Anabaptists in the South American country of Bolivia
Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2026 10:05 pm
I have read that “2% of all newborns in Bolivia in 2024 were born to German Mennonites, up from 0.2% in 1980. German Mennonites have a Total Fertility Rate of 7 kids per woman, while for Bolivia as a whole it is 1.7 kids per woman.”. That would make Bolivia have a higher percentage of German speaking Anabaptists than even the USA. Another comment in that discussion said: “the actual share of births in 2024 was around 4%”. Apparently 80% of Bolivian Mennonites use horse and buggy.
Also it seems that Bolivia is home to the only Amish community in South America:
“In recent years, their members in Bolivia and Argentina have faced financial problems and isolation, so they wrote to an Amish publisher in Canada and eventually got in touch with a New Order Amish group in Ohio that permits its members, under certain circumstances, to make airplane trips.
After ministers with the Ohio Amish visited South America, they sent two families to settle there to create communities the existing Mennonites can join. North American Amish generally do not proselytize or do mission work. They also have sent teams to help with building projects. The Bolivian community, known as Colonia Naranjita, is about 75 miles southwest of Santa Cruz”.
Apparently there are people loosely affiliated with the Lobelville TN congregation who settled in Bolivia as well. Including families with beliefs mixing Anabaptist and Adventist type ideas as stated in these comments in a discussion about Anabaptists in Bolivia:
“Actually there were quite a few people who loosely fellowshipped w/ the Lobelville group that moved to Bolivia but to different areas of the country.”
“the first 3 photoes are of joseph beiler s”
“joes are of amish back ground but are christians who keep sabbath (saterday) as the commandment says l have been there visiting and belive we share a common faith david johansen p.o.box 60 spanish look out belize central america”
“they the beiler ,also belive in immersion baptisum, no trinity etc”
Local perspectives: From the anecdotes I’ve read it seems they are liked by some for their nice peanut butter, cheese and hard work. While certain locals view them negatively for their association with cutting down forest in order to farm.
If anyone has further information on these communities in Bolivia I would like to learn more. Especially about the people with mixed anabaptist/adventist type ideas and also more information about the New Order group in Bolivia (how it's doing nowadays, what it's like)? And if any Anabaptists in Bolivia are similar to Delano/Noah Hoover Mennonites, pure church movement, or any group similar to the Elmo Stoll Christian communities there? (Open to seekers and low tech)
Sources:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10 ... 266#d1e172 (Study on Mennonites in Latin America)
https://amishamerica.com/amish_in_the_ju/ (Discussion/comments about Lobelville affiliated people in Bolivia and mixed Anabaptist/Adventist ideas)
Search on Reddit: "[OC] Percentage of people who speak German as a first language in Bolivia " (Map of German Language in Bolivia)
https://amishamerica.com/2016-amish-pop ... ent-132805
https://www.thebugle.martins4u.com/issu ... 202006.pdf (page 16 Nichols Anabaptist family in Bolivia)
https://anabaptistworld.org/low-german- ... n-bolivia/ (source for claim 80% of Bolivian Mennonites use horse and buggy)
Also it seems that Bolivia is home to the only Amish community in South America:
“In recent years, their members in Bolivia and Argentina have faced financial problems and isolation, so they wrote to an Amish publisher in Canada and eventually got in touch with a New Order Amish group in Ohio that permits its members, under certain circumstances, to make airplane trips.
After ministers with the Ohio Amish visited South America, they sent two families to settle there to create communities the existing Mennonites can join. North American Amish generally do not proselytize or do mission work. They also have sent teams to help with building projects. The Bolivian community, known as Colonia Naranjita, is about 75 miles southwest of Santa Cruz”.
Apparently there are people loosely affiliated with the Lobelville TN congregation who settled in Bolivia as well. Including families with beliefs mixing Anabaptist and Adventist type ideas as stated in these comments in a discussion about Anabaptists in Bolivia:
“Actually there were quite a few people who loosely fellowshipped w/ the Lobelville group that moved to Bolivia but to different areas of the country.”
“the first 3 photoes are of joseph beiler s”
“joes are of amish back ground but are christians who keep sabbath (saterday) as the commandment says l have been there visiting and belive we share a common faith david johansen p.o.box 60 spanish look out belize central america”
“they the beiler ,also belive in immersion baptisum, no trinity etc”
Local perspectives: From the anecdotes I’ve read it seems they are liked by some for their nice peanut butter, cheese and hard work. While certain locals view them negatively for their association with cutting down forest in order to farm.
If anyone has further information on these communities in Bolivia I would like to learn more. Especially about the people with mixed anabaptist/adventist type ideas and also more information about the New Order group in Bolivia (how it's doing nowadays, what it's like)? And if any Anabaptists in Bolivia are similar to Delano/Noah Hoover Mennonites, pure church movement, or any group similar to the Elmo Stoll Christian communities there? (Open to seekers and low tech)
Sources:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10 ... 266#d1e172 (Study on Mennonites in Latin America)
https://amishamerica.com/amish_in_the_ju/ (Discussion/comments about Lobelville affiliated people in Bolivia and mixed Anabaptist/Adventist ideas)
Search on Reddit: "[OC] Percentage of people who speak German as a first language in Bolivia " (Map of German Language in Bolivia)
https://amishamerica.com/2016-amish-pop ... ent-132805
https://www.thebugle.martins4u.com/issu ... 202006.pdf (page 16 Nichols Anabaptist family in Bolivia)
https://anabaptistworld.org/low-german- ... n-bolivia/ (source for claim 80% of Bolivian Mennonites use horse and buggy)