The Beachy Amish Mennonite Churches

The Beachy Amish Mennonites

Mennonites

General Information

Pamphlet (unknown author)

The Beachy Amish Mennonites: Who They Are, What They Believe PDF format (0.5 MB)

Elmer S. Yoder's comprehensive book on the Beachys (1987)

Check for availability at Amazon.com: The Beachy Amish Mennonite Fellowship Churches (external link)

Statements of Position

Peace, War, and Social Issues PDF format (0.5 MB)
Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage PDF format (0.25 MB)

These statements were written by select ministers from the Beachy churches and approved by ministerial peers at the annual ministers' meetings as statements that represent the Beachy church's stance on issues. These documents are intended to serve as open statements of position and reinforcement for current beliefs and practices upheld by Beachy congregations

General Description of Beliefs

By B. Brooks

To conservative Anabaptists such as the Beachy Amish Mennonites, it is not enough for a church to claim to believe the right doctrine. Rather its basic structure needs to enforce the core values of non-conformity, humility, servanthood, and mutual aid based on the Bible.

The church structure itself reflects the value of humility. For example, the church meets in a simple building without expensive ornamentation. Music is sung a cappella without solos or any performances that would make a few people stand out. Churches are kept small enough to ensure that the ordained men know all the members well. Shared leadership prevents the church from focusing on a single personality and making that

person proud.

The doctrine of non-conformity is based on "Be not conformed to this world" Romans 12: 2. The church does not to reflect the "pride of life" or ephemeral trends of society. Lasting values such as brotherhood, purity, devotion to God and service are stressed rather than marketing the gospel according to society's perceived needs. Members practice non-conformity in everyday life. Women wear a modest cape dress that is designed to hide the feminine figure. Men avoid costly or showy clothes. Television and worldly music are forbidden. Children are raised to work from an early age and educated at home or in a church-run school with the idea that education should train them to be of service to others, rather than for their personal advancement. Courtship is not viewed as just between two people, but includes guidance from both families and the brotherhood.

Church resources go towards the church school, mutual aid and missions, rather than to elaborate buildings, programs and sound equipment. The congregation selects a pastor based on the quality of his personal Christian life and dedication rather than his dynamic personality or formal education.

Humbling oneself is essential to membership. Privacy is not as important as accountability. However, this structure prevents the degrading bondage of cults because all the men meet together as a brotherhood to determine what the church practice is by consensus, preventing a strong personality from making rules to advance his personal agenda. The brotherhood works together to help the men lead their families by example and teaching, support them adequately, train their children and overcome personal problems. While women do not have spelled out "rights" as are necessary in secular society, the system ensures that men take good care of their families and receive support if they should fall into sin or have emotional problems. Domestic violence is associated with isolation, and the brotherhood does all it can to help families thrive.

Preparation for communion also enforces the value of humility. Members meet to share, make confession, and obtain help in making peace if there is a dispute between members. All must be at peace and in agreement before communion. Members wash one another's feet to demonstrate humility and service.

The humble lifestyle allows members to pursue a life of servanthood. Clothing, food, shelter, and cars are simple, void of "vain display." People strive for economy by canning their own food, buying used items when appropriate, and making needed items when

possible. Work becomes a chance for fellowship as people get together to help others move or do other other tasks. The value of an occupation is based on whether it helps others and how it affects family life rather than by status or income. Working with one's hands is considered honorable and a contributor to strong character. Servanthood shows itself in the wide participation in missions and service. Members view every contact with outsiders as a chance to witness and try to minister to whatever personal needs they encounter in friendships with outsiders. Young ladies frequently work for families helping to care for the household when a mother has young children. They may work teach in schools or work in one of the Beachy's volunteer facilities for the developmentally delayed or aged. Young men join work crews, which

use their skills at time for service such as building churches or helping rebuild homes of disaster victims. Whole families will relocate to areas without a conservative Anabaptist church to start a church, whether it be in the United States or another country. Church members visit convalescent homes, elderly facilities, prisons, orphanages and neighbors in need. The simple lifestyle allows the church to have an impact unbelievable for its small size.

Mutual aid is another core value. The church encourages members to maximize interdependence. When a new family wants to become part of the church, members try to find them a place to live, such as in a guest house on their property or in a rental someone in the church owns. If possible, they try to employ them in a business run by church members. Many churches avoid insurance and social security altogether. Offerings cover huge medical bills and life's disasters. Members consider it their responsibility to help any seeker who comes their way and offer whatever generous help in material or spiritual aid they can offer.

