Biblical Mennonite Alliance
Encyclopedia
Biblical Mennonite Alliance (BMA) is an organization of conservative Anabaptist/Mennonite congregations located primarily in the eastern two thirds of the US and Canada, with some international affiliates. The BMA congregations are organized into groups called Regionals that are under the oversight of ordained ministers called Overseers.
The group resulted from a split with the Conservative Mennonite Conference
. In a 1998 meeting, CMC took a vote that failed to uphold the required practice of the woman’s veiling. This was the final straw in a series of issues that increasingly alienated several conservative congregations within the conference. These churches broke from CMC and, along with a few other non-CMC churches, formed BMA.
In the 2005 BMA Directory, the membership was calculated to be at 1,669. Several congregations have joined since then. In the 2010 BMA Directory there were 47 BMA congregations in the US as well as two in Canada and one in Jamaica. The membership was calculated at 2,718. BMA operates their own missions board and has missionaries in several different countries.
BMA also owns and oversees Elnora Bible Institute (EBI) in Elnora, IN. EBI currently offers two 6 week terms at the beginning of the year. EBI offers courses meant to stimulate spiritual growth as well as practical expressions of faith in students' lives.
The group resulted from a split with the Conservative Mennonite Conference
Conservative Mennonite Conference
The Conservative Mennonite Conference is a Christian body of conservative evangelical Mennonite churches.-Background:The first American settlement of the Amish Mennonites — who separated from the main body of Swiss Brethren and followed Jacob Amman — was in Berks County, Pennsylvania, around...
. In a 1998 meeting, CMC took a vote that failed to uphold the required practice of the woman’s veiling. This was the final straw in a series of issues that increasingly alienated several conservative congregations within the conference. These churches broke from CMC and, along with a few other non-CMC churches, formed BMA.
In the 2005 BMA Directory, the membership was calculated to be at 1,669. Several congregations have joined since then. In the 2010 BMA Directory there were 47 BMA congregations in the US as well as two in Canada and one in Jamaica. The membership was calculated at 2,718. BMA operates their own missions board and has missionaries in several different countries.
BMA also owns and oversees Elnora Bible Institute (EBI) in Elnora, IN. EBI currently offers two 6 week terms at the beginning of the year. EBI offers courses meant to stimulate spiritual growth as well as practical expressions of faith in students' lives.
External links
- Biblical Mennonite Alliance Official Site
- Biblical Mennonite Alliance at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia OnlineGlobal Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia OnlineThe Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to Mennonites and Anabaptism. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on anabaptist-related topics....