What's a Mennonite?

Mennonites are the spiritual descendents of a group of 16th-century Swiss, German, and Dutch church reformers known as the “Anabaptists,” which means “re-baptizers.” The Anabaptists in the Netherlands were eventually called “Mennonites,” after one of their leaders, Menno Simons.

As a result of their careful reading of the Bible, Anabaptists came to believe that a person should be baptized only when they are old enough to understand what baptism signifies--the acceptance of God’s grace, and a commitment to live like Jesus Christ and be accountable to the church as his "ambassadors" on earth.
Their beliefs put Anabaptists at odds with the state church,
  for whom the practice of infant baptism had basically come to represent registration with and allegiance to the state. Consequently, Anabaptists were branded and persecuted as heretics and traitors, forcing them to flee to places like the U.S. and Canada where they could have greater religious freedom.

Eventually, the Mennonites began finding their way to North America. Some came directly from Switzerland, others via Poland or Russia. Some came as early as the 17th century, others as late as the 19th century. Some settled in parts of the eastern United States (notably Pennsylvania), in the central plains states, and others in Canada and even South America.

Mennonites today continue to identify with our Anabaptist ancestors. Like them, we think of the Church as a community of accountability, both to each other and to Christ. We identify with the way of peace, and choose allegiance to the way of Christ over allegiance to worldly powers. We emphasize the importance of loving God, and our neighbor as ourselves--love that is best expressed through compassionate service to others, both across the street and around the world.

Like all denominations and churches, the Mennonite Church is far from perfect. But our God is a God of patience, love and grace, a God who continually calls diverse peoples to be His hands and feet in the world.