Calvary Mennonite Church (Brewton, Alabama, USA)
The Calvary Mennonite Church, northwest of Brewton, Alabama, USA, in the Appleton area began as an outreach of the Itinerant Evangelism Committee (IEC) of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. The IEC's first exploration took place in 1943. It held Summer Bible School in Appleton in 1944, led by Mahlon and Mable Hess and Walter and Ruth Leatherman. These Bible schools continued for four years in the Friendship Holiness Church.
Elam and Gertrude Hollinger began to form a church in Appleton in 1947. The following year the IEC built a 30'x 40' worship center three miles from Appleton that became the Calvary Mennonite Church. The first service in the new facility took place on 11 July 1948. The congregation added additional space in 1952 and 1966. It built a new sanctuary in 1975 and converted the old space into a fellowship hall. In 2000 it again added a new sanctuary, classrooms, and baptistry.
In 2000 the Lancaster Mennonite Conference "released" the 14 churches it had established in the southeast United States to form a new network called Good News Fellowship (GNF). Calvary Mennonite became part of this new fellowship.
In the early 2000s, most members worked in forestry, medical, educational, technical, institutional, and industrial fields.
Bibliography
Dagen, Paul L. Seedtime and Harvest, 1942-1987: History of Alabama Northwest Florida District Mennonite Churches. [Atmore, Alabama]: P. L. Dagen, 1987: 36-41.
Kautz, Bernard B. "Observation." Gospel Herald 42, no. 21 (24 May 1949): 490.
Martin, Kenneth. "A panoramic view of Calvary Mennonite Church." The Good News Messenger (Spring 2004): 2-3.
Additional Information
Address: 1891 Mason Mill Pond Road, Brewton, Alabama 36426
Phone:
Website:
Denominational Affiliations: Lancaster Mennonite Conference (until 2000)
Good News Fellowship
Pastoral Leaders at Calvary Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Elam B. Hollinger (1917-2006) | 1947-1954 |
| John J. Metzler | 1955-1966 |
| Kenneth E. Martin (1936-2023) | 1966-1969 1972-2005 |
| Harold Bucher (Interim) | 1970-1972 |
| John Gehman (Associate) | 1982-1998 |
| Mark Regehr (Associate) (Lead) |
1998-2005 2005- |
Calvary Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 13 |
| 1960 | 10 |
| 1970 | 19 |
| 1980 | 43 |
| 1990 | 27 |
| 2000 | 41 |
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | December 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Calvary Mennonite Church (Brewton, Alabama, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2023. Web. 27 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Calvary_Mennonite_Church_(Brewton,_Alabama,_USA)&oldid=177883.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (December 2023). Calvary Mennonite Church (Brewton, Alabama, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 27 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Calvary_Mennonite_Church_(Brewton,_Alabama,_USA)&oldid=177883.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.