonite beliefs are similar to any evangelical beliefs, such as the Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists or Presbyterians, as below:
Scripture is the supreme authority over the church.
God is able to do what he wants, is holy, judges the wicked but is merciful to humanity.
God the Father created the universe and guides his people.
Jesus is the Christ and is both God and human.
The Holy Spirit is God present with his people.
Salvation is a gift of God’s grace, based on what Jesus did on the cross, that must be received by faith.
The Lord’s Supper and baptism are sacraments of God’s people.
The church must spread the gospel and establish communities around the world.
The Lord Jesus will return at any time to judge the wicked and reward the righteous in him.
Mennonite distinctives
In addition to the beliefs that Mennonites have in common with other evangelicals, Mennonites also firmly adhere to the word of Jesus above all other teaching, which leads us to the following beliefs that are not necessarily shared by other evangelicals:
The teaching of Jesus and the apostles takes precedence over the Law and the Prophets. Thus, Mennonites do not hold to a “flat” Bible, but see the teaching of Jesus and the apostles as central, and the rest of Scripture being interpreted through the teaching of Jesus. (Hebrews 1:1-3)
The end of all Bible study is to do what it says. We can believe in the Bible, but unless we do it, then our faith is dead. The true believer in Jesus is not just one who agrees with the word of Jesus, but who lives it out. (James 2:14-26; Matthew 7:21-27)
Believers of Jesus must be faithful to the teaching of Jesus, even if this brings them into conflict with the authorities placed over them by God. (Acts 5:29)
Baptism is for believers only. Baptism may not be given to infants or family members of believers in Jesus, but only for those who are firmly committed to Jesus for their whole lives. (Mark 16:16)
Each local congregation is qualified and responsible to decide what should be taught to it. Local congregations should also call, support and discipline their own pastors.
Believers of Jesus are literally to love their enemies and not to resist evildoers. This means that Christians cannot participate in the military. This separates all disciples from the world system which demands warfare and violence. (Matthew 5:38-48)
Believers in Jesus must share what they have with other believers who have needs. (Luke 12:33; 16:9) This means that believers need to live simply, in order to reserve their extra resources to share with others.
Why is Anawim a Mennonite congregation?
Anawim desires to fellowship with and be accountable to a group of believers larger than itself. But it wants to be accountable to believers who acknowledge both the foundation of Scripture and the varieties of the work of the Spirit, so that our giftings and uniqueness are not considered unacceptable. Anawim also desires to be a part of a group that recognizes that the cross of Christ is not just to be held as the means of our salvation, but is also our example of the Christian life. In its desire to live out the will of God, its service to others, its humility, its faithfulness despite persecution, and its position against hostility and vengeance, the Mennonite church has shown itself to live out the cross of Christ, even as we desire to. We affirm the Anabaptist/Mennonites to be our brethren in Christ and we gladly fellowship with them in communication, resources and love. We also fellowship with others who are faithful to Jesus in other churches: evangelical, peace, charismatic, Catholic and Orthodox churches. We are open to learning from and networking with anyone who takes Jesus seriously. But we hold a special connection with the Mennonite congregations.
If you’d like to know more about Mennonites,
Check out the Mennonite Confession of Faith
Find out more about what it means to be a modern Anabaptist
