EARLY HISTORY of MENNONITES
In the 16th Century, a small group of earnest young believers within the Protestant Reformation in Europe believed that reformers Martin Luther and Huldreich Zwingli had not gone far enough. This small group believed that the New Testament taught that the church should be separate from the state. They believed people should voluntarily follow Christ through adult baptism, rather than join the state church through infant baptism. They were also passionate about sharing their faith with others. In January of 1525, Conrad Grebel led this group of believers in an attempt to recover New Testament Christianity when they baptized one another and verbalized their faith in Jesus Christ at Zurich, Switzerland.
Fired by their new faith, the believers began to evangelize. The movement rapidly spread to South Germany and the Netherlands. The official churches immediately opposed the movement and scoffed at them as "Anabaptizers", which literally means "re-baptizers". The state would not tolerate this change because in essence it defied the government-run church, despite the Anabaptist's strong appeal to Scripture in support of their position. In a short time, many Anabaptist leaders were martyred. Thousands more died gruesome deaths at the hands of their persecutors over the next two generations.
In 1536, Menno Simons converted to Anabaptism in the Netherlands. He traveled throughout northwestern Europe, strengthening and defending the persecuted Anabaptists through his preaching and writing. Eventually, many Anabaptists came to be called Mennonites.
Using the Bible as their guide, early Anabaptists took seriously Christ's command to go into the world to witness to people everywhere, even across national boundaries. Persecution and hardship also scattered the increasing number of Mennonites.
Some trekked across Europe into Poland in the 16th and 17th centuries and then into Russia at the invitation of Catherine the Great in 1789. Others migrated from Europe to North and South America. All were looking for a place to establish homes and churches where they could practice Christian faith as they believed.
Global expansion also came through the mission and service of Mennonites in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today over half of the world's Mennonites are found in India, Congo, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Brazil, and other countries outside of Europe and North America.
In Canada and the United States, some 46 groups claim roots in the Anabaptist movement, including the Mennonite Church, the Mennonite Brethren, the Brethren in Christ, the Amish, and the Hutterites. Beyond local congregational life, Mennonites have established many cooperative ministries, including colleges and seminaries, mutual insurance programs, health services, and aid organizations.


Much of the above information was taken from a brochure published for the Mennonite Church by Faith and Life Press, Newton, Kansas and Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Herald Press, Scottdale, PA, and Waterloo, Ontario. Copyright 1999 by Faith and Life Press. Written by Melodie Davis, Mennonite Media, Harrisonburg, VA.