Comins Community Church (Comins, Michigan, USA)
The Comins (Michigan) Mennonite Church began as a union Sunday school sponsored by F. F. Stutesman and a number of Mennonite and Methodist families living in that vicinity. Revival meetings were held in the fall of 1924, and in the summer of 1925, separate congregations were organized, and a Mennonite church was built.
The congregation erected a church building that was dedicated on 1 November 1925. Until 1944 the congregation rented a house in Comins as parsonage, but that year it built its own parsonage on a donated lot.
On 3 July 1999, a tornado destroyed the Comins church and parsonage along with many other buildings in Comins. Pastor Terry Berg and his family were away from home at a funeral and stopped on the way home for ice cream. When they finally arrived, nothing was left. Mennonite Disaster Service helped to reconstruct the parsonage by the end of August and a new church by the end of the year.
On 24 October 2010, Comins Mennonite Church withdrew from the Central District Conference and Mennonite Church USA and continued as an independent Mennonite church. A letter from its Spiritual Life Board expressed concern "about the direction we have observed CDC and MC USA leaning toward in regards to Biblical teachings. . . ." It initiated a process to find another denomination in late 2011. By 2013 it became a member of the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches.
In October 2016, the congregation changed its name to Comins Community Church.
Bibliography
"Comins church and parsonage fall victim to tornado." The Central District Reporter 43, no. 3 (August 1999): 5.
"Comins votes to become independent Mennonite congregation." Central District Conference Reporter (January 2011): 3. Web. 7 December 2011. http://centraldistrict.mennonite.net/News/CDC_Reporter#.
Comins Mennonite Church. "Newsletter" (November-December 2011). Web. 7 December 2011. [Broken link].
Doncevic, Marisa. "Blessing in disguise." Mennonite Brethren Herald 39 (12 May 2000). Web. 7 December 2011. [Broken link].
Krehbiel, Evelyn. "Who? When? Why?--Comins Church." Central District Reporter 36, no. 3 (March 1992): 1.
"Timing spares villagers from tornado fury." Toledo Blade (7 July 1999). Web. 7 December 2011. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19990707&id=nVxIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ngMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6766,2009809
Wenger, John C. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 364-365.
Additional Information
Address: 4263 North First Street West, Comins, Michigan
Phone: 989-848-2909
Website: Comins Community Church
Pastoral Leaders at Comins Community Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Harvey E. Nunemaker (1893-1972) | 1926-1931 |
| Frank R. Mitchell (1896-1972) | 1931-1941 |
| Paul Kreft | 1942-1945 |
| LaVerne Rutschman (1919-2018) | 1946-1947 |
| Amos M. Eash (1883-1952) | 1947-1948 |
| Joseph E. Atherton (1921-2002) | 1949-1955 |
| Archie Kliewer | 1955-1960 |
| Rudolf C. Martens (1926-2013) | 1960-1965 |
| Walter H. Regier (1915-1998) | 1965-1968 |
| Paul H. Diller | 1969-1976 |
| Russell R. Welty (1924-2011) | 1977-1989 |
| Thomas E. "Tom" Voth | 1989-1996 |
| Terry L. Berg | 1997-2000 |
| Robert Martz | 2000-2004 |
| Steve Gusler (Interim) | 2005?-2006? |
| John Nelson King | 2005?-? |
| Kevin Salsbury | 2007?-present |
Membership at Comins Community Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 164 |
| 1960 | 98 |
| 1970 | 161 |
| 1980 | 98 |
| 1990 | 106 |
| 2000 | 92 |
| 2008 | 103 |
Maps
Map:Comins Mennonite Church (Comins, Michigan)
| Author(s) | Grace Miller |
|---|---|
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Date Published | August 2022 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Miller, Grace and Samuel J. Steiner. "Comins Community Church (Comins, Michigan, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2022. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Comins_Community_Church_(Comins,_Michigan,_USA)&oldid=175008.
APA style
Miller, Grace and Samuel J. Steiner. (August 2022). Comins Community Church (Comins, Michigan, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Comins_Community_Church_(Comins,_Michigan,_USA)&oldid=175008.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 648. All rights reserved.
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