What is an Anabaptist?
Palmer Becker’s 24-page booklet titled What is an Anabaptist Christian? may be tiny, but it’s had a huge influence on Christians who are eager to learn more about what it means to be an Anabaptist.
Many of those Christians live outside the United States.
The booklet has been translated into nearly 25 languages and has been distributed to pastors all over the world. Becker himself has given workshops on the theme in India, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Hong Kong.
Over the last 50 years, the face of Anabaptism has morphed, literally. On the cover of the October issue of Beyond Ourselves, we featured the profile of a young Congolese woman named Niclette Mbendji. In the accompanying editorial, James Krabill, Mission Network’s senior executive for global ministries, pointed out that more than two-thirds of Mennonites live in Asia, Africa and Latin America. With more than half of the population in these areas being under 25 years old, Mbendji’s face represents the image of today’s “typical” Anabaptist.
Anabaptism is exploding in regions where it is youngest. In many of these countries, mission workers, both expatriate and local, have quietly led Bible studies, planted churches, and taught at seminaries for the last 100 years, planting the seed that is now blossoming in amazing ways.
It is now time for the global church to educate the North American church on how Anabaptism makes a difference in people’s lives. The future of the church depends on it.