Anabaptistwiki:About

The Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition traces its beginnings to the Radical Reformation in the sixteenth century. The early Anabaptists were deeply indebted to both Catholic and Protestant understandings of faith, but they differed with these groups in their emphasis on adult baptism, an ethic of love in all human relations (including enemies), and a view of the church as a community of equal members committed to being disciples of Christ together. In the centuries that followed, the Anabaptist movement took root primarily in Europe, Russia and North America, with its main groups identified as the Mennonites, Hutterites and Amish. During the twentieth century, however, the Anabaptist movement has become a global reality. Today the majority of the 1.5 million Anabaptist-Mennonites live in the southern hemisphere, with active congregations in at least 75 different countries.

The Global Anabaptist Wiki is an interactive community of Anabaptist-Mennonite groups from around the world. Initiated by the Mennonite Historical Library at Goshen College, the site is committed to helping individual groups: 1) tell their own story; 2) post and preserve electronic archives; and 3) become better informed about other groups in the global Anabaptist fellowship. Like all wiki-based projects, this is a collaborative venture that relies on the local expertise of many people. Take some time to explore where Anabaptist communities exist around the world.

Contributing Content

Who Can Contribute?

Anyone can contribute content to the Global Anabaptist Wiki and can edit any page but the main page and the higher level regional and country pages. Anyone can contribute and edit content on any specific conference or congregation page, and everyone can contribute stories.

How to Contribute

If you would like to contribute, add content directly to your conference or congregation's page or edit what is already there. If you would like to edit country pages, regional pages, or broader group pages you can become a Registered User by contacting John D. Roth (johndr@goshen.edu). You will have to choose a username and password.

In What Languages Can I Contribute?

The Global Anabaptist Wiki includes high level articles in English, French, German, and Spanish. These high level pages are human-translated and each article includes distinct pages for each language. The lower-level pages are written in the originating language of the conference, congregation, story etc. These pages can then be translated by "Google Translate" into English, Spanish, German, French, Indonesian, Swahili, Korean, Dutch, Japanese and Chinese. To learn how to contribute different languages see our language policy page.

Where Can I Contribute Print Resources?

The Mennonite Historical Library (MHL) is a comprehensive, research-level library located on Goshen College's campus in Goshen, Indiana that collects printed texts and images on all topics related to the Radical Reformation, including the Anabaptists, Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish and various related groups. The MHL collects print materials from all Anabaptist-related groups around the world. If you would like to donate print materials about your group to the MHL, please email mhl@goshen.edu or call (574) 535-7418.

Further Questions?

If you have any further questions about the structure or editing on the Global Anabaptist Wiki please contact Michael Miller (mennomichael@gmail.com).

How Do I Get Access As A Registered User?

Anyone who is interested in serving as a translator of existing articles or wishes to have more access for editing can become a registered user by doing the following:

1. Choose a username and password.
2. Send a request to John D. Roth, Director of the Mennonite Historical Library, (johndr@goshen.edu) including the username and password, that describes who you are and what content you wish to contribute. John will then create an account for you.
3. After John has created your account, you will need to log in using your username and password in order to edit.

What Content Can I Contribute?

Articles

The Global Anabaptist Wiki is made up of both personalized stories and encyclopedia style articles that describe different branches of the global Anabaptist church. You can create new articles about your Anabaptist-related group or edit existing articles or stubs. Articles should relate directly to the Global Anabaptist church. They may cover specific congregations, conferences, organizations, or Anabaptist-related themes. To learn more about article structure and style for the Global Anabaptist Wiki click here.

Stories

In addition to including basic encyclopedic information about Anabaptist-related groups, the Global Anabaptist Wiki provides a centralized online forum where groups can share their personal stories. Click the following link to learn more about stories on the Anabaptist Wiki.

Electronic Documents

The Global Anabaptist Wiki also serves as a repository for electronic resources about different Anabaptist groups. Thus, you may upload your group's Confession of Faith, constitution, or any other resources important to your group. If you know of relevant papers or articles about your group you may upload them after obtaining appropriate permission from the author, journal, periodical, and/or publisher.

Pictures/Videos

Visually representing your group may be accomplished by uploading relevant pictures and videos to the Global Anabaptist Wiki. Contribute maps, time lines, promotional videos or any other sort of visual materials that would enhance articles on the Global Anabaptist Wiki.

Audio

If you have any audio resources that relate to your group, feel free to upload them. Contribute interviews, sermons, conference recordings, or any other audio materials that relate to articles on the Global Anabaptist Wiki.

Help Guides

Check out the Media Wiki Help Guide for general information about reading, editing, and personalization. Meta Wiki also offers an excellent Help Guide.

To practice editing using Media Wiki software before editing an actual page on the Global Anabaptist Wiki, use Media Wiki's sandbox. If you'd rather, Meta Wiki also has a sandbox you can use to experiment.