The Mennonite Church, begun in Switzerland in 1525, was a part of the Reformation, which attempted to restore the New Testament church. Early leaders said that Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli did not go far enough in returning to a New Testament church model and separated themselves from the reformers. They showed their separation from the reformation church by rebaptizing each other upon confession of faith in Jesus Christ.

This small group of individuals grew rapidly as they spread the good news of the gospel across much of Europe. Persecution soon followed as the state and state-aligned churches were not tolerant of their view of separation of the state from the church. Persecution formed and shaped the witness of the Mennonite church as many were martyred or imprisoned expanding it to move into areas such as Russia and North America to avoid the persecution.

One of the results in the 20^th century of the Mennonites belief in not fighting for the state has been its tremendous outreach. This outreach has taken the shape of missionary enterprises to many parts of the earth, relief services during natural disasters, economic aid to the poor and many other relief and development services. Today the Mennonite church can be found almost around the world as it continues to spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective