Mennonite Publication Board

The Mennonite Publication Board was founded in 1908 in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, as an organization through which the (old) Mennonite Church could own and operate its own publishing and periodicals. It served as the overseeing board for the printing and sale of denominational texts, operating the Mennonite Publishing House in Scottdale along with several bookstores throughout the United States and Canada, until 2002.

Prior to 1908, Mennonite publications and periodicals were owned and operated outside of the church, under multiple Mennonite publishing agencies, including the Mennonite Publishing Company, the Mennonite Book and Tract Society and the Gospel Witness Company. Several conferences under the (old) Mennonite Church began expressing a desire to consolidate and control the production of denominational texts, including the Kansas-Nebraska Conference in 1898, with several other conferences expressing interest by 1907. In November 1907 a meeting in Elkhart of delegates from nine conferences voted unanimously that the church should control its publications. A committee was formed with J.S. Shoemaker elected as chairman, and the new committee began negotiating with the three privately operated Mennonite publishing houses, the Mennonite Publishing Company, Gospel Witness Company, and the Mennonite Book and Tract Society, to purchase equipment and publications. Scottdale, Pennsylvania was chosen as the board's headquarters, as well as the location for its printing company, the Mennonite Publishing House. The new Mennonite Publication Board would organize and govern the church's printing interests, while the Mennonite Publishing House would carry out practical operations.

The board operated with an executive committee including a president, vice-president, secretary, and financial agent, although these positions were altered over the years. Notable members of this executive committee include J.C. Wenger, J.S. Shoemaker, Paul Erb, Moses H. Shantz, and A.J. Metzler. Metzler served as a Publishing Agent for the board, the general manager of the board's operations. The board in total had a membership of more than 30 in 1956, its net worth was $1,019,223.72 and along with the publishing house, it owned several bookstores across the United States and Canada.

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