Behalt excited to note quincentenary throughout 2025

Few people ever think about what half a millennium looks like, but for Behalt Executive Director Marcus Yoder and his staff at Behalt, celebrating 500 years of the Anabaptist faith is now here, and they want to share that monumental moment all year long.

The quincentenary is in full stride now, and Behalt is hoping to usher in this long-awaited celebration by sharing the Anabaptist story to everyone including its own people.

Ray Miller, staff member at Behalt, said creating a better understanding of where the Anabaptist movement came from is one of the most important messages they can share in this 500th anniversary year of Anabaptist faith.

“This was a completely new idea that anyone could be a part of the church, regardless of where they lived, and the Anabaptist faith came out of a world that was in tumult,” Miller said. “It was a faith that reached out to people and said ‘we want you to be a part of something special,’ but it also asked for those members to be committed to something unique.”

Yoder said the Anabaptist faith grew out of the separation of church and state and said it was an innovative step.

“I think they were about 200 years ahead of their time,” Yoder said.

He said the discussion always centered around baptism as the breaking point for various faiths, but he said that was never the question when it came to the Anabaptist faith.

“It was about who is a member of the church,” Yoder said. “Reformers said everybody was a member, and Anabaptists said, ‘No, just everybody who is willing to dedicate their life to follow Christ.’”

To celebrate this anniversary, Yoder said Behalt is creating a variety of opportunities to bring people together. That includes some special tours of Behalt that are focused on specific groups such as one for women. In addition, Yoder plans on bringing in a series of special speakers throughout the year.

He said many churches are planning trips to Behalt to bring their congregations and members to experience the entire Anabaptist story through Heinz Gaugel’s spectacular cyclorama.

Even as Holmes County is in the midst of celebrating its bicentennial, Yoder said this 500-year anniversary is even more unique in that it is a milestone in its rarity.

Yoder said that despite so many people of Anabaptist faith living within the confines of Holmes County, many of them don’t really know the incredible history of the struggles and accomplishments its people have gone through over the past 500 years.

“Our people have as much trouble remembering and celebrating their history as any people,” Yoder said.

He went on to talk about how inspiring the experience of Behalt can be when the experienced staff members walk visitors through the entire story from start to finish.

“The mural hall is so fun to have events in,” Yoder said. “We’re actually in the story. You can tell the story while being surrounded by the story. I love that concept. It really brings it to life in a very amazing way, and we have the best group of tour guides who understand the story and its history and what it means.”

Considering it is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, Yoder said they are rolling out the red carpet all year to invite people and groups to come to Behalt and experience the Anabaptist story through the inspiration of Gaugel’s “Behalt” cyclorama, which will provide insight into the faith, the people and the story of the Anabaptist movement.

The Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center began in the mid-1980s, and the current facility was built in 1991. Just recently, it went through a rebranding process, highlighting the name Behalt rather than AMHC.

Last year the center saw more than 13,000 visitors from more than 93 different countries, with many of those being tourists.

Yoder is hoping that during this time of celebration the local community of believers will stop in and experience their Anabaptist history in a personal way.

“This story and this mural is a gift, and we hope that our local community can really gain a sense of who we are as a people and what our faith truly means and where our roots are,” Yoder said.

Behalt is located at 5798 County Road 77 in Berlin. Hours for April through October are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed Sunday. Winter hours from November through March are Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed Sunday.