Mennonite World Conference | |
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Classification | Evangelicalism |
Orientation | Anabaptist, Mennonites |
Region | 59 countries |
Headquarters | Kitchener, Ontario, Canada |
Origin | 1925 |
Congregations | 10,300 |
Members | 1.47 million |
Missionary organization | Global Mission Fellowship |
Aid organization | Global Anabaptist Service Network (GASN) |
Official website | mwc-cmm |
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The Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is an international Mennonite Anabaptist Christian denomination. Its headquarters are in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
The first Mennonite World Conference was held in Basel in 1925. [1] Its main purpose was to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Anabaptism. An assembly is convened approximately every six or seven years.
Christian Neff (1863–1946), a Mennonite minister in Germany, is often called the "father" of the Mennonite World Conference. Neff, through the Conference of Mennonites in South Germany, issued the call for the first gathering in 1925, and was president of the following meetings in 1930 and 1936. [2]
The MWC prints a quarterly news publication in three languages—Spanish (as Correo), English (Courier), and French (Courrier.) This project began in 1986. The Mennonite World Conference considers that its mission is to (1) be a global community of faith in the Anabaptist-tradition, (2) facilitate relationships between Anabaptist-related churches worldwide, and (3) relate to other Christian world communions and organizations. [3]
The official repository of Mennonite World Conference is the Mennonite Church USA Archives.
According to a census published by the association in 2022, it would have 107 member denominations in 59 countries, and 1,47 million baptized members in 10,300 churches. [4]
The Conference has an Anabaptist confession of faith. [5]
The Global Mission Fellowship (GMF) has 71 mission member organizations. [6]
The Global Anabaptist Service Network (GASN) supports humanitarian aid projects. [7]
Year | Location | Conference Focus |
---|---|---|
1925 | Basel, Switzerland | 400th anniversary of Anabaptism |
1930 | Free City of Danzig | Mennonite Relief Efforts |
1936 | Amsterdam and Elspeet, Netherlands | 400th anniversary of Menno Simons' conversion |
1948 | Goshen, Indiana, and North Newton, Kansas, United States | Relief, Nonconformity to the World, Faith and Life, Missions, Young People's Work, A Young People's Program, the Peace Testimony, Colonization, Institutions and Mennonite Life, and Christian Education [8] |
1952 | Bettingen, Switzerland | The Church of Christ and Her Commission |
1957 | Karlsruhe, West Germany | The Gospel of Jesus Christ in the World |
1962 | Kitchener, Ontario, Canada | The Lordship of Christ |
1967 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | The Witness of the Holy Spirit |
1972 | Curitiba, Brazil | Jesus Christ Reconciles |
1978 | Wichita, Kansas, United States | The Kingdom of God in a Changing World |
1984 | Strasbourg, France | God's People Serve in Hope |
1990 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | Witnessing to Christ in Today's World |
1997 | Calcutta, India | Hear what the Spirit is Saying to the Churches |
2003 | Bulawayo, Zimbabwe | Sharing Gifts in Suffering and in Joy |
2009 | Asunción, Paraguay | Come together in the way of Jesus Christ [9] |
2015 | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States | Walking with God |
2022 | Salatiga, Jepara, Surakarta, Margokerto, Ungaran, Semarang, Indonesia | Following Jesus together across barriers [10] |
Mennonites are a group of Anabaptist Christian church communities tracing their roots to the Radical Reformation. The name is derived from that of one of the early prominent leaders of the Anabaptist movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561). Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radical 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. The original Anabaptist followers had held such beliefs with great conviction, despite persecution by various Roman Catholic and Mainline Protestant states. 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", strict pacifistic physical nonresistance, anti-Catholicism and in general, more emphasis on "true Christianity" involving "being Christian and obeying Christ" as they interpret it from the Holy Bible.
The Missionary Church is an evangelical Christian denomination of Anabaptist origins with Wesleyan and Pietist influences.
Bible Fellowship Church is a conservative pietistic Christian denomination with Mennonite roots centered in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Its denominational leader Donald T. Kirkwood described the denomination as "reformed in theology, Presbyterian in polity, creedal immersionists."
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.
Mennonite Church Canada is a Mennonite denomination in Canada, with head offices in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is a member of the Mennonite World Conference and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
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.
The Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (CCMBC) is a Mennonite Brethren denomination in Canada. It is a member of the Mennonite World Conference and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
Peace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism or Biblical nonresistance. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches:
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.
Meserete Kristos Church is a Mennonite denomination in Ethiopia (P'ent'ay/Evangelical). It is a member of the Mennonite World Conference. The headquarters are in Addis Ababa.
Franconia Mennonite Conference was a conference of Mennonite Church USA based in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, with 45 congregations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont, New York and California and 19 conference related ministries. In February 2020, Franconia Mennonite Conference merged with Eastern District Conference to become Mosaic Mennonite Conference. It is a member of Mennonite World Conference.
The Fellowship of Evangelical Churches (FEC) is an evangelical body of Christians with an Amish Mennonite heritage that is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. It contains 60 churches located in Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Association of Mennonite Evangelical Churches in France is a Mennonite Christian association of churches in France. It is a member of the Mennonite World Conference.
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.
The Weaverland Conference, also called Horning Church or Black-bumper Mennonites, is a Christian denomination of Old Order Mennonites who use cars.
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.
Charity Ministries, also called Charity Christian Fellowship, is a Conservative Anabaptist network of churches that was formed in 1982 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.