The church service also reflects the value of mutual aid. The men all take turns sharing a devotional or topical study during the church service, helping each man to improve his Bible study and public speaking skills, as well as giving him some responsibility for the

spiritual growth of the congregation. If there is a guest from a similar church, he is invited to share a devotional exposition at the beginning of the service. Sunday School is held prior to the sermon. Finally, one of the ordained men or a visiting ordained man gives the message so that the church hears a variety of voices. Unlike many churches where few men go, men learn that their participation is essential. Brotherhood meetings of all the men decide practical and spiritual issues.

Women's roles are important, but behind the scenes. Families are large, and some may choose to adopt. It's not unusual to see families with 7 - 10 children. Women teach the children self-discipline and other basic spiritual values. Women also practice hospitality, having both church families and outsiders over for meals frequently. The women's cooking, canning, gardening and sewing are a significant financial contribution to the family. If there are no children or the children are grown, many women work in the family business. Single women often serve in orphanages and by teaching school. The congregation takes on the responsibility of supporting them, providing housing, paying medical costs etc., providing more security than most Christian ministries provide.

Brief History of the Beachy Amish Mennonite Constituency

By Cory A. Anderson

The Beachy church has its origins in the Somerset County area in south central Pennsylvania. In the late 1881, the Amish community there, with members in both Pennsylvania and Maryland, built four meeting houses, two in Maryland and two in Pennsylvania. Many Amish do not have meeting houses. The services were held in rotation in these four meetinghouses. In the mid 1890s, the more progressive group in Maryland wanted to have Sunday School, a Protestant phenomenon rejected by the Amish and some Old Order Mennonite groups. Between 1893 and 1895, a split occurred between the Maryland and Pennsylvania groups over this issue. A few people in Maryland went with the Pennsylvania conservative Amish group, and vice versa for those in Pennsylvania.

Joseph Witmer, a visiting Amish bishop, assisted the Pennsylvania group. He did not support the strict shunning, where members were shunned if their only "offense" was transferring membership to the Maryland group. Moses D Yoder was ordained bishop in 1895, and Witmer left. Moses D Yoder led the Pennsylvania group into a

unanimous decision in favor of the strict shunning. Yoder apparently made it appear that Witmer had supported the strict shunning, so many were inclined to go with Witmer's advice. The congregation soon discovered they were misled, but it was too late.

In 1912, Moses Beachy was ordained to the position of minister. In 1916, Moses Yoder was old enough that he accepted the position of inactive bishop. There was an ordination, and the lot fell on Moses Beachy for the position of bishop. Beachy did not agree with the strong shunning. However, he also wanted to have peace within the congregation. Noah Yoder and Joseph Yoder, both close relations to Moses Yoder, were at the time ministers. By now, the Maryland congregation had begun to affiliate with the newly formed Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference ("Amish" has since been dropped from the name).

Sometime in the early to mid 1920s, John D Yoder, a member of the Pennsylvania church, inquired on whether he would have to shun those who went to the Maryland church. When informed that he must, he also joined the Maryland church. However, Moses Beachy would not allow him to be shunned since there was no longer unanimous agreement in the church about the strict shunning. The tension built in the church as well

as between Beachy and the three Yoders. Communion was not held in the fall of 1926 and was only attended by the Beachy group in the spring of 1927. Finally, in late June of 1927, the Yoder group announced the next service's meeting place at a different location than what Beachy announced. Thus, on June 26, 1927, the Yoder group withdrew from the Beachy group, unofficial starting the Beachy church.

Within two years of June 26, the Beachy group allowed electricity, vehicles, and Sunday School. The Beachy group continued to alternate usage of meeting houses with the Amish, and the two groups got along fairly well in the years after. Beachy met up with John Stoltzfus of Lancaster County, PA, shortly after the Amish withdrew. Stoltzfus' group had been through a similar ordeal with the Amish in Lancaster. The two churches continued close contacts, though official fellowship was not established until about a decade later, at that point a merely ceremonial act.

The 1940s marked a time when many Beachy congregations were formed in the Great Lake and Midwest States as well as in Virginia. In the 1950s, a mission-oriented mindset was established in many congregations, and thus was born Amish Mennonite Aid (AMA) and Mission Interests Committee (MIC) as well as a colonization approach to outreach. Units were formed in the 1950s through 1970s to help knit the individual Beachy churches closer together. These included volunteer service units such as Hillcrest Nursing

Home, Mountain View Nursing Home, and Faith Mission Home. This also included meetings such as annual Ministers' Meetings and Youth Fellowship Meetings. A Bible School was also established, Calvary Bible School, as well as a Beachy periodical, Calvary Messenger.

In the 1990s, Beachy leaders took steps to try to tackle concerns within the larger Beachy constituency. A Bishop Committee was formed. The bishop committee is assigned

to address problems within Beachy churches, a sort of check-and-balance monitor, but has no power to do anything other than make recommendations for course of action to both the church and to the larger ministerial body. To address concerns about misbehavior of young people, Youth Fellowship Meetings were subdivided into regional groups to attempt to limit size of the meetings so hosts can keep better control. A more rigorous screening process for admission into Calvary Bible School was also put into place when the behavior of students was difficult to manage in certain terms.

