The Beachy Amish Mennonites   

Mennonites   

Missions

Amish Mennonite Aid began as a response to the secular direction MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) was taking during the post-WWII era. MCC was run by the General Conference Mennonites at that time, which was also taking a turn towards a mainstream direction and away from certain core Biblical values and practices upheld by the church until this point. The first mission work was in West Berlin. AMA set up several relief centers to help refugees fleeing from East Germany. After

Native Kenyan church members gather for encouragement before going out to testify of Christ.

the construction of the Berlin Wall, the mission changed its focus to ministering to local physical and spiritual needs. The mission has since severed ties with AMA.

In 1962, Hurricane Mitch devastated parts of Central America. AMA was invited to help with the rebuilding efforts in Belize and El Salvador. After reconstruction efforts, AMA stayed on in these two countries, establishing further missions to meet physical and spiritual needs of the native population. Additional Beachy communities have since sprouted in both countries, and several native pastors have been ordained to the ministry.

The El Salvadorian churches still struggle with threats and occasional kidnappings, but the Lord has been faithful in protecting the missionaries and the efforts there.

During the heyday of outreaches and evangelization by colonization efforts in the Beachy church, a colony was started in Paraguay near an Old Colony Mennonite settlement. The outreach effort started with a clinic to meet rural health needs and a communal farm to provide income for the clinic's operation. Missionary efforts were expanded in 2001 to an Old Order Amish community that had settled in Paraguay, but had slipped into grave immorality. The Amish had requested help of the Beachys.

In the early 1990s, missionary efforts began in western Kenya. Because of the native's overwhelming interest in the Christian message, the number of churches grew. Lamp and Light Bible courses are

distributed to natives, and after completing the course, the students receive a Bible. There is a possibility that regular missionary efforts may soon expand into neighboring Uganda. Like the El Salvadorian churches, the Kenyan churches have been at times recipients of hostility, inflaming rumors, red tape, and beatings, but God has faithfully delivered the churches from uncertainty many times.

The account of each mission as well as numerous stories are found in the book Bringing in the Sheaves.

Missions Interest Committee (MIC) began as a missionary movement among the Old Order Amish in the 1950s. As it was not received warmly among many Amish, the movement gravitated to the Beachy church. For more information about the early development of MIC, including the work of Russell Maniaci, a former Catholic from Detroit who attempted to arouse Amish interest in missions, as well as a compilation of early "minutes" from MIC meetings, click here. MIC receives most of its funding from the operation of Hillcrest Home, an elderly residential care unit in Arkansas. Hillcrest is staffed primarily by single Beachy young people.

A native Kenyan minister teaches an instruction class to baptismal candidates while another native interprets.

MIC supports several missions in developed countries. Early mission efforts were focused on establishing several outreach churches in northwest Ontario as a spiritual witness to the westernized native Americans in the region. Many of the native people face struggles with witchcraft and strong drink. MIC expanded its efforts in the early 1980s to Belgium. The early history of this mission is available in the pamphlet European Project (PDF Format, 0.5 MB). Another European mission was established in Ireland as a result of the influence of Beachy minister William McGrath.

A missionary poses with two of the Native American girls from a community in western Ontario.

Faith Mission Home (FMH) is a residential care home for mentally handicapped children and is staffed primarily by Beachy young adults, though there are also several married couples. It is operated under the joint auspices of AMA and MIC. Faith Mission opened in 1965. The in depth story of Faith Mission is told in The Miracle of Love (for sale through this site). In the late 1980s, the home was taken to court by the state, having mistaken corrective spiritual discipline for child abuse. The charges were dismissed in both a regional and state court. This story is told in the Miracle of Faith. People magazine ran a feature article on Faith Mission Home after the court rulings, found in the December 3, 1990 issue. For more information about Faith Mission Home, click here.

Two of the "cottage" residents at Faith Mission Home pose for a photo in the bucolic setting of Virginia. While some of the residents are from a Mennonite or Beachy setting, others come from various Christian and even non-Christian homes.

Christian Aid Ministries (CAM), based in Ephrata, PA, is a parachurch organization that provides relief efforts in disaster areas. While CAM is not exclusively a Beachy organization, the Beachys were instrumental in its founding and continuing operation. Various conservative groups, including the Old Order Amish and various conservative Mennonite conferences, support and volunteer in CAM's efforts. Historic disaster responses has been made to several hurricanes that hit Central America. A sample of recent efforts include rebuilding in the gulf area after Hurricane Katrina and rebuilding in a remote part of Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake .

CAM volunteers assisted in reconstruction of numerous houses in Pakistan. Here, two Beachy volunteers help the natives in the construction of one house.

The village of Ghanool is in a remote part of northern Pakistan. Some urban Pakistanis told the crew that they were crazy to go there, as there are terrorists, but the love of Christ showed through in the workers' lives; the villagers were receptive and God kept the workers safe.

Other Missions. Several other mission churches or efforts have been established under other organizations or through individual efforts. One cluster of churches is in eastern Europe, one church in Romania and two in Ukraine. The Romanian church operates an orphanage home, and the Ukrainian churches sponsor a seed program for farmers. The Cold Spring Mennonite Church in South Carolina also sponsors programs in India, though no outreach church has been established. The Beachy churches in Costa Rica are sponsoring a couple outreaches in Guatemala, with a developing interest in ministering to remote villages of Native Americans. Montezuma Amish Mennonite in Georgia has had a long-running interest in mission work in Australia and is currently sponsoring a program to minister to the needs of and encourage the seekers there.

Left: A Ukrainian family that joined the Beachy church.

 

Right: Singing at the church in Ukraine

 Eighty years in God’s service: June 26, 1927 — 2007