Mennonites are a group of Anabaptist Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name Mennonites is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of the Holy Roman Empire, present day Netherlands. Menno Simons became a prominent leader within the wider Anabaptist movement and was a contemporary of Martin Luther (1483–1546) and Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560). Through his writings about the Reformation Simons articulated and formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss Anabaptist founders as well as early teachings of the Mennonites founded on the belief in both the mission and ministry of Jesus. Formal Mennonite beliefs were codified in the Dordrecht Confession of Faith (1632), which affirmed "the baptism of believers only, the washing of the feet as a symbol of servanthood, church discipline, the shunning of the excommunicated, the non-swearing of oaths, marriage within the same church", nonresistance, and in general, more emphasis on "true Christianity" involving "being Christian and obeying Christ" as they interpret it from the Holy Bible.
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, also called Holdeman Mennonite, is a Christian Church of Anabaptist heritage. Its formation started in 1859 under its first leader, a self-described prophet named John Holdeman (1832–1900), who was a baptized Mennonite. The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite is Conservative Mennonite that has distanced itself from other Conservative Mennonites because of its one true church doctrine. In 2021, the church claimed to have 27,118 baptized members.
The Rosedale Network of Churches is a Christian body of Mennonite churches in the Anabaptist tradition. Rosedale Network of Churches was originally formed in 1910 by a group of Amish Mennonites to promote unity while preserving autonomy of the local congregation.
The Alliance of Mennonite Evangelical Congregations (AMEC) is an association of conservative evangelical Mennonite churches. The organization was officially formed in 2002 over concerns relating to the merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church.
The Mennonite Church USA is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the United States. Although the organization is a recent 2002 merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church, the body has roots in the Radical Reformation of the 16th century.
The Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches (FEBC) is a small evangelical Christian denomination with an Anabaptist Mennonite heritage. Most of the denomination's approximately 5000 members are in congregations located in the U.S. and Canada.
Amish Mennonites came into existence through reform movements among North American Amish mainly between 1862 and 1878. These Amish moved away from the old Amish traditions and drew near to the Mennonites, becoming Mennonites of Amish origin. Over the decades, most Amish Mennonites groups removed the word "Amish" from the name of their congregations or merged with Mennonite groups.
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) is an Anabaptist Christian seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, affiliated with Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada. It was formerly known as Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary until its name was changed in 2012.
The General Conference Mennonite Church (GCMC) was a mainline association of Mennonite congregations based in North America from 1860 to 2002. The conference was formed in 1860 when congregations in Iowa invited North American Mennonites to join together in order to pursue common goals such as higher education and mission work. The conference was especially attractive to recent Mennonite and Amish immigrants to North America and expanded considerably when thousands of Russian Mennonites arrived in North America starting in the 1870s. Conference offices were located in Winnipeg, Manitoba and North Newton, Kansas. The conference supported a seminary and several colleges. In the 1990s the conference had 64,431 members in 410 congregations in Canada, the United States and South America. After decades of cooperation with the Mennonite Church, the two groups reorganized into Mennonite Church Canada in 2000 and Mennonite Church USA in 2002.
Rosedale Bible College (RBC) is a private evangelical Anabaptist junior Bible college in Rosedale, Ohio. RBC offers an Associate in Biblical Studies accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education. The college is owned by the Rosedale Network of Churches, a coalition of roughly 120 widely scattered churches within the Mennonite family of faith, and united by an evangelical-Anabaptist theology.
The Mennonite Christian Fellowship churches, or just Fellowship churches, are an Amish Mennonite constituency within the conservative Anabaptist faith and tradition. The group is theologically and historically similar to the Beachy Amish Mennonite constituency. They are somewhat closer in thought to the Conservative Mennonites in matters of doctrine and conservatism.
The Chortitz Heritage Church is a former Mennonite church building located in the Canadian postal district of Randolph, Manitoba. The building was home to the Randolph Chortitzer Mennonite Church, one of the first Mennonite congregations in western Canada. Established in 1876 by Mennonite immigrants arriving from the Bergthal Colony in Russia, the original building was destroyed by fire and replaced by a new building in 1897, which still stands today.
The Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church, also called Wenger Mennonites, is the largest Old Order Mennonite group to use horse-drawn carriages for transportation. Along with the automobile, they reject many modern conveniences, while allowing electricity in their homes and steel-wheeled tractors to till the fields. Initially concentrated in eastern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, their numbers had grown to 22,305 people resided in eight other states as of 2015. They share the pulpit with the Ontario Mennonite Conference but have some differences in Ordnung.
Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations.
Lancaster Mennonite Conference (LMC) is a historic body of Mennonite churches mainly concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. While including churches in other regions of the United States, it also has congregations in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. The conference was briefly (2002-2015) associated with the newly formed Mennonite Church USA. The LMC has been a member of the Mennonite World Conference since 2018.
College Mennonite Church (CMC) is a Mennonite Church located in Goshen, Indiana, and a member of the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
The Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church and Related Areas is a Church of Conservative Mennonites organized in 1969 as conservatives withdrew from the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. As of 1996 it was the largest Conservative Mennonite group.
The Virginia Old Order Mennonite Conference, also called Cline Mennonites or Cline-Showalter group, is an Old Order Mennonite group to use horse-drawn carriages for transportation. It separated from the Virginia Mennonite Conference in 1901. The members of the group speak English only, unlike almost all other horse and buggy Old Order Mennonite groups, who speak Pennsylvania German as their first language. In recent years the group sometimes uses the name "Riverdale Old Order Mennonite Church".
The John Dan Wenger Mennonites are an Anabaptist Christian denomination that belongs to the Old Order Mennonites. They use horse and buggy transportation and are mainly located in Virginia. Under the leadership of Bishop John Dan Wenger, they separated from the Virginia Old Order Mennonite Conference in either 1952 or 1953.
Old Order Anabaptism is a collection of communities that have preserved the old ways of Anabaptist Christian religion and lifestyle.
