Biblical Mennonite Alliance
In an August 1997 meeting, the Conservative Mennonite Conference (CMC) took a vote on the conference's stated position calling baptized woman to wear the prayer veiling. The motion also required ministers' wives to wear the veiling. Approval of the motion required a two-thirds vote; it fell short by one vote. There had earlier been a softening of CMC positions on modesty in dress, and in ministers performing marriages for persons who had been divorced. Some persons also expressed concern about greater use of contemporary worship styles in some CMC churches. A concerned group had been formed in the mid-1990s, but had been ineffective in its appeals to the conference leadership. In February 1997 an extended discussion on the prayer veiling was held in a conference business session, and the lack of conference unity on the issue became evident.
The vote on the prayer veiling was a "final straw" for some leaders who finally left the conference. A meeting of concerned leaders in October 1997 agreed to move toward formation of a new conference, rather than engender further dissension within the CMC. An organizational meeting was held 5-6 June 1998 at the Fairhaven Mennonite Church in West Salem, Ohio at which a constitution was approved and ministerial membership established. Fourteen ministers became charter members of the Biblical Mennonite Alliance (BMA). A Ministerial Enrichment Week was held in February 1999 by which time seven congregations had applied for membership in the Biblical Mennonite Alliance.
The first annual BMA conference was held on 6-8 August 1999 in Plain City, Ohio. At that time 43 ministers and nine congregations representing about 600 members joined the new denomination. Five congregations were formerly members of the Conservative Mennonite Conference: Followers of Jesus Mennonite Church in Brooklyn, New York; Pleasant Grove Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana; Snow Hill Mennonite Church in Maryland; Fairhaven Mennonite Church in West Salem, Ohio; and Bethel Mennonite Fellowship in Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania. The other four congregations were unaffiliated congregations dissatisfied with former conference relationships: Faith Mennonite Fellowship in Crawford, Mississippi; Shiloh Mennonite Church in East Donalds, South Carolina; Calvary Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Mount Zion Mennonite Church in Bladensburg, Ohio. Since 1999, a number of other unaffiliated Mennonite congregations as well as congregations from other Mennonite denominations have joined the alliance.
The 1963 Mennonite Confession of Faith was adopted as the official confession of faith of the denomination. The alliance has operated the Elnora Bible Institute in Elnora, Indiana since 2004, though a Bible institute was held annually beginning in 2000. The mission arm of the BMA is DestiNATIONS International (DNI), which operates a training center in Queens, New York. The Alliance Newsletter, begun in 1998, is the conference periodical.
In 2016 there were 62 congregations in the conference, with 3,545 members. In 2023 the BMA directory listed 72 member congregations and another 12 church plants.
BMA Congregations in 2023
(not including church plants)
| Congregation | City | State | Year Founded | Joined BMA | Membership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abundant Life Christian Fellowship | Townville | Pennsylvania | |||
| Calvary Mennonite Church | Paden | Oklahoma | 1995 | February 2006 | 38 |
| Calvary Mennonite Fellowship | Harrisonburg | Virginia | 1990 | February 1999 | 190 |
| Central Mennonite Church | Dover | Delaware | 1954 | August 2002 | 156 |
| Christ's Ambassadors | St. Elizabeth | Jamaica | 1974 | 2007 | 130 |
| Churchtown Mennonite Church | Narvon | Pennsylvania | |||
| Cornerstone Mennonite Fellowship | Ephrata | Pennsylvania | 1998 | August 2005 | 206 |
| Crossroads Missionary Church | Belvidere | Tennessee | 2010 | 2010 | 20 |
| Crossway Mennonite Fellowship | Bird in Hand | Pennsylvania | |||
| East Hanover Mennonite Church | Palmyra | Pennsylvania | 1953 | July 2004 | 30 |
| East Union Mennonite Church | Orrville | Ohio | 1945 | 2011? | 66 |
| Fairhaven Mennonite Church | West Salem | Ohio | 1965 | February 1999 | 14 |
| Faith Community Fellowship | Harrisonville | Pennsylvania | 2011 | 2011 | 19 |
| Faith Mennonite Fellowship | Crawford | Mississippi | 1985 | February 1999 | 69 |
| Faith Mennonite Mission | Shellman | Georgia | 1979 | February 2008 | 24 |
| Faith View Ministries | Jamesport | Missouri | |||
| Family Harvest Mennonite Church | Fredericksburg | Pennsylvania | 2013 | 2013 | 25 |
| Followers of Jesus Mennonite Church | Brooklyn | New York | 1986 | February 1999 | 67 |
| Goshen Mennonite Church | Laytonsville | Maryland | 1949 | February 2001 | 26 |
| Gospel Haven Mennonite Church | Whiteville | Tennesee | |||
| Great Trail Christian Churvh | Minerva | Ohio | |||
| Haven of Home Fellowship | Auburn | Kentucky | |||
