In my search for Anabaptist churches, after many intentional months, I've found myself looking at "Christian Fellowship" churches. It was not easy!!! By the grace of God I came upon them through meeting people and hearing about these churches. But as you can guess, finding out about these churches is no easy task for a seeker. The name itself isn't very "Googleable", and they seem pretty averse to big denominational structures, so there isn't much of an umbrella organization with a website or any other accessible information. They are also averse to many labels, and don't like "Mennonite" as a label, but when pressed to define themselves, they have all offered the term "anabaptist" as a label. They cooperate with other Christian Fellowship churches and Mennonite churches, but this still doesn't make them easy to find.
Is this a good place to discuss these churches, help others find out more about them, and ask for information? Or should I start a new thread?
There is a database of such churches (if you send me a PM, I’ll be glad to look them up for you). For various reasons some churches don’t want to be searchable online.
My church group has two churches in upstate NY: one near Ithaca and one farther north. You can find out more information by calling the Gospel Tracts office at (620) 345-2533.
In my search for Anabaptist churches, after many intentional months, I've found myself looking at "Christian Fellowship" churches. It was not easy!!! By the grace of God I came upon them through meeting people and hearing about these churches. But as you can guess, finding out about these churches is no easy task for a seeker. The name itself isn't very "Googleable", and they seem pretty averse to big denominational structures, so there isn't much of an umbrella organization with a website or any other accessible information. They are also averse to many labels, and don't like "Mennonite" as a label, but when pressed to define themselves, they have all offered the term "anabaptist" as a label. They cooperate with other Christian Fellowship churches and Mennonite churches, but this still doesn't make them easy to find.
Is this a good place to discuss these churches, help others find out more about them, and ask for information? Or should I start a new thread?
Are these ‘Christian Fellowship’ churches the same ones who are called ‘Fellowship’ churches? of the conservative Beachy flavor?
In my search for Anabaptist churches, after many intentional months, I've found myself looking at "Christian Fellowship" churches. It was not easy!!! By the grace of God I came upon them through meeting people and hearing about these churches. But as you can guess, finding out about these churches is no easy task for a seeker. The name itself isn't very "Googleable", and they seem pretty averse to big denominational structures, so there isn't much of an umbrella organization with a website or any other accessible information. They are also averse to many labels, and don't like "Mennonite" as a label, but when pressed to define themselves, they have all offered the term "anabaptist" as a label. They cooperate with other Christian Fellowship churches and Mennonite churches, but this still doesn't make them easy to find.
Is this a good place to discuss these churches, help others find out more about them, and ask for information? Or should I start a new thread?
Are these ‘Christian Fellowship’ churches the same ones who are called ‘Fellowship’ churches? of the conservative Beachy flavor?
No; I am fairly sure it's the remains of the church planting efforts of Charity Christian Fellowship, or the Charity movement, or whatever it is/was. But honestly, there isn't much continuity anymore between the Charity church/movement and these Christian Fellowship churches today.
I think David Bercot's church in south central PA is a Christian Fellowship church, but it's not guaranteed that there is a continuity/connection there either.
In my search for Anabaptist churches, after many intentional months, I've found myself looking at "Christian Fellowship" churches. It was not easy!!! By the grace of God I came upon them through meeting people and hearing about these churches. But as you can guess, finding out about these churches is no easy task for a seeker. The name itself isn't very "Googleable", and they seem pretty averse to big denominational structures, so there isn't much of an umbrella organization with a website or any other accessible information. They are also averse to many labels, and don't like "Mennonite" as a label, but when pressed to define themselves, they have all offered the term "anabaptist" as a label. They cooperate with other Christian Fellowship churches and Mennonite churches, but this still doesn't make them easy to find.
Is this a good place to discuss these churches, help others find out more about them, and ask for information? Or should I start a new thread?
There is a database of such churches (if you send me a PM, I’ll be glad to look them up for you). For various reasons some churches don’t want to be searchable online.
My church group has two churches in upstate NY: one near Ithaca and one farther north. You can find out more information by calling the Gospel Tracts office at (620) 345-2533.
Your church group includes Christian Charity churches? I thought you were Holdeman?
In my search for Anabaptist churches, after many intentional months, I've found myself looking at "Christian Fellowship" churches. It was not easy!!! By the grace of God I came upon them through meeting people and hearing about these churches. But as you can guess, finding out about these churches is no easy task for a seeker. The name itself isn't very "Googleable", and they seem pretty averse to big denominational structures, so there isn't much of an umbrella organization with a website or any other accessible information. They are also averse to many labels, and don't like "Mennonite" as a label, but when pressed to define themselves, they have all offered the term "anabaptist" as a label. They cooperate with other Christian Fellowship churches and Mennonite churches, but this still doesn't make them easy to find.
Is this a good place to discuss these churches, help others find out more about them, and ask for information? Or should I start a new thread?
There is a database of such churches (if you send me a PM, I’ll be glad to look them up for you). For various reasons some churches don’t want to be searchable online.
My church group has two churches in upstate NY: one near Ithaca and one farther north. You can find out more information by calling the Gospel Tracts office at (620) 345-2533.
Your church group includes Christian Charity churches? I thought you were Holdeman?
