The two factions met in the Upper Milford Evangelical Mennonite meetinghouse for a two-day conference. Over the course of the meeting, the church leaders compared and contrasted the doctrinal and organizational statements of each church. They found that the doctrine was basically identical, as both were taken from the Dortrecht Confession of Faith. This made the discussion quite simple. The only significant cause of tension emerged in the examination of church government. The Evangelical Mennonite Society tended towards congregational governance, while the United Mennonites of Canada, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio was much more episcopal in nature. The conference chose to adopt the episcopal governance. According the the minutes, this decision …show more content…
2,076 8,953 13,313
Church property…….. N/A $1,035,000 $2,185,000 While the figures for the Sunday schools and church property are not as clear, it remains obvious that the alliance benefited everyone greatly. During it’s first few decades, the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church represented the beginning and expansion of new, robust enthusiasm and theology among the Mennonite community. The denomination placed emphasis upon evangelism and determined outreach. Members were encouraged to embrace the concept of conversion and a warm, emotional Christian experience that highlighted piety and stronger organizational structure. It was the influence of the Methodist preaching on sanctification and holiness, as well as Methodist church organization with district superintendents and well-organized conferences. Methodism was sweeping across the nation, and many denomination had to either embrace elements or lose members. The Mennonite Brethren in Christ proved that they were stronger for the adoption of Methodist elements. “All this was in strong contrast to the slower moving, more stolid type of piety and less organized church polity of the Mennonite Church, …show more content…
Much of it originates from the shift in doctrine that the Pennsylvanians experienced over the course of a few decades. The Pennsylvania Conference had gradually accepted a degree of Calvinist theology, particularly the doctrine of eternal security, whereas the rest of the United Missionary Church continued to hold to its original Wesleyan Arminian basis, with the emphasis on the second work of grace. However, for some years the fellowship had become increasingly less close, with practically no interchange of ministers. The Pennsylvania Conference had long had its own independent foreign and home mission boards and Bible school. The separation did not happen