My fellowship has a more casual and informal approach to membership. You simply attend services and you can pretty much consider yourself a member.

Is there any formality to follow where I can “officially” join the church? In other words, I would be able to walk into any congregation (progressive or conservative) and be considered a practicing Mennonite?

So I really want to know about the Amish community so I’m hoping to learn something from people you are ex Amish (I am aware that Amish people don’t use phones) any information would be awesome

Do most actually read the bible and understand that the two stories about Jesus' birth don't match?

Do they know that most critical scholars accept the pastoral epistles to be forgeries or that the gospels were un-named and were attributed to authors unknown?

Which version do they use? Is their bible continuing to update based on discoveries of more ancient versions of the gospel? Do they read the gospels not included in the bible? Do they understand the gospels came after Paul's letters?

I swear every single one I’ve been to has smelled exactly the same and that there is a distinct difference between them and other Protestant churches. Every time I go to one I’m transported to the smell of my Grandma’s house which had a very similar smell. Just for fun, but it’s just so interesting!

If Mennonites are against self defense, would you just keep it to yourself or would they try to enforce it on others as well. Like would you respect the right of other people (like non christians or other christian denomination) to defend themselves, or would you try hard to prevent other from defending themselves

Growing up, my Mum, whose parents were Mennonites from Russia, always referred to her ethnic background as "German". So did every other Mennonite I knew.

But these so-called "Russian Mennonites" trace their origins, not to Germany, but to the Netherlands in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. They eventually fled persecution to German-speaking West Prussia (now Poland) and later to South Russia (now Ukraine).

I've done numerous DNA tests (23andMe, Ancestry, MyHeritage) which show the bulk of my genetic origins to be "Dutch" or "Netherlands" -- not "German" or "Germany".

Of particular interest, I have even read ship manifests from the 1920s that list "Dutch" next to the ethnic origins of my ancestors and other Mennonites who came to Canada from Russia -- not "German" although some, indeed, stated "German".

I am assuming that it might be a case of these Mennonites being "genetically" (for lack of a better word) Dutch, but culturally German, since after their arrival in Prussia they would have adopted the German language and customs.

On a modern-day map of Europe, our ancestors never actually lived in what is today Germany, yet it seems to be the "homeland" of the Mennonite people.

What are your favorite Mennonite food traditions? For instance, I always love love love my mom's peppernuts once December hits. My kids agree it's not really Christmas time until they smell and eat Grandma's Peppernuts. I also love bierocks any time of the year. My next baking project is going to be conquering zweiback. I can never get them to stay upright while they prove and bake lol.

Hello, I live in a small town in Illinois. There is a church named “cypress creek Mennonite church” it is located in Olmsted IL.

However upon looking I cannot find anything at all that this church exists besides a few photos and one google review.

I would like to visit a Anabaptist church as I’ve never been to one and the theology is seeming to align with me and my wife’s beliefs more and more as we grow in marriage and mature.

We would just like an idea of what to expect and where on the scale this church falls.

Edit: we are too shy to call and ask a lot of questions to not show up as we’ve been told outsiders are sometimes not welcome at some congregations.

Here's episode 3 of the Anabaptist Origins series (I didn't link the second one). This one delves into the life of Sattler and goes over, and visits, the Schleitheim Confession. Enjoy! Great info.

Do Mennonite teen-agers do Rumspringa? Or is it only an Amish tradition?

Edited days later to say, I was just contacted by my pastor and he is putting on an orientation/membership class and asked if I was interested. So there's my church's answer. I plan on participating!

I'll preface this by saying I will ask my pastor about this as well, but curious if this is a church specific question or if there are other guidelines (MCUSA if it matters).

In the future I plan on both membership and baptism (I was baptized Catholic as a toddler). But which comes first? Are you baptized as Anabaptist prior to becoming a church member, or does membership "allow" you a baptism by that church? Does the order even matter?

Is there a universal stance on Communion among mennonites (symbolic or real presence) or does it vary from church to church?

It’s a biography of a Mennonite missionary among the Cheyenne of Oklahoma written and signed by his daughter.

Sylvia is a Mennonite who went to Africa married an African man. Their friend Eve Christine has her own channel. Eve has such an odd personality. Sylvia changes her accent continually through each video. It’s like I can’t help but to keep watching but I’m not sure why !

As a follow-up to the trailer I posted a few days back, the first episode of the series has been posted (actually a couple days ago). Go watch! Great historical info in this one.

Hi everyone, I am going to be attending the local Mennonite church for the first time. I have not texted them in advance, I just want to show up to see how they would usually attend. I will be dressed in my old Mormon attire, white shirt and black pants. Anything I should know in advance. The service starts in a few hours. Thanks!

Has anyone subbed to the Anabaptist Origins YouTube channel? They will be doing a multi part series retracting the steps of the early Anabaptists. Looks interesting. I've included a link to the trailer.

I was surprised to find there was no audiobook version of Martyrs Mirror available through my public library or Audible. I did find a 500+ part YouTube reading that seems like it would be very clunky to listen to in the car. This seems like it would be a great project for MennoMedia or someone to pickup.

I feel a calling to pursue ministry. However, I do not have a mdiv and I am not in a position where I can take out more student loans for higher ed.

Does Mennonite Church USA offer seminarians scholarships to cover tuition and/or room and board? Does anyone have any experience with this?