This represents the background out of which the Henderson Mennonite Brethren Church comes. It is the history of a people whose forefathers at one point in history, took a radical stance toward God´s Word. At that point in history they were called Anabaptists. Within a short time they were nicknamed Mennonites, because they were identified as followers of a Dutch leader, Menno Simons. After suffering persecution for their viewpoints, they settled down in Prussia. Several centuries later they moved to Russia. In 1860, because of the laxity among the Mennonites, a renewal movement in Russia resulted in the beginning of the Mennonite Brethren Church. The reason for these people in coming to settle on the wild prairies was to worship as they pleased.

On September, 1874, 35 families arrived in Nebraska. This group remained in Lincoln, Nebraska, for approximately 6-7 weeks to give leaders time to locate land on which to settle. The last part of the migration was from Lincoln to Sutton, which was the nearest railroad station to Henderson. The trip from Sutton

was made by foot or ox and wagon across the prairies. The photo shows the construction of the present structure.  The B.& M. Railroad Company had build an immigrant house, 1 mile east of Henderson as a temporary shelter for the immigrants. Peter Regier, a minister of a Mennonite Brethren Church in Russia, came to Henderson in 1876 and started conducting meetings in fellow Mennonite homes.