A learner’s guide
- Christian family
- Radical Reformation and peace-church tradition
- Historical setting
- Sixteenth-century Swiss, South German, and Dutch reform movements
Historical origin
Where this tradition came from
Anabaptist movements arose during the Radical Reformation and rejected infant baptism and state control of the church. The first adult baptisms took place in Zurich in January 1525, and the Schleitheim Confession (1527) set out the convictions of the early Swiss Brethren. Catholic and Protestant authorities alike persecuted them. Mennonites take their name from Menno Simons; Amish and other groups share parts of this inheritance.
Authority
How teaching is discerned
Scripture is authoritative and is read with Christ at the centre in the discerning community. The teaching and example of Jesus, especially the Sermon on the Mount, guide interpretation, ethics, and church practice.
Salvation
How God saves and transforms
Salvation is God’s gracious work received in faith, producing new birth and a transformed life of following Jesus. Anabaptists resist separating inward belief from obedient discipleship, while denying that obedience earns God’s grace.
The church
Leadership and belonging
Generally congregational and communal, with pastors, elders, deacons, and conferences. Discernment, mutual counsel, church discipline, and voluntary membership are important, although structures vary widely.
Sacraments and ordinances
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
Baptism
Baptism follows a personal confession of faith and commits the believer to Christ and the accountable community. Pouring is usual among most Mennonites, the Amish, and the Hutterites; immersion is mainly a practice of Brethren groups.
Communion / Eucharist
Communion remembers Christ, expresses covenant with the gathered body, and calls members to reconciliation and faithful discipleship. Some communities combine it with foot washing.
Gathered life
What worship may feel like
Scripture, preaching, prayer, congregational singing, testimony, and shared discernment. Historic plain communities worship simply; urban and global Mennonite congregations use a wide range of cultural forms.
Distinctive emphases
- Discipleship modelled on Jesus’ life and teaching
- Believers’ baptism
- Peace and nonviolence
- The church as a visible, accountable community
- Simplicity, service, and reconciliation
Read with care
Internal diversity and a common misconception
Where members differ
Old Order, conservative, evangelical, mainline, and global Anabaptist communities differ in technology, dress, worship, theology, and public engagement. Amish life should not be used as a picture of all Mennonites or Anabaptists.
Do not assume
Anabaptists are not simply Baptists with a similar name. The movements arose largely separately, though early English Baptists in Amsterdam had contact with Dutch Mennonites. Anabaptist identity gives distinctive weight to communal discipleship, nonviolence, and the separation of the church from coercive power.
Go to the source
Read this tradition in its own words
These links lead to confessions, catechisms, or teaching resources produced by churches within this tradition. They open in a new tab so you can keep this guide available.