MB History

The U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches publishes a bi-monthly magazine titled, The Christian Leader. You can also find it online at http://www.usmb.org/christian-leader. Within it's pages are articles on the denomination's college, Tabor College in Hillsboro, KS, and the denomination's seminary, Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, CA. Many of the articles focus on missions and personal faith and discipleship.

This week I read the article, "Proud to be Mennonite" by Jim Aiken (Dec/Jan 2013) and thought it was worth sharing with you. Click the link to read the article online.

The first line struck a cord with me because I thought the same thing (though I probably didn't have the courage to ask it) when I first found out Bob was "Mennonite Brethren". My exposure to Mennonite was the Amish community near Yoder which was only an hour from where I grew up. A couple months later, I made a trip north to spend a weekend with Bob and his family and was pleased to find running water, cars parked in the driveway and them to be "normal". But to my ultimate confusion, a picture on the wall showed Bob's dad in a full beard, the kids (Bob was probably five) in overalls and long dresses, and by all appearances everyone very "old-fashioned". Again, too shy to ask, I wondered about that photo for a long time and if they used to live "that way". (Years later I found out they dressed up like pioneers to celebrate their town's 100th anniversary.)

All that to say, that as our church grows, I know I'm not the only one who has asked the same questions. Many of you didn't grow up Mennonite. Probably didn't even marry into Mennonite Brethren families, but for some divine reason found yourselves at home at First MB Church (or at least at Mom's Carelink - and we're so glad you did!)

So if you've ever wondered about how Mennonite Brethren got its' start and what we believe, take the time to read this article. It's one man's perspective on choosing this faith as his own and a short history lesson on how Mennonite Brethren came to be what it is today.

~Tiffany