A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

of the larger Anabaprist-Men- nonite movement. The constitution of the General Confer- ence of Mennonite Brethren Churches in North America clear- ly states that the conference is the primary unit of the church: "The Conference includes all churches founded on the Con- fession of Faith . . .and ... the Conference shall have the right to make the final decision in all matters that relate to the unit- ed activities and the common welfare of the churches."3 Each local church belongs to the conference at three lev- els: the General Conference (North American); the national conferences (Canada and United States); and the regional con- ferences (district in the United States, provincial in Canada). The conference in session (at each level) has the authority to 219 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH make final decisions on matters of faith, common church wel- fare and mission. Local churches are to accept these decisions as binding/ The biblical basis for this structure is found in Acts 11 (the report of the establishment of the Antioch church- es to Jerusalem), Acts 15 (the Jerusalem conference and the report of the churches of the decision), and 1 Corinthians 11 and 14 (the common practice in all the churches). The conferences at each level are led by the Mennonite Brethren equivalent of a council of elders, These boards have the authority to hold local churches accountable and inter- vene in local churches and agencies in special cases.5 Mennonite Brethren governance has always followed a modified presbyterian polity (though the term itself is rarely used). It has never been entirely congregational. Local churches belong to and are accountable to the conferences; they are autonomous only in the governance of local affairs. Until the 1950s local Mennonite Brethren churches were led by a body of elders. The leadership and ministry was al- ways multiple, chosen from among the membership on the basis of giftedness and service within the congregation. Peo- ple gifted in teaching, administration, evangelism and the dea- conate were recognized by the church and given opportunity to exercise these gifts. After a time of testing the gifts and the consistency of life according to the scriptural standards for leadership ministries, the candidates were formally acknowl- edged as a gift of God to the church. Ordination, a way of confirming them as servants of the church, was recommended to the conference. The local church, together with the confer- ence, then performed the ordination. The Board of Elders (usually called Altestenrat or VorberatX provided the leadership o