Belize Evangelical Mennonite Church is a church denomination of the
Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches
The Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches (FEBC) is a small evangelicalism, evangelical Christianity, Christian denomination with an Anabaptist Mennonite heritage. Most of the denomination's approximately 5000 members are in congregations locat ...
in Belize.
History
Anabaptist-Mennonite groups began arriving in Belize in the 1950s from
Mexico, Canada, and the United States.
Hurricane Hattie, which hit Belize hard in 1961, prompted the arrival of numerous Mennonite agencies to provide disaster relief, notably the
Beachy Amish Mennonite and the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities. In 1964, missionaries Paul and Ella Martin arrived in Belize and, in 1969, the Mennonite Central Committee established the Mennonite Center in
Belize City to govern the Mennonite agricultural colonies in the country. The Belize Evangelical Church was formally established in 1973.
By 1978, the Belize Evangelical Mennonite Church was established, and there were several dozen colonies in the country, made up mostly of Old Colony Mennonites (Rhinelanders) and Kleingmeinde Mennonites ("The Little Brotherhood"), and had five congregations and 122 communicant members, including
Creoles,
Garifuna,
Maya, and
Mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
s.
The Mennonite Central Committee and Mission and Eastern Mennonite Missions
who started service in Belize in 1960s were responsible for initiation of the service activities of this church Mennonites were first initiated as their knowledge of German was poor and later Belizeans were also initiated into the service. In 1981, the church has grown to 10 congregations and 425 members.
By 2003, there were 425 members and 13 congregations.
The Mennonite colonists in Belize made an agreement with the authorities to promote education, agriculture and their beliefs. By 1978, they operated 39 primary schools and two secondary schools. In addition, they cultivated some 5,000 acres, concentrated in
Orange Walk District and
Cayo District
Cayo District is a district located in the west part of Belize. It is the most extensive, second-most populous and third-most densely populated of the six districts of Belize. The district's capital is the town of San Ignacio.
Geography
Being ...
, providing Belize with an influx of dairy products and vegetables.
Services
The church's services are held in English (official language of
Belize), Spanish and
Garifuna, or a mixture of these languages.
The Jesus Deaf Church, an
ecumenical
Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
Christian church, is affiliated with the Belize Evangelical Mennonite Church, offering services that are led by a deaf pastor.
In
Belmopan, an Evangelical Bible church is located at 3840 Ambergris Avenue.
Affiliations
Within the Caribbean community, the Belize Evangelical Mennonite Church is affiliated with Cuba's Brethren in Christ Missionary Society; the
Dominican Republic's Divine Light Mennonite National Council and the Evangelical Mennonite Conference; the
Jamaica Mennonite Church; and the Mennonite Church of
Trinidad and Tobago.
See also
*
Mennonites in Belize
Mennonites in Belize form different religious bodies and come from different ethnic backgrounds. There are groups of Mennonites living in Belize who are quite traditional and conservative (e. g. in Shipyard and Upper Barton Creek), while others ...
References
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Mennonite denominations
Mennonitism in Belize
Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches
Evangelical denominations in North America