Goshen College student contributes to Anabaptism and Mission bibliography update

For the past three months, Tuesday mornings have found Goshen College senior Emma Gingerich in the stacks of the Mennonite Historical Library. Gingerich has been using the MHL’s collection to help compile and describe a wide range of sources that will contribute to an update of the Anabaptism and Mission Bibliography.

Originally directed by Chad M. Bauman and James R. Krabill, the first iteration of the bibliography was published in 2002. In 2011, missiologist and pastor Joe Pfeiffer completed an updated bibliography that is currently hosted online by Mennonite World Conference. Pfeiffer and other organizers hope that a 2025 update coinciding with the 500th anniversary of the origins of Anabaptism will serve a new generation of scholars and more fully reflect the scope of recent global scholarship.

Published bibliographies like the Anabaptism and Mission Bibliography provide a comprehensive list of publications around a specific theme. Although a library catalog is certainly a great place to start, published bibliographies often include information and sources that may not appear in a catalog search. In the case of the Anabaptism and Mission Bibliography, this is especially true, since the bibliography’s scope is so broad; it includes publications by, for, or about Anabaptists in mission, with mission defined as boundary-crossing that involves witness.

Gingerich compiled her contributions to the bibliography, including identifying tags for further classification, in a research tool called Zotero that is easily shared with other collaborators. Of greatest personal interest to Gingerich was the literature on Christian-Muslim relations and dialogue. “It helped me reflect on my own faith,” said Gingerich. “It has been really interesting to read some of these sources in conjunction with my Islam class right now.” Gingerich’s experience is a testament to the ways that student research can strengthen liberal arts connections on campus, as well as contribute to initiatives beyond Goshen College.