As a result, a number of these believers settled at Schwarzenau on the Eider River because its prince offered them freedom to worship and study the Bible. Among those were eight people who saw the need for a new fellowship of churches built solely upon the teachings of the New Testament. From that day to this, the only "creed" the Fellowship has ever had is:
"The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible."
In their study of the Scripture, these first "brethren" became convinced of all the great doctrines of the Christian faith, some of which had been seriously neglected in that day. They observed teachings such as triune immersion, foot washing, anointing the sick, and non-hierarchical church government. Alexander mack, often called the founder of the movement, was the first of the group to receive baptism and he in turn baptized the others.
The "brethren" grew and prospered in Schwarzenau from their humble beginnings in 1708. It was not long however, until persecution again reared its ugly head. The group began to be called derogatory names like Tunkers, Dunkards, AnaBaptists, Dippers, and the New Baptists. By 1719 the persecution scattered the brethren from their homes, much like the case for the early disciples in Acts. They spread throughout Europe, and several groups came to America. In 1729 Alexander Mack himself came to Germantown (Philadelphia), Pennsylvania.
In America, these brethren proved to be zealous missionaries, rugged pioneers, and good soldiers of Jesus Christ declaring the whole counsel of God. The movement grew and spread across the nation.
Unfortunately, there have been two major divisions in the brethren movement in America. In 1881 there was a division resulting in "The Church of the Brethren" and "The Brethren Church". Our heritage is "The Brethren Church" which advocated education and pay for pastors, less conformity in dress, and less centralized authority in the Fellowship. The second major division, in 1939, resulted in "The Brethren Church" (Ashland Brethren), and "The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches" (Grace Brethren). Grace Brethren stood for sound biblical teaching, moral and doctrinal purity, Christian liberty, and the eternal security of the believer.
In 1967 twenty-one people, hungering for God's Word, made up the fledgling MGBC congregation, which met at the Keystone Fire Hall. Like the international movement of which MGBC is a part, the church was born out of Bible study. The group steadily grew under the ministry of Bible study teachers Roy Dice and Eugene Martin.
After being approved as a "home missions church" by the Grace Brethren Home Missions Council, the church called Rev. Luke E. Kauffman to be her first pastor. Pastor and Mrs. Kauffman arrived in July 1969 to guide the church through its first building program, completed by December 1970. Godliness, vision and prayer loosed the resources which turned the present location of the church from a cornfield to a lighthouse for Christ.
The years which followed were filled with unusual blessings of God and phenomenal growth. Average attendance climbed to 1,148 by 1983. A five-county area became the vision for evangelism and growth.
Grace Christian School, Grace Community Retirement Center, and three more building programs, which brought the facility to its current size, all were fruit of God's amazing provision for this body of His people. The congregation selected Jeremiah 33:3 as its theme verse: "Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."
Then, as God permits within His ways, a time of hardship, spiritual attack and Divine sifting was thrust upon this family of God's people. By the early 1990's, the church was experiencing such a loss of people and resources that growth and relationships were strained. Following the twenty-three years of ministry with MGBC, Pastor Kauffman accepted a new pastorate in Anchorage, Alaska, in January 1993. Grace Christian School closed in 1994.
Rev. Jim Link served throughout 1993 as interim pastor, and God supplied Evangelist Ron Susek, to serve throughout 1993-1994 as executive interim leader. The congregation was stabilized and the joy of the Lord began to be experienced again.
In January 1995 the church welcomed Rev. Keith A. Shearer to be her second pastor. Arm in arm, God's people look again for the abundant provision of His grace.