19th century Bible Fellowship Church (BFC) was founded as the Evangelische Mennoniten Gemeinschaft (Evangelical Mennonite Society) on September 24, 1858, in
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Seven Mennonites influenced by revivalism, elder William Gehman, bishop William N. Shelly, preachers Henry Diehl and David Henning, and deacons David Gehman, Jacob Gottschall, and Joseph Schneider, refused to surrender to the pressure from their bishops to give up their evangelism. They responded by forming the new society, which combined Mennonite doctrine with enthusiastic evangelism. In November 1879, the Evangelical Mennonites of Pennsylvania consolidated with the United Mennonites to become the Evangelical United Mennonites in November 1879. In 1883, the
Brethren in Christ Church in
Ohio merged with the Evangelical United Mennonites to form the
Mennonite Brethren in Christ.
20th century In the 20th century, the Pennsylvania Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ grew substantially. Membership doubled between 1900 and 1920 and again between 1920 and 1940. Since 1879, the Pennsylvania Conference held annual camp meetings. The first location was Chestnut Hill outside
Coopersburg, Pennsylvania. In 1910, the denomination purchased land near
Allentown, Pennsylvania, called Mitzpah Grove. Located in East Allentown, the camp was located behind present-day Mosser Elementary School between Ellsworth Street at Walnut Street to Ellsworth Street and, inside the camp grounds, to Fairview Street. Between 1942 and 1945, during
World War II, the annual camp meetings ceased but resumed again in 1946 following the war's end. Five years later, in 1952, the Pennsylvania Conference officially voted to separate themselves from the other conferences of the United Missionary Church and form their own denomination. The cause of the separation included differences of opinion over church government, the doctrine of
holiness, education, foreign missions, and financial autonomy. The Pennsylvania Conference also objected to an expected merger with the Missionary Church Association—which would occur in 1969 creating a new consolidated denomination known as the
Missionary Church. In 1959, the Pennsylvania Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ adopted its present name, 'Bible Fellowship Church, and approved new articles of faith, which included dropping the practice of
feet washing. The church government's structure was gradually changed to a more
Presbyterian style. Local elders rule individual Bible Fellowship churches, and each of the individual churches sends their elders and pastors to the annual conference. In the mid-20th century, the denomination's core
soteriological viewpoint gradually changed from its early
Anabaptist and
Arminian perspective to its current
Reformed Theology focus. In 1968, the Bible Fellowship Church sold its Mizpah Grove property in
Allentown, and acquired Pinebrook Bible Conference in
Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania as the site for its annual camp meeting.
21st century In a departure from many other
reformed churches, Bible Fellowship Churches continue the
Anabaptist practice of
believer's baptism. It also holds to
Premillennialism. BFC maintains its headquarters in
Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania. Its ministries include the Bible Fellowship Board of Missions, Church Extension Ministries, Fellowship Community, a home for the aged, and Victory Valley Youth Camp. Most of BFC's churches are located in eastern
Pennsylvania. There are also churches in
Connecticut,
Delaware,
New Jersey,
New Mexico,
New York, and
Virginia. As of 2023, there were 6,687 members in 67 congregations with a total church family size of 14,412. == Pinebrook Ministries ==