No, we aren’t charity, but we do have churches in upstate NY.
In my search for Anabaptist churches, after many intentional months, I've found myself looking at "Christian Fellowship" churches. It was not easy!!! By the grace of God I came upon them through meeting people and hearing about these churches. But as you can guess, finding out about these churches is no easy task for a seeker. The name itself isn't very "Googleable", and they seem pretty averse to big denominational structures, so there isn't much of an umbrella organization with a website or any other accessible information. They are also averse to many labels, and don't like "Mennonite" as a label, but when pressed to define themselves, they have all offered the term "anabaptist" as a label. They cooperate with other Christian Fellowship churches and Mennonite churches, but this still doesn't make them easy to find.
Is this a good place to discuss these churches, help others find out more about them, and ask for information? Or should I start a new thread?
Are these ‘Christian Fellowship’ churches the same ones who are called ‘Fellowship’ churches? of the conservative Beachy flavor?
No; I am fairly sure it's the remains of the church planting efforts of Charity Christian Fellowship, or the Charity movement, or whatever it is/was. But honestly, there isn't much continuity anymore between the Charity church/movement and these Christian Fellowship churches today.
I think David Bercot's church in south central PA is a Christian Fellowship church, but it's not guaranteed that there is a continuity/connection there either.
What makes it complicated is that many conservative Anabaptist congregations have a name of "_______ Christian Fellowship". Some are part of Mennonite or Beachy affiliations, and some are not.
0 x
The old woodcutter spoke again. “It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge?"
___ Christian Fellowship is basically the "brand" of Charity type of churches around here. Note that most of these, if asked, will tell you either "We aren't a Charity church" or "We aren't a typical Charity church".
To add to the confusion, my nearest Beachy affiliate recently rebranded as "Mennonite Christian Fellowship", after formerly being called "Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship", yet they have nothing to do with the Mennonite Christian Fellowship denomination, which is a very conservative (black car) wing of Beachyism. Long ago, someone decided they should refuse to use the nearest town name because it's named after a goddess. (I remain puzzled why it couldn't just have been "East Rochester Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship" or "Bayard Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship" or "Chambersburg Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship".
Josh wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 8:37 pm
To add to the confusion, my nearest Beachy affiliate recently rebranded as "Mennonite Christian Fellowship", after formerly being called "Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship", yet they have nothing to do with the Mennonite Christian Fellowship denomination, which is a very conservative (black car) wing of Beachyism. Long ago, someone decided they should refuse to use the nearest town name because it's named after a goddess. (I remain puzzled why it couldn't just have been "East Rochester Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship" or "Bayard Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship" or "Chambersburg Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship".
Some prefer a shorter name. Others have "progressed" to the point of having little Amish theology and values and align better with some brand of Mennonite. And still others are a bit embarrassed to identify as Amish.
0 x
The old woodcutter spoke again. “It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge?"
Josh wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 8:37 pm
___ Christian Fellowship is basically the "brand" of Charity type of churches around here. Note that most of these, if asked, will tell you either "We aren't a Charity church" or "We aren't a typical Charity church".
To add to the confusion, my nearest Beachy affiliate recently rebranded as "Mennonite Christian Fellowship", after formerly being called "Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship", yet they have nothing to do with the Mennonite Christian Fellowship denomination, which is a very conservative (black car) wing of Beachyism. Long ago, someone decided they should refuse to use the nearest town name because it's named after a goddess. (I remain puzzled why it couldn't just have been "East Rochester Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship" or "Bayard Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship" or "Chambersburg Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship".
The churches I've visited called "(Town Name) Christian Fellowship" have tended to not like the labels "Mennonite" or "Amish", and would offer up "anabaptist" when pressed for a defining label, and offer up a loose historical affiliation to Charity when pressed harder.
So a Beachy church that says "Christian Fellowship" but maintains "Mennonites" or "Amish-Mennonite" in the name is something entirely different.
Josh wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 8:37 pm
___ Christian Fellowship is basically the "brand" of Charity type of churches around here. Note that most of these, if asked, will tell you either "We aren't a Charity church" or "We aren't a typical Charity church".
To add to the confusion, my nearest Beachy affiliate recently rebranded as "Mennonite Christian Fellowship", after formerly being called "Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship", yet they have nothing to do with the Mennonite Christian Fellowship denomination, which is a very conservative (black car) wing of Beachyism. Long ago, someone decided they should refuse to use the nearest town name because it's named after a goddess. (I remain puzzled why it couldn't just have been "East Rochester Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship" or "Bayard Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship" or "Chambersburg Amish-Mennonite Christian Fellowship".
The churches I've visited called "(Town Name) Christian Fellowship" have tended to not like the labels "Mennonite" or "Amish", and would offer up "anabaptist" when pressed for a defining label, and offer up a loose historical affiliation to Charity when pressed harder.
So a Beachy church that says "Christian Fellowship" but maintains "Mennonites" or "Amish-Mennonite" in the name is something entirely different.
Most Beachy churches (in BAMF and ADV) are changing their name to “X Christian Fellowship”.
I find being covert about one’s lineage rather annoying. It strikes me as dishonest. They used to call themselves “Amish-Mennonites” to make it easier to recruit from Old Order Amish churches.
