The Mennonites are a group of Christians who do not believe anyone is actually born into a church denomination; on the contrary, they believe that Christianity is an absolute choice, and that someone makes the decision to follow God’s word from a deep personal belief in the teachings of Christ. Today there are over a million Mennonites, ranging from the “old fashioned” who dress as the Amish do, to the more modern Mennonites, who dress much like those in the general population.
The Mennonites are known as a “peace church.” Their commitment to nonviolence has been a hallmark of the church throughout their 500 year history. The group was named after Menno Simons, whose writings exemplified the work and beliefs of the Mennonite church.
The Mennonites are especially public when disaster strikes. The Mennonite Disaster Service, based in North America, is well-known for swinging into action when natural disasters strike. The Mennonite Central Committee works on a worldwide scale. Both groups provide immediate and long-term assistance to those who are in need. The Mennonites have also become more active in recent years in political and social issues, though they remain steadfastly nonviolent, and refuse to support issues that use violence as a means to an end, no matter the situation or country.
Many believe the Mennonites modeled themselves after the Amish in terms of dress, worship, and other essential issues, but the opposite is true. In 1693, Jacob Amman tried to reform the Mennonite church and make it more rigid and formal, including shunning of those who were not of the same belief system. The Mennonites resisted the change, the Amman’s followers split from the Mennonite Church to form the Amish.
Today there are many different orders of Mennonites. Some Old Order Mennonites turn away from modern conveniences and still use horse and buggy transportation, though some allow tractors to be used for farming large plots of land. On the other end of the spectrum are Mennonites who dress and speak just as the general population, and mingle with those of other religious denominations.