Publications

The ISGA is committed to publication that engages global Anabaptism, including making theological and historical work from beyond North America accessible to new readers.

See our Purchase page for publications that are available to order on the ISGA website.

Baptism Study Guide

Roth, John D., with Thomas Yoder Neufeld. “Believe and Be Baptized”: Conversations on Baptism in the Anabaptist-Mennonite Tradition. Goshen, IN: Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism, 2022.

From 2012 to 2017, Catholic, Lutheran, and Mennonite representatives met for dialogue, and articulated their results in the document “Baptism and Incorporation into the Body of Christ, the Church.” In 2022, former ISGA Director John D. Roth created a study guide to accompany this larger document, offering accessible descriptions of the histories of baptism, along with explanations of the significance of baptism in different traditions.

Congregations will find this to be a valuable resource for theological reflection, liturgical practice, and ecumenical dialogue. The booklet was intended to be used as a series in Sunday school classes or small groups, but could also be adapted for use in other church settings. Each short chapter includes a helpful summary of the material, historical and contextual information, reflection questions, and a prayer. The guide is also available in Spanish, thanks to translation by ISGA Research Associate Luis Tapia Rubio. Both the English and Spanish versions are available (below) digitally for free download.

English PDF: “Believe and Be Baptized”

Spanish PDF: “Cree y Se Bautizado”

Thanks to a grant from the Calvin Institute, free printed copies of the study guide remain available, in both languages, to MCUSA conferences and church partners for distribution to congregations. To order printed copies in bulk, please contact:  isga@goshen.edu


Indonesian Mennonite History

Roth, John D.  A Cloud of Witnesses: Celebrating Indonesian Mennonites. Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2021.

INDONESIA IS HOME to the oldest Mennonite community outside of Europe and North America. Historian and former ISGA Director John D. Roth traces the 170-year history of Mennonites in Indonesia alongside the larger cultural and religious history of the country. By weaving the legacy of European colonization and Dutch Mennonite missions into the history of the indigenous Anabaptist-Mennonite churches in Indonesia, Roth creates a rich narrative tapestry of three groups that have each integrated the good news of the gospel with the local culture, ethnic identity, religious currents, and national history in a distinctive way.

For more information, check out the September 2021 edition of the Rhizome newsletter.

The book can be purchased online through MennoMedia or Amazon: https://www.mennomedia.org/9781513809397/a-cloud-of-witnesses/


Sukoco, Sigit Heru, and Lawrence M. Yoder.  The Way of the Gospel in the World of Java: A History of the Muria Javanese Mennonite Church (GITJ). Edited by John D. Roth. Goshen, IN: Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism, 2020.

THE WAY OF THE GOSPEL IN THE WORLD OF JAVA, a history of Muria Javanese Mennonite Church (GITJ), provides an account of the evangelization of the people of the Muria area carried out both by missionaries of the Dutch Mennonite Mission as well as by indigenous Javanese evangelists. The European missionaries operated out of a western frame of reference while the indigenous Javanese evangelists interpreted the Gospel from the context of their own culture.  In the course of its long history, the developing congregations and agricultural communities around the Muria became a unified Christian movement called Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa (GITJ) (The Way of the Gospel in the World of Java). In English the church today is usually called the Muria Javanese Mennonite Church. For more information, check out this edition of the Rhizome Newsletter: Rhizome – Oct 2020.

To order a copy of this book, visit our Purchase page.


Bearing Witness Stories Project

The Bearing Witness Stories Project and Plough Publishing collaborated together in the creation of Bearing Witness: Stories of Martyrdom and Costly Discipleship, a collection of stories of costly discipleship that illustrate Christ-like nonviolence as lived by a diverse array of Christians spanning both centuries and continents. See Plough’s website for more information on the English version, originally published 2016.

Translations of Bearing Witness


Life Together in the Spirit

In 2015, John Driver’s classic text was updated to include study questions and responses from global Anabaptist theologians, as Life Together in the Spirit was released as the seventh title in Mennonite World Conference’s Global Anabaptist-Mennonite Shelf of Literature. In cooperation with MWC and Plough Publishing, the ISGA made significant contributions in the editing and translation of the final manuscript. The new edition was later translated into French, Indonesian, Portuguese, and Spanish (see below), and is available in hard copy or as a free PDF download from Plough Publishing House.

The 2011 release of Life Together in the Spirit was the first English translation of John Driver’s Convivencia Radical: espiritualidad para el siglo 21. The 2011 edition remains available in PDF format on the Global Anabaptist Wiki.

Translations of Life Together in the Spirit


Forward in Faith

Forward in Faith

Forward in Faith: A Seventy-Year Journey, 1942-2012. History of the Kenya Mennonite Church was published earlier this year by the Kenya Mennonite Church (KMC) as the culmination of collaborative process of writing, editing, and proofing involving a range of leaders within the KMC. The ISGA purchased 50 copies of Forward in Faith to distribute to academic journals and Anabaptist libraries and study centers in North America, hoping to increase awareness and engagement with KMC history beyond Kenya.


The Jesus Tribe

The Jesus Tribe book cover

The ISGA co-published The Jesus Tribe: Grace Stories from Congo’s Mennonites 1912–2012. A Project of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission with the Institute of Mennonite Studies in 2012. The Jesus Tribe is available in PDF format on the Global Anabaptist Wiki. 100 Ans de Mission Mennonite, the French release of The Jesus Tribe, is also available on Global Anabaptist Wiki.


Global Anabaptist Profile

The Global Anabaptist Profile surveyed the belief and practices of 24 member churches in Mennonite World Conference. Summarizing more than three years of research, this full-length report includes a forward by former ISGA Director John D. Roth, interpretive findings by GAP co-director Conrad Kanagy, and individual profiles of the 24 participating groups.


Global Anabaptism: Stories from the global Mennonite church

“Global Anabaptism” was a regular column by former ISGA Director John D. Roth in Anabaptist World, and previously in The Mennonite. Articles from 2012-2020 are listed chronologically here.