Church of the Brethren pushes MWC membership to 2.12 million

25 August 2015||

The addition of the Church of Brethren to the latest Mennonite World Conference census puts the total number of baptized Anabaptists at 2.12 million, rather than a previous count of 1.7 million.  MWC general secretary César Garcia said the Church of the Brethren, totalling 116,152 in North America, asked to be included, according to Mennonite World Review. “In the last few years Church of the Brethren general secretary Stanley J. Noffsinger has been claiming in a very strong way that they are Anabaptists as an equivalent to MWC,” Garcia wrote in an email to reporter Tim Huber. “The Church of the Brethren practices adult baptism, one of the peace churches and identifies some influence from the theology of Anabaptists of the 16th century in their beginning.” Africa still commands the biggest body in the new census at 736,801 members or 34.8 per cent, followed by North America at 682,559, Asia at 431,313, Latin America at 199,912 and Europe at 64,610. Canada is in the top five at 143,720 members.

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