However, several "subgroups" of Beachys have formed in recent years. These subgroups hold their own minister's meetings and other functions separate from the main body of Beachys, but have not requested leave from the constituency. The "Maranatha Amish Mennonites" were established in the late 1990s because of a concern over the lack of accountability among Beachy churches as well as certain increasingly accepted trends in the main body of Beachys. Maranatha has a slightly more conference structure, with a list

of minimum universal guidelines for member churches. A second group of congregations was forming simultaneously, but the name of "Berea Amish Mennonite" was not adopted until the 2007 meeting of ministers within the subgroup. The group is more conservative than Maranatha; congregations may not allow tape players, cameras, computers, and other modern items that Maranatha and the main body of Beachys would allow. A third subgroup consists of "Old Order" or "Orthodox" Beachys. The group has not established a name. These congregations would use German in services and generally dress and live more plainly than other Beachys.

Personalities That Left a Lasting Impression on the Beachy Church

Those involved in the original division:

Joseph Witmer: an Amish bishop who assisted the Pennsylvania group after breaking with the Maryland Amish. He was decidedly against the strict shunning.

Moses D Yoder: the first bishop in the Somerset County Amish group. Yoder led the congregation on a position of strict shunning, which was later contested by his successor, Moses Beachy.

Moses Beachy: the man from whom the Beachy church derives its name. Moses Beachy was ordained bishop in place of Moses D Yoder. His unyielding stance on the disallowance of the strong shunning led to the Yoder group's withdrawal in the summer of 1927.

John D Yoder: decided to withdraw from the Amish group in Pennsylvania over the strict shunning; he joined the Maryland church. This case started the debate between Moses Beachy and Noah, Joseph, and Moses Yoder over the strong shunning.

Noah Yoder: son of Moses D Yoder and minister, Noah supported the strong shunning and withdrew from Moses Beachy's group in 1927.

Joseph Yoder: nephew of Moses D Yoder and minister, Joseph also supported the strong shunning, and withdrew with Noah Yoder and Moses Yoder from Beachy's group.

Beachy leaders and laymen

John Stoltzfus: the bishop of the Lancaster church that fellowshipped with Moses Beachy's group shortly after the division. Stoltzfus withdrew with Christian King from the Old Order Amish in 1909. In the 1920s, Christian King withdrew from Stoltzfus' group. Stoltzfus was then ordained to be a bishop. He had been a minister.

Simon L Yoder: the first minister ordained to the Beachy church, ordained by Moses Beachy in 1928. He later moved to the Kempsville congregation in Virginia Beach and served there. Later he moved to Montezuma, Georgia where he lived until his death.

David O Burkholder: an Amish bishop from Nappanee, Indiana, he was instrumental in starting a number of Beachy churches in the Midwest during the 1940s and 1950s; he also had a burden for Amish and Beachy young people, which in part led to the formation of the Youth Fellowship Meetings.

Eli Tice: the successor of Moses Beachy in the Mountain View congregation. He wrote an English-German parallel Bible that was widely distributed in Beachy, Amish, and other circles.

Jacob Hershberger: a bishop for the Kempsville Amish Mennonite congregation in Virginia Beach during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the founders of Amish Mennonite Aid. A prolific writer, he published a number of books and had a regular column in the Budget. Hershberger was killed in an automobile accident in 1965 while on an expedition trip to Alabama to search for a new church site.

Ervin Hershberger: an instrumental deacon in the Mountain View congregation. He assisted in the beginnings of Calvary Bible School, and was influential in work of Amish Mennonite Aid. An avid writer, he started the Beachy periodical Calvary Messenger and served as editor for about 30 years. He also helped compile and write Into the Highways and Hedges, AMA's first book, as well as a number of other books.

William McGrath: one of the Beachy's most well known members of non-Mennonite background. He is and has been involved in mission work in Central America and Western Europe. He also established Amish Mennonite Publications and has produced a number of short writings. Currently, he is involved in the mission work in Ireland.

Elmer Yoder: son of Simon L. Yoder, Elmer Yoder has wrote several church history books of Beachy churches as well as the general history book of the Beachy churches, published in 1987. Elmer Yoder is now with the Conservative Mennonite Conference.

Others who had an historic impact on the Beachy church, either as a popular personality or as a multifaceted leader or church planter:

Ron Border

Noah Wengerd

Daniel J. Nissley

Uria Shetler

William W. Wagler

Edwin Weaver

Sanford Yoder

Noah Keim

Joseph Roth

Roman J. Mullet

David A. Miller