Students can be helped to grow from being church-attenders to becoming active church participants and leaders. Mennonites and Brethren in Christ have been minority people in their cultures throughout most of their history. A minority people cannot simply rely on the mass culture in which it finds itself to communicate the stories and values it considers important to the oncoming generations. Schools are one means the older generations can use to communicate some of the experiences and insights they have found valuable to younger generations. Among other Christian groups in North America, none have as many students in their higher educational institutions per adult member as the largest bodies of Mennonites.
Some churches have elementary schools.
Conferences and other groups sponsor high schools and several Bible institutes. The Council of Mennonite Colleges comprises eleven Mennonite and Brethren in Christ colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The Mennonite Church, the General Conference Mennonite Church, and the Mennonite Brethren have three churchwide theological seminaries. The major North American Mennonite educational institutions are asking about ways they can better serve students who want to learn but who cannot spend full years of residential study on their campuses. Some new educational programs and schools are being established in cities with Mennonite populations.