ISTORY
Mennonites trace their roots to the 16th century Protestant Reformation in Europe and were nicknamed after an early Dutch leader, Menno Simons. Believers met persecution, martyrdom, and death as the movement rapidly spread to South Germany and the Netherlands

The official Churches opposed the movement and scoffed at them as "anapabtizers", which literally means rebaptizers. The state would not tolerate this change because in essence it defied the government run church. Over the next two generations, thousands of Anabaptists were martyred.

In search of freedom, Mennonites moved to many places, including Russia and North America. In the 1800's they organized home and foreign missions. After World War II, a ministry of church growth with emergency relief and development aid was initiated. Today Mennonites are found in about 60 countries with over 800,000 members worldwide.