Why did you come?

[GoodGirl]

I'd like to hear your personal experiences.

If you are from non-anabaptist background, what is it that drew you to the anabaptist?

If you came but never joined, what held you back?

If you joined but later left, what was the main reason why?

If you are looking on with no interest in joining, what is it that intrigues you?

My husband & I had no religious background, other than like hearing about Jesus on Christmas or just very basic things. I was heavily led into the occult by my grandpa, whose farm we grew up on & it turned out I had a knack for it from a young age. I still have to be careful sometimes.

What drew me to anabaptism, is when I became a Christian (by reading a Gideons pocket Bible), I soon got a regular big Bible… and just saw anabaptism in it, without having a clue there was such a word. I just read women should cover their heads, be modest, and we shouldn’t kill, we should live holy lives, marriage for life in most cases, etc.
But every church we went to told us that was extreme & wrong, out-dated interpretations, ‘only cultural’ or whatever.

So naturally (even if it was ten years later) when we learned the word ‘anabaptist’ by someone giving a copy of “The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down” by David Bercot, we were amazed that these people existed today… and went by “Mennonite” or “Charity” as far as we understood at the time.

We not only ‘came’ but we moved ~3,000 miles to Lancaster County. We wanted the real deal, and thought that’s where we’d find it, for us & our children.

After over ten in years in PA now, we are all plain anabaptist (my husband & myself, our adult married children, & our youth and younger ones at home). But only our oldest children are church members anywhere, not my husband or myself.

I have been so disillusioned by what I’ve seen, I don’t even know where to start. This isn’t to knock any plain or anabaptist church… It’s just that we never found a place to stay at. Either the nice little home fellowship fell apart, or the church had huge issues at brothers meetings, or the church was more deeply concerned with enforcing rules than anything spiritual, or something.

Right now, I’m attending a Keystone-like church & our family also hangs out with a lot of OO Brethren (whose church didn’t work out for us for personal reasons), but my husband & I aren’t members anywhere, by choice.

We had been members in good standing at two legitimate conservative plain churches, but withdrew our memberships both times.

I know, maybe it’s us… but I hope I’m going to be at my Keystone-like church for a long, long time. I’m in no rush to join though.

Having had some hard experiences, I really just need a season to reconnect with God, before officially joining somewhere.

[NedFlanders]

I mean no disrespect to you Goodgirl, and I understand bad experiences within churches called Plain - but I think that historically the name Anabaptist and Mennonite came from a people willing to forsake all and literally die for their faith and for others too. With that, an important aspect within historic Anabaptism is submission and accountability to the body of Christ. I’m not saying you are not plain Anabaptist but I think with due respect to the origin of the name and what it stands for and represents; without being submitted to and accountable to a local body in lying down one’s life for the brethren it would seem calling oneself plain Anabaptist while not a member isn’t completely consistent with what the name originally represented.
I do pray that things work out according to where God wants you. This is hurdle I had to submit to because where “I” wanted to submit to wasn’t necessarily what God wanted or wants me to submit to.

[GoodGirl]

I mean no disrespect to you Goodgirl, and I understand bad experiences within churches called Plain - but I think that historically the name Anabaptist and Mennonite came from a people willing to forsake all and literally die for their faith and for others too. With that, an important aspect within historic Anabaptism is submission and accountability to the body of Christ. I’m not saying you are not plain Anabaptist but I think with due respect to the origin of the name and what it stands for and represents; without being submitted to and accountable to a local body in lying down one’s life for the brethren it would seem calling oneself plain Anabaptist while not a member isn’t completely consistent with what the name originally represented.
I do pray that things work out according to where God wants you. This is hurdle I had to submit to because where “I” wanted to submit to wasn’t necessarily what God wanted or wants me to submit to.

Thank you. Point well taken.

I’m not sure how to spell it, but you reminded me of the word Gelassenheit.

Maybe that’s what we’re missing now.

[GoodGirl]

We were at an ultra conservative Menno church for about five years, and were obeying alllllll they said (gelassinheit?) to the point of our family coming apart at the seams.

Not saying Gelassenheit is bad, just maybe we hang out at the wrong places.

Thank you for reminding me of this part of anabaptism.

[Verity]

GoodGirl does clarify that she is seeking. There are many who are seeking who live out the key tenets of Anabaptist faith without being (yet) part of a larger body of like minded believers. GoodGirl- may God grant you and yours a church family where your hearts can rest.