| Heritage Mennonite Church | Stevens | Pennsylvania | |||
| Herr Street Mennonite Church | Harrisburg | Pennsylvania | 1953 | February 2006 | 26 |
| High Country Mennonite Church | Westcliffe | Colorado | 2011 | 2011 | 47 |
| Juanita Christian Church | Port Royal | Pennsylvania | 2005 | August 2007 | 55 |
| Kossuth Community Chapel | Bolivar | New York | 1983 | February 2006 | 33 |
| Lamb of God Mennonite Church | Butler | Indiana | 2000 | August 2000 | 40 |
| La Road Fellowship | Los Angeles | California | |||
| Leon Mennonite Chrisitan Fellowship | Leon | Iowa | |||
| Life in Christ Mennonite | Elmhurst | New York | |||
| Living Hope Mennonite Church | Urbana | Ohio | 2014 | 2014 | 18 |
| Living Home Mennonite Fellowship | Pottstown | Pennsylvania | |||
| Living Water Christian Fellowship | Lott | Texas | 2009 | July 2010 | 22 |
| Living Water Mennonite Church | Goshen | Indiana | 1999 | February 2000 | 91 |
| Madison Mennonite Fellowship | Madison | Indiana | 1993 | August 2001 | 7 |
| Millwood Mennonite Church | Gap | Pennsylvania | 1877 | February 2012 | 105 |
| Mohican Valley Door of Hope | Danville | Ohio | 2006 | 2007 | 78 |
| Mountain Springs Mennonite Church | New Holland | Pennsylvania | |||
| New Holland Mennonite Church | Batesburg | South Carolina | 1986 | July 2009 | 94 |
| New Hope Mennonite Church | Orrstown | Pennsylvania | 2003 | August 2004 | 40 |
| New LIfe Mennonite Church | Madison | Tennessee | |||
| Nickel Mines Mennonite Church | Paradise | Pennsylvania | 1935 | August 2002 | 67 |
| North Vine Mennonite Church | Arthur | Illinois | 1957 | August 2008 | 85 |
| Oak Hill Mennonite Church | Cumberland | Virginia | 1970 | August 2000 | 57 |
| Oasis Mennonite Fellowship | New Holland | Pennsylvania | |||
| Palm Grove Mennonite Church | Sarasota | Florida | 1953 | February 2011 | 115 |
| Pleasant Grove Conservative Mennonite Church | Goshen | Indiana | 1948 | February 1999 | 190 |
| Potter's House Mennonite Chapel | Downing | Missouri | 2008 | July 2011 | 16 |
| Prairie Christian Fellowship | Magrath | Alberta | 1986 | July 2004 | 57 |
| Quitman Gospel Light Mennonite Church | Quitman | Arkansa | |||
| Redeemer Christian Fellowship | Harrisonburg | Virginia | |||
| River of Hope Fellowship | Vaughn | Montana | 2008 | 2008? | 23 |
| River of Life Fellowship | Clam Gulch | Alaska | |||
| Seeds of Truth Mennonite Church | Warsaw | New York | |||
| Sharon Conservative Mennonite Church | Sugarcreek | Ohio | 1951 | July 2011 | 100 |
| Shekinah Mennonite Fellowship | Castorland | New York | 1997 | August 2001 | 41 |
| Sheridan Mennonite Church | Sheridan | Oregon | |||
| Shiloh Mennonite Church | Due West | South Carolina | 1995 | February 1999 | 77 |
| Skyline Mennonite Church | Caon City | Colorado | 2004 | July 2004 | 62 |
| Snow Hill Mennonite Church | Snow Hill | Maryland | 1953 | February 1999 | 43 |
| Solid Rock Mennonite Church | Liberty | Kentucky | 2007 | August 2007 | 12 |
| Strickler's Mennonite Church | Middletown | Pennsylvania | 1837 | February 2006 | 37 |
| Sunny Mennonite Church | Kalona | Iowa | |||
| The Vine Community Church | Monterey | Tennessee | |||
| Truth and Grace Mennonite Church | Elnora | Indiana | 2013 | 2013 | 15 |
| Two or Three Church | White Cloud | Michigan | 2004 | 2013? | 10 |
| United Bethel Mennonite Church | Plain City | Ohio | 1940 | February 2000 | 225 |
| United Covenant Mennonite Church | Etowah | North Carolina | 1994 | February 2000 | 28 |
| Way of the Cross Chrisitan Fellowship | Hamburg | Pennsylvania | |||
| Womelsdorf Mennonite Church | Womelsdorf | Pennsylvania | 1993 | 2008 | 102 |
| Word of Life Mennonite Church | Hutchinson | Kansas | 2005 | August 2007 | 42 |
| Totals | 3,545 |
Bibliography
Biblical Mennonite Alliance. "Geograghical Directory of BMA Congregations." Web. January 2023. https://biblicalmennonite.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-Cong-DIRECTORY-for-open-web-Jan-23.pdf.
Canadian Mennonite (13 September 1999).
Emerson, Paul M. BMA: The First Ten Years. Biblical Mennonite Alliance, 2009.
Oswald, Laurie L. "New Conference Carves More Conservative Niche: Former Conservative Conf. Congregations and Others Form a 'Biblical Alliance.'" Mennonite Weekly Review (19 August 1999): 1-2.
Additional Information
Website: Biblical Mennonite Alliance.
| Author(s) | Richard D. Thiessen |
|---|---|
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Alf Redekopp | |
| Date Published | August 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Thiessen, Richard D., Samuel J. Steiner and Alf Redekopp. "Biblical Mennonite Alliance." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2023. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Biblical_Mennonite_Alliance&oldid=176483.
APA style
Thiessen, Richard D., Samuel J. Steiner and Alf Redekopp. (August 2023). Biblical Mennonite Alliance. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Biblical_Mennonite_Alliance&oldid=176483.
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