Mennonite Brethren Churches, U.S. Conference
The U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches is an association of Mennonite Christians with their beginnings in southern Russia. They are an Evangelical Anabaptist denomination that seeks to glorify God by serving Jesus Christ and His church. They strive to give leadership to ministers of their conference.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches was influenced by the Moravian Brethren and Lutheran Pietism. They seek to emphasize more discipline on prayer and Bible studies.
The first Confession of Faith for the Mennonite Brethren Churches was written in 1873, revised in 1900 and finally published in 1902. The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches adheres to this Confession of Faith as well as the Creeds of the Mennonites.
Members of the church live a very strict conservative life that duplicates their life in Russia. They refuse to give in to Americanization and worldliness. They made their clothes from good materials without lace, frills, or ornaments. Women are not allowed to wear hats but can wear kerchiefs, shawls or bonnets on their heads. The women always wear aprons to church. Children dress like their parents.
Musical instruments and choirs that were introduced to their simple worship around 1940. They do not vote at election nor do they serve on juries. They do not believe in bearing arms in war. They reject the swearing of oaths, and membership in secret societies.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches is located in Hillsboro, Kansas. They own and operate the Tabor College in Kansas, and the Fresno Pacific University in Fresno California, as well as the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary also in Fresno California.
History
A small group of Mennonites in the Ukraine gathered together on January 6, 1860 to find a more disciplined Bible Study and prayer group. They believed in the teaching of Menno Simons, and as a result, addressed an abuse of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as well as church discipline and the lifestyle and leadership of their pastors. The leadership of this group was an ordained preacher and Elder Jacob A. Wiebe. They chose the name the Krimmer Mennonite Brethren.
These Mennonite Brethren migrated from Russia to North America between 1874 and 1880 due to their loss of the freedom of worship as they were being forced by Catherine the Great to fight in the Russians wars. The Krimmer Mennonite Brethren were the first group to receive a passport and arrived in New York on July 15, 1874. They migrated to a village called Gnadenau, Kansas. Their earliest congregations settled in Kansas as well as Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Representatives from Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota met in Henderson Nebraska to form a general conference in 1878. The primary issue for this first meeting in Henderson, Nebraska was to unite the Mennonite Brethren congregations. This gathering established the Mennonite Brethren Church. The Mennonite Brethren Congregations had been established in Nebraska, Kansas, North and South Dakota, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, California, Oregon and Washington, Montana and then spread to Manitoba and Saskatchewan Canada.
The Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Conference was also granted a charter for a home for orphans as well as an Industrial School and Hygienic Home for the Friendless Person. The Krimmer Mennonite Brethren group joined with the Mennonite Brethren group and established the Salem Hospital located in Hillsboro in 1918. The Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Conference joined in the support of the Tabor College Mennonite Brethren Church by appointing a member on the Tabor board in 1940.
November 14, 1960 the Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Conference formally merged with the US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Church.
Belief
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believes that God is in three Persons. They believe God created and sustains the universe and that He alone should be worthy to worship. They believe God is the one true God and the source of all life and that He reigns over all things as the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believe God the Father planned the redemption of humanity and sent the Son Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the world. They believe Jesus proclaimed the reign of God, brings good news to the poor and triumphs over sin through His obedient life, death, and resurrection. They believe God the Holy Spirit empowers believers with new life, indwells them and unites them in one body.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believe God became human in Jesus Christ. They believe Jesus Christ came to restore the world because humans rejected God. They believe Jesus died on the cross and made it possible for humans to accept a renewed relationship with God. They believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead and broke the power of sin and death, and freed humans to live in obedience to the will of God.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believe all Scripture is inspired by God. They believe the Old and New Testaments are the authoritative guide for faith and practice. They interpret the Scripture in the church community as they are guided by the Holy Spirit.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believe God saves all people who put their faith in Jesus Christ. They believe in the obedient life, sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. They believe Jesus Christ delivered people from their sin on earth and redeems them for eternal life in the age to come.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believes the mission of the church is to make disciples of all nations by the calling of people to repent and be baptized. They believe people should love God and their neighbor and share the good news and do acts of love and compassion. They believe the church is the covenant community that has been called by God through Jesus Christ. They believe the Lord’s Day is Sunday and is their day of worship.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believe in two ordinances Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is by immersion. They believe it is a public sign that a person has repented of sin, received forgiveness and has died with Christ and has been raised to a new life through the power of the Holy Spirit. They believe Baptism is a public declaration of the body of Christ that is expressed in the local church.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believe the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance of the atoning death of Jesus Christ. They believe it celebrates forgiveness, a new life and the fellowship as well as the unity of all believers.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believes discipleship is offered to those Jesus calls who has experienced the new birth to follow Him in a life of service to God. They believe the power of the Holy Spirit transforms all believers from their unrighteous pattern of life to obedience with the people of God.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believe that both singleness and marriage honor God and should be blessed by the church. They believe God institutes marriage as a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman for the purpose of companionship and procreation. They believe children are a gift from God and should be nurtured by parents in the ways of God.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believe God has instituted the state to promote justice and maintain laws and order. They believe the primary allegiance of Christians is to the kingdom of Jesus. They believe believers are called to witness against injustice and are obligated to obey laws.
The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believe that God in Christ has reconciled people to Himself as well as to one another. They believe they should be the agents of reconciliation, and should practice love of enemies, and should express the love of Christ by easing suffering and strife. They believe violence and warfare are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ do not believe that they should be called in times of war. The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches believes God is the giver of life and to take human life is wrong.
They believe that Jesus Christ will return triumphantly at the end of this age to destroy all evil powers. They believe God will condemn all who have rejected Jesus Christ to eternal punishment, and unite all believers with Jesus Christ to reign forever with God in glory.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Mennonite Brethren Churches, U.S. Conference:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2006.<https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2759,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006, January) “Mennonite Brethren Churches, U.S. Conference:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2759,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006) “Mennonite Brethren Churches, U.S. Conference:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2759, (accessed).
