Valerie Rempel reflects on the past and future of Anabaptism during 500th Anniversary

The 500th Anniversary of Anabaptism—the Christian movement that birthed the Mennonite Brethren denomination and Fresno Pacific University—was commemorated January 22, 2025, on the main campus.

The celebration included a luncheon and historical presentation by Valerie Rempel, Ph.D., former vice president and dean of Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary, and a morning Chapel by Brian Schulz, Ph.D., professor of biblical and theological studies.

The beginnings of Anabaptism, a movement within the 16th century Protestant Reformation, are marked by the meeting of a small group of Christians in Zurich, Switzerland, on January 21, 1525. Their decision to baptize one another as adults resulted in imprisonment and death for many but inspired Christians worldwide to discipleship focused on the way of Jesus.

Rempel summed up sixteenth century Anabaptists as “radical Bible readers at the core.” “They understood the reign of God to be centered in the church rather than the state and believed that the body of Christ was to give visible witness to its proper citizenship. They saw themselves as present-day disciples of Jesus and because of that, they gave special weight to Jesus’s teaching—to his invitation to live generous lives, to his call for love of enemies, to his encouragement to participate in God’s work of healing andjustice and hope,” she said.