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)I want to say there is one in Carlisle.Ernie wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 1:01 pm 1. There are four congregations who commune with each other. Two in PA, one in WV, and one in Iowa. (a single brother and sister from one of these churches work with us and ate supper at our house last evening so they definitely still exist.
2. There is another more conservative congregation in PA that does not use internet.
3. And then there is on Old Order horse and buggy congregation in Kansas.
As far as I know, the first two are growing slowly.
There is one near Mt. Joy and two near Chambersburg. If you want to visit one, some of us plan to be giving a LifeQuest Community presentation at 7:00 PM at the Lemasters meeting house near Chambersburg on January 29.
Ernie - I guess I've never asked any of them when we've attended with them, but do they have any formal written standard of practice and/or doctrine at this point? We grew up hearing them referred to as OGBBs without a Minute Book, but their unity of practice is pretty tight for not having anything in writing (although I suppose being a smaller size of group could explain it too)...Ernie wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 3:28 pmOne of the reasons this church grew slowly in the past was due to a lack of unified teaching and cohesiveness. They tolerated some rather bizarre behaviors in decades past "shouters" and they tended to be rather exclusive. Today the 4 congregrations that work together are becoming more mainstream conservative Anabaptist and they share pulpits with a wide variety of conservative Anabaptists.
Another reason for slow growth is that OORB did not try to put their people on a guilt trip for going to a different church than the one they grew up at. So, anyone wanting to go to a different church could do so with few repercussions. This happens in progressive-conservative churches as well, but progressive-conservatives do not ask their people to dress as old-fashioned.
I don't know but I can ask.Heirbyadoption wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 4:09 pmErnie - I guess I've never asked any of them when we've attended with them, but do they have any formal written standard of practice and/or doctrine at this point? We grew up hearing them referred to as OGBBs without a Minute Book, but their unity of practice is pretty tight for not having anything in writing (although I suppose being a smaller size of group could explain it too)...Ernie wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 3:28 pmOne of the reasons this church grew slowly in the past was due to a lack of unified teaching and cohesiveness. They tolerated some rather bizarre behaviors in decades past "shouters" and they tended to be rather exclusive. Today the 4 congregrations that work together are becoming more mainstream conservative Anabaptist and they share pulpits with a wide variety of conservative Anabaptists.
Another reason for slow growth is that OORB did not try to put their people on a guilt trip for going to a different church than the one they grew up at. So, anyone wanting to go to a different church could do so with few repercussions. This happens in progressive-conservative churches as well, but progressive-conservatives do not ask their people to dress as old-fashioned.
I was at one of their meetings some years ago. They have a testimony time in their service. One young man giving testimony said someone had said to him about their many rules. He said he had never seen any written rules.Heirbyadoption wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 4:09 pmErnie - I guess I've never asked any of them when we've attended with them, but do they have any formal written standard of practice and/or doctrine at this point? We grew up hearing them referred to as OGBBs without a Minute Book, but their unity of practice is pretty tight for not having anything in writing (although I suppose being a smaller size of group could explain it too)...Ernie wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 3:28 pmOne of the reasons this church grew slowly in the past was due to a lack of unified teaching and cohesiveness. They tolerated some rather bizarre behaviors in decades past "shouters" and they tended to be rather exclusive. Today the 4 congregrations that work together are becoming more mainstream conservative Anabaptist and they share pulpits with a wide variety of conservative Anabaptists.
Another reason for slow growth is that OORB did not try to put their people on a guilt trip for going to a different church than the one they grew up at. So, anyone wanting to go to a different church could do so with few repercussions. This happens in progressive-conservative churches as well, but progressive-conservatives do not ask their people to dress as old-fashioned.
And then there is Charity....Biblical Anabaptist wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 4:56 pm
As to growth, the person who works with you, Ernie, told me some years ago that 10% of their members are from non-Anabaptist background. I believe there are few, if any, conservative Anabaptist churches that could claim that percentage.
0%?steve-in-kville wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 5:16 pmAnd then there is Charity....Biblical Anabaptist wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 4:56 pm
As to growth, the person who works with you, Ernie, told me some years ago that 10% of their members are from non-Anabaptist background. I believe there are few, if any, conservative Anabaptist churches that could claim that percentage.