The Church of the Brethren and Publishing

First Issue of The Brethren's Missionary Visitor To find out more about the history of Messenger magazine, click here.

The Church of the Brethren was founded in 1708 in Schwarzenau, Germany; but virtually the entire movement migrated to North America beginning in 1719. They have been known as Dunkers, Dunkards, and the German Baptist Brethren; but since 1908 their official name has been the Church of the Brethren. While the Brethren did some publishing during the 18th century (Several members of the famous Saur family of Germantown, Pennsylvania, were Brethren.), it was not until the 19th and 20th centuries that publishing became a major activity. Much of this publishing was done in Northern Illinois–first in Mount Morris and then in Elgin. Since 1899, Elgin has been the home of the official Brethren publishing operations, around which the denominational headquarters developed in the 20th century.