The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (USMB) is an association of

Mennonite Brethren The Mennonite Brethren Church is an evangelical Mennonite Anabaptist movement with Wiktionary:congregation, congregations. History The conference was established among Plautdietsch language, Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites in 1860. Durin ...

Churches in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Background

On January 6, 1860, a small group of Mennonites in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, influenced by Moravian Brethren and

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

, seeking greater emphasis on discipline, prayer and Bible study, met in the village of Elisabeththal,

Molotschna Molotschna Colony or Molochna Colony was a Russian Mennonite settlement in what is now Zaporizhzhia Oblast in Ukraine. Today, the central village, known as Molochansk, has a population less than 10,000. The settlement is named after the Molochna R ...

and formed the ''Mennonite Brethren Church''. Mennonite Brethren were among the migration of Mennonites from Russia to North America between 1874 and 1880, settling mainly in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. The earliest congregations in the United States were gathered in Kansas in 1874. In October 1879, representatives from those four states gathered in Henderson, Nebraska, to form a general conference. This general conference met annually until 1909; at which time the meetings were changed to every three years. The first Mennonite Brethren congregation in Canada was founded in Winkler, Manitoba, in 1888 as a result of mission work from the United States. From 1923 to 1929, many Mennonite Brethren migrated from Russia to Canada, and some went to South America. In 1954, the desire of the Canadian churches for independence brought about the formation of two "area conferences" (as opposed to one general conference) of the Mennonite Brethren of North America - the subject of this article and the

Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches 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. Offices of the Canadian Conference of Menn ...

. The Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Conference formally merged with this body on November 14, 1960.

Belief and practices

The first confession of faith of the Mennonite Brethren was written in 1873, revised in 1900 and published in 1902. The USMB also esteems the historic creeds of the Mennonites. Their confession of faith reveals the churches of the US Conference accept God in three persons; the divinity, humanity, virgin birth, atonement, resurrection, ascension and return of Jesus; the Bible as the inspired word of God; the fall of man and his salvation through the atoning work of Christ; the

Lord's Day In Christianity, the Lord's Day refers to Sunday, the traditional day of communal worship. It is the first day of the week in the Hebrew calendar and traditional Christian calendars. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the ...

(Sunday) as a day of worship; and the resurrection of all men, either to eternal punishment or eternal happiness with God. The Mennonite Brethren Church holds two ordinances -

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

and the Lord's Supper. Water baptism by immersion is the mode administered by local congregations, but they may receive on confession of faith persons who have been baptized by other modes. Those baptized as infants must receive baptism from a local Mennonite Brethren congregation on their profession of faith. Believers who have confessed their faith in Jesus Christ and understand the meaning of the Lord's Supper are invited to participate, though the understanding of the Mennonite Brethren is that baptism should precede participation in the communion service. USMB members reject the swearing of oaths, membership in secret societies, and bearing of arms in warfare. The church allows alternative types of service during times of war. Organization includes a general assembly held every two years, to which delegates are sent by local congregations to elect people to serve on the Board of Church Ministries and other offices. A board of some type governs each ministry of the U.S. Conference.

Members and congregations

In 2003 there were Mennonite Brethren congregations in more than 20 countries. The largest conferences are located in India and Congo. Offices of the ''US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches'' are located in Hillsboro, Kansas. They own and operate the higher education institutions of Tabor College, Kansas, Fresno Pacific University, and the Fresno Pacific University Biblical Seminary. In 2003, the Mennonite Brethren had 188 congregations in the United States, with 26,219 members. In 2018 there were 34,857 baptized members in 200 congregations.

Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Conference

The ''Krimmer (or Crimean) Mennonite Brethren Church'' was founded September 21, 1869, by Jacob A. Wiebe (1839-1921), the outgrowth of the Kleine Gemeinde revival in a village near

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. Unlike the majority of Mennonites, this body adopted triune forward immersion as the mode of baptism. They left for America as a group in 1874, arriving in New York on July 15. They eventually settled in Marion County, Kansas, and founded the village of Gnadenau. The body incorporated as the ''Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Church of North America'' in 1917. At the time of the merger with the Mennonite Brethren (1960), the Krimmer Church represented 11 congregations with almost 2000 members.

Notes

References

*''A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church'', by John A. Toews *''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', J. Gordon Melton, editor *''Handbook of Denominations in the United States'', by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, and Craig D. Atwood *''Mennonite Encyclopedia'', Cornelius J. Dyck, Dennis D. Martin, et al., editors * *''Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches'', National Council of Churches

External links

* {{National Association of Evangelicals Mennonite denominations Religious organizations established in 1869 Members of the National Association of Evangelicals Christian denominations founded in the United States