Alexander Mack

1679-1735
Alexander Mack (1679-1735) is considered the founder of the Brethren Movement, oftentimes called the Tunker Movement because of insistance upon trine immersion as a proper mode of baptism. Following careful study of Scripture, Mack found himself out of harmony with the three state churches of Germany because of their formality, laxity in practice, and failure to observe all the New Testament teachings. In 1708, at Schwarzenau, Germany, with seven other likeminded persons, he organized a new denomination with a Christo-Bible-centered emphasis. Persecution caused flight from Germany by way of the Netherlands. They followed others of like faith to America in 1729.    

Germantown, Pennsylvania, became their American headquarters. From Mack's initial efforts, three main groups have emerged-the Church of the Brethren, the old German Baptist Brethren, and a progressive Brethren church, recognized as the Brethren Church, Ashland, Ohio, and the National Fellowship of Brethren Churches (Grace Brethren), Winona Lake, Indiana, whose motto is: The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible.