Wengerites were an offshoot of the

River Brethren The River Brethren are a group of historically related Anabaptist Christian denominations originating in 1770, during the Radical Pietist movement among German colonists in Pennsylvania. In the 17th century, Mennonite refugees from Switzerl ...

started in

Montgomery County, Ohio Montgomery County is in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. At the 2020 census, the population was 537,309, making it the fifth-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat is Dayton. The county was named in honor of Richard Mo ...

, and peaking at 15 congregations. They broke from the River Brethren in 1836 over issues of closed communion and meetinghouses. They are named for John Wenger, the leader who initiated the separation. In 1861 part of this group joined the

Mennonite Brethren in Christ The Missionary Church is an evangelical Christian denomination of Anabaptist origins with Wesleyan and Pietist influences. Faith and practice The Missionary Church is a Trinitarian body which believes the Bible is the inspired Word of God and au ...

. The remainder became the Pentecostal Brethren in Christ, which joined the

Pilgrim Holiness Church Pilgrim Holiness Church (PHC) or International Apostolic Holiness Church (IAHC) is a Christian denomination associated with the holiness movement that split from the Methodist Episcopal Church through the efforts of Martin Wells Knapp in 1897. It ...

in 1924.

References

Mennonite denominations Religious organizations established in 1836 1836 establishments in Ohio Christian denominations founded in the United States {{Menno-stub