Bethel Mennonite Church (Broadway, Virginia, USA)
Photo by Elwood Yoder; used with permission.
Source: Mennonite Archives of Virginia.
The Bethel Mennonite Church (Mountain Valley Mennonite Churches, formerly Mennonite Church) four miles (6.5 km) north of Cootes Store, Rockingham County, Virginia, was a member of the Virginia Mennonite Conference before withdrawing from the conference in 2002 over doctrinal concerns. It then became a member of the Mountain Valley Mennonite Churches, a group of churches unwilling to join the then new Mennonite Church USA.
About 1915 a Sunday school was started by two Baptist girls under a tree near this place. It was later moved to an old store building near by. The Mennonite Church was invited to take the work over and the store building was purchased in 1918 and used for services until around 1925 when it was torn down, moved to its present location, and enlarged. The membership was 110 in 1953 and the pastor was M. D. Emswiler. In 2018 the pastors were Stephen R. Estep and Millard Sonifrank.
Bibliography
Anabaptist (Mennonite) Directory 2011. Harrisonburg, VA: The Sword and Trumpet, 2011: 65.
Additional Information
Address: 18425 Runions Creek Road, Broadway, Virginia 22815
Denominational Affiliations:
Mountain Valley Mennonite Churches
Ordained Pastors at Bethel Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Abram G. Heishman (1879-1958) | 1925?-1937? |
| M. Dewey Emswiler | 1935-1954 |
| Harold Emswiler | 1953-1969? |
| A. T. Rollins | 1969-1971? |
| Earl R. Delp | 1971-1977 |
| J. Ward Shank | 1978-1980 |
| Stephen R. Estep | 1983-present |
| Millard Sonifrank | 2000?-present |
Membership at Bethel Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1930 | 49 |
| 1935 | 77 |
| 1940 | 76 |
| 1945 | 78 |
| 1950 | 95 |
| 1955 | 107 |
| 1960 | 109 |
| 1965 | 120 |
| 1970 | 120 |
| 1975 | 111 |
| 1980 | 101 |
| 1985 | 63 |
| 1990 | 68 |
| 1995 | 54 |
| 2000 | 60 |
| 2005 | 55 |
| 2010 | 45 |
| 2015 | 35 |
Maps
Map:Bethel Mennonite Church (Broadway, Virginia)
| Author(s) | Timothy Showalter |
|---|---|
| Sam Steiner | |
| Date Published | April 2019 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Showalter, Timothy and Sam Steiner. "Bethel Mennonite Church (Broadway, Virginia, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2019. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bethel_Mennonite_Church_(Broadway,_Virginia,_USA)&oldid=163819.
APA style
Showalter, Timothy and Sam Steiner. (April 2019). Bethel Mennonite Church (Broadway, Virginia, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bethel_Mennonite_Church_(Broadway,_Virginia,_USA)&oldid=163819.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 311. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.