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Denominations - Protestant

Short profiles of selected Christian denominations in the U.S.

Mennonite/Amish

Evangelical Protestant

The Mennonite/Amish family includes groups that trace their heritage to the 16th century Anabaptist movement in present-day Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. They take their name from Menno Simmons (1496-1561) an early Dutch leader in the movement. Led by Jacob Amman (1644-1711) and supporting stricter disciplines for their members, including the shunning of excommunicated members, the Amish became a separate branch within the Anabaptist movement in the 17th century. The Mennonites and the Amish were early immigrants to the Pennsylvania colony, arriving in the late 17th and early 18th century. Most adherents tend to live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kansas and Iowa. It is estimated that there are over 337,000 adherents in the Mennonite/Amish family. The larger branches of this denominational family are:

  • Amish Groups, unafilliated. Founded (unknown). No website is available. To read more about Amish groups, see https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/.

  • Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (1859 - Present). Founded 1859. The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, was founded in 1859 by John Holdeman, a former member of the Mennonite Church. See https://www.churchofgodinchristmennonite.net/

  • Mennonite Brethren Churches, U.S. Conference of (2000 - Present). Founded 1954. The U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches was founded by Pastor Edward Wuest in 1860 and came to the United States in 1879 under the leadership of Abraham Schellenberg. This group specifically formed in 2000 when the Canadian and U.S. Mennonite Brethren divested the General Conference into two national conferences. See https://usmb.org/

  • Mennonite Church, USA (2002 - Present). Founded 2002. The Mennonite Church, USA, is the largest of the Mennonite bodies in North America and was formed in 2002 from a merger between the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church. See https://www.mennoniteusa.org/

Photo: Mellinger Mennonite Church. Courtesy of https://www.mellingerchurch.org/