Discipleship was the focus ­of an event commemorating 500 years of Anabaptism at the Spring Valley Bruderhof in Farmington, Pa., on May 10.

About 70 people gathered to celebrate daring faith through an afternoon of scripture readings, songs and storytelling.

The event, “Faith at 500,” drew Ana­baptists and non-Anabaptists from Pennsylvania and other states, including Maryland, Virginia, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Tennessee.

A common thread ran through the gathering: The Christian life is not solitary. Discipleship happens in a community of believers.

This emphasis matched the tenets of the Bruderhof, an intentional Anabaptist community where members hold no personal property.

Founded in Germany in 1920 by Eberhard and Emmy Arnold, the Bruderhof fled Nazi persecution, moving to England and Paraguay. Today it has 28 locations in the United States and around the world.

Spring Valley members desired a 500th anniversary gathering that would allow history to inspire a deeper, more faithful Christian life.

The speakers were Matthew Peterson, Hector Troyer and Keith Kaufold.

Peterson, lead minister at Deep Run East Mennonite Church in Bedminster, Pa., part of Mosaic Mennonite Conference, grew up with the message that following Jesus was “safe and predictable.”

As a result, he desired adventure. He worked in Benin, where communal culture was central to survival, and later lived eight years at Plow Creek Fellowship, an intentional Christian community in Tiskilwa, Ill.

“I met Jesus,” Peterson said. “He was interesting and not domesticated.” When people give up their re­sources to a common purse, “there is skin in the game” of discipleship.

He wondered what risks we are willing to take in following Jesus. “What requires courage in our time?” he asked. He said threats to faith in the United States today come less as a “roaring lion” and more in a “strange and pleasing form,” such as prosperity.

Troyer, a member of an independent, conservative Anabaptist congregation in State College, Pa., focused on the risks taken by early Anabaptists. Against state and church rules, Anabaptists practiced adult baptism, voluntary church membership and nonresistance. Persecution did not stop them.

We can have the same courage today, Troyer said: “Choose your faith freely. Reject violence boldly. Build peace daily. . . . You just need the courage to say, ‘I choose the way of Christ.’ ”

Kaufold shared his experiences as pastor and director of Eighth Avenue Place, a ministry in Homestead, Pa. “Working with the poor shows me how poor I am,” he said.

Kaufold, a Methodist, said well-meaning religious people tend to think they have something to offer the poor. Instead, Jesus is in the poor, just as he is in the sacraments and scripture. Kaufold challenged attendees to consider whether they or their faith communities engage with the poor in meaningful ways.

Seated at circular tables, attendees discussed questions distributed by the planning committee.

Participants at one table discussed how wealth is increasingly tolerated in Anabaptist communities. The group expressed concern about material prosperity and complacency.

“We get possessive of our goods,” said an Amish man. After a tornado damaged his farm, he felt it was a reminder that he, like the early Anabaptists, was a stranger and pilgrim.

Planners also hoped the event would help attendees know that the Bruderhof is a part of the Anabaptist movement and that it welcomes visitors. The Resident Volunteer Program is an option for those who would like to explore life in Christian community.

Taking the early church in Acts 2 as its example, the Bruderhof community provides for all its members’ needs, and each person contributes to the common life. Most families and singles live in communal houses.

Some work in the kitchen, the laundry or the daycare center. Some sort mail. Others teach in the Bruderhof schools or work in the community’s factory. Children and those with special needs are considered equally important members of the community.

The Bruderhof’s mission is “simple and down to earth,” said Toby Momm­sen, a member of the event planning committee. “The kingdom of God is in the heart-to-heart connection among believers.”