Thanks to each of you who have shared so far. I'm enjoying learning from you. May God bless each one in their walk with Him. It is safe to say that each of us desire a closer walk with our Savior and (believe it or not ) one another. Blessings.

[Heirbyadoption]

So I would say it was really divine providence. If someone had invited me to their not-Anabaptist church during that period in my life, I would probably have gone there and stayed there.

Interesting, Josh. Even though about 75% of folks not raised Anabaptist, eventually leave Plain Anabaptist churches, it's still worth Anabaptist churches inviting people to church for the sake of the 25%. I just feel bad for the 75% and wish I could somehow tell them what to expect, before they experience it.

I'm always surprised it's that high (is this figure just for people who become members or all visitors)? It is not that high in Holdeman circles. Maybe the opposite (25% of members from the world eventually leave).

When those who join come under OTC doctrine and subsequent identity as experienced among the COGICMs, that would seem to create a natural trepidation against leaving, so the only 25% departure from your group actually makes sense to me. Whereas the inverse among many Anabaptist groups (accepting other Anabaptists as valid members of the Church) would naturally lend itself to an easier departure. Not poking, just sharing an observation as I read the above.

[GoodGirl]

Thank you, Variety!

[NedFlanders]

We were at an ultra conservative Menno church for about five years, and were obeying alllllll they said (gelassinheit?) to the point of our family coming apart at the seams.

Not saying Gelassenheit is bad, just maybe we hang out at the wrong places.

Thank you for reminding me of this part of anabaptism.

Since you and your husband both come from non-Mennonite backgrounds it poses a dynamic quite seemingly different than if one spouse came from a Mennonite background.

My wife and I also share this trait of both coming from non-Mennonite backgrounds. Not having family in the church for both spouses is something that most in the church cannot relate to.

It shouldn’t make much difference as we all join the family of God - but it most certainly does. And unless you have a family or two who takes the time to talk and really engage with you - it can be that no matter how much you “obey” you haven’t experienced the history and heart of the congregations/fellowships choices and even many choices they agreed upon together. There can be things they don’t understand how to explain to you and at the same time are a struggle for us to understand. This difficulty in relating in thought patterns might lend more to that disconnect of unity or Glassenheit no matter how much we obey.

This can be so incredibly hard and sad since we can truly be naive and sincere but connection still lacks…. The only effective option I believe we have is to not think about our own lack of closer fellowship like others in the church have but to die to self and seek to serve. Sometimes I’m reminded of lack of connection despite such efforts but God is good in helping to also remind that we are joined in Him and that needs to be more of my resolve over my feelings of connection or lack of.

[Ernie]

This can be so incredibly hard and sad since we can truly be naive and sincere but connection still lacks…. The only effective option I believe we have is to not think about our own lack of closer fellowship like others in the church have but to die to self and seek to serve. Sometimes I’m reminded of lack of connection despite such efforts but God is good in helping to also remind that we are joined in Him and that needs to be more of my resolve over my feelings of connection or lack of.

I admire your heart and your tenacity.

And unless you have a family or two who takes the time to talk and really engage with you - it can be that no matter how much you “obey” you haven’t experienced the history and heart of the congregations/fellowships choices and even many choices they agreed upon together. There can be things they don’t understand how to explain to you and at the same time are a struggle for us to understand. This difficulty in relating in thought patterns might lend more to that disconnect of unity or Glassenheit no matter how much we obey.

Can you give some examples?

[Josh]

When those who join come under OTC doctrine and subsequent identity as experienced among the COGICMs, that would seem to create a natural trepidation against leaving, so the only 25% departure from your group actually makes sense to me. Whereas the inverse among many Anabaptist groups (accepting other Anabaptists as valid members of the Church) would naturally lend itself to an easier departure. Not poking, just sharing an observation as I read the above.

I don’t think the otc belief really has anything to do with it… seekers who leave other plain groups often head straight towards being completely worldly. They just throw everything away, sometimes including any semblance of Christianity at all.

There is something fundamentally different about attending and then joining a Holdeman group than some other Mennonite groups. From what I have observed, Brethren and Apostolic Christian groups also seem to hold on to their seekers a lot better too. One guess I have for why is that there is much less of an insular “ethnic” culture to grapple with.