Mennonites are Christians

 

We believe in the lordship and saving grace of Jesus Christ. We yearn to grow more like Christ. We believe in the triune God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

Anabaptists

We are neither Catholic nor Protestant, but we share ties to those streams of Christianity. We cooperate as a sign of our unity in Christ and in ways that extend the reign of God’s Kingdom on earth.  We are known as “Anabaptists” (not anti-Baptist) — meaning “rebaptizers.”

 

Menno Simons

While we were first called “Anabaptists” in the 1500s, we were later nicknamed  “Mennonites” after one of our early leaders, Menno Simons, a Catholic priest who aligned himself with the Anabaptists in 1536. The nickname stuck. And after 500 years, we’re still known as the Mennonites.

 

Mennonites are not

 

a closed group

Mennonites value the sense of family and community that comes with a shared vision of following Jesus Christ, accountability to one another and the ability to agree and disagree in love. We are not a closed group. You are welcome to join us as together we follow Jesus and pursue Christ’s purpose in the world. Our vision is one of healing and hope. God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to grow as communities of grace, joy and peace, so that God’s healing and hope flow through us to the world.

 

Amish

We find that many people asking about Mennonites are actually thinking of the Amish or “Old Order Mennonites.” Mennonites and Amish come from the same Anabaptist tradition begun in the 16th century, but there are differences in how we live out our Christian values. The distinctiveness of the Amish is in their separation from the society around them. They generally shun modern technology, keep out of political and secular involvements and dress plainly.                                                                                                                            Adapted from: mennoniteusa.org