Hively Avenue Mennonite Church (Elkhart, Indiana, USA)
The Elkhart Mennonite Fellowship in Elkhart, Indiana, USA, began in 1958 when the Mennonite Biblical Seminary moved from Chicago, Illinois to its new campus at the corner of Benham and Hively Avenues in Elkhart. The first formal meeting of interested families was held on 2 February 1958, with 13 adults in attendance. During the next three months, the group met regularly on Sunday afternoons in the homes of interested families. The new group held its first Sunday morning worship service on 4 May 1958, with William Klassen preaching and leading worship. It was organized formally as a congregation on 31 August 1958. In August 1959, it formally joined the General Conference Mennonite Church.
For a time, the congregation met in the Concord West Side School in Elkhart. In July 1959, it purchased four acres on Hively Avenue and had a groundbreaking for a new facility in June 1960. It moved into the new building on 12 March 1961. It renamed itself the Hively Avenue Mennonite Church. In 1979 it completed an addition of a new worship center and offices, converting the old space into Sunday school and nursery school space.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the congregation helped to sponsor the Partly Dave Coffeehouse in downtown Elkhart and began the Hively Avenue Nursery School, which was staffed by church members. In 1986 it declared itself a sanctuary church in support of Central American refugees without status in the United States.
In 2022 the congregation was part of the Central District Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
Bibliography
"A dedication service...." The Mennonite 94, no. 46 (18 December 1979): 762.
"Elkhart Congregation moves into new church building." The Mennonite 76, no. 15 (11 April 1961): 254.
"Elkhart Fellowship." The Mennonite 73, no. 47 (2 December 1958): 756.
"Gering to Elkhart." The Mennonite 74, no. 3 (20 January 1959): 48.
Habegger, David. "What is Hively?" Central District Reporter (19 September 1972): A-6.
"Hively Avenue Church declares sanctuary." The Mennonite 101, no. 13 (8 July 1986): 303.
Preheim, Rich. "Hively at 50." Central District Conference Reporter 52, no. 6 (November 2008): 1, 3.
Rich, Elaine Sommers, ed. Walking Together in Faith: The Central District Conference, 1957-1990. Bluffton, Ohio: The Conference, 2003.
Additional Information
Address: 800 East Hively Avenue, Elkhart, Indiana 46517
Phone: 574-294-3423
Website: https://www.hivelymennonite.org/
Denominational Affiliations: Central District Conference Conference
Pastoral Leaders at Hively Ave. Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Local Leadership | 1958-1959 |
| Walter A. Gering (1908-1996) | 1959-1964 |
| Samuel F. Pannabecker (1896-1977))(Interim Coordinator) | 1964-1965 |
| William Klassen (1930-2019)(Coordinator) | 1965-1966? |
| Harvey E. Nunemaker (1893-1972)(Coordinator) | 1966?-1967 |
| David L. Habegger (1925-2020) | 1967-1976 |
| Fred Obold (Part of Team) | 1976-1977 |
| Martha Smith Good (Part of Team) | 1976-1977 |
| Daniel C. Steiner ((Part of Team) | 1976-1977 |
| Virgil M. Gerig (1918-2006) | 1977-1982 |
| Marcia A. Yoder-Schrock | 1982-1991 |
| Sanford Boshart (Interim) | 1991-1992 |
| Doug Reichenbach | 1992-1995 |
| Jason Martin (Interim) | 1995-1996 |
| Michael "Mick" K. Sommers | 1996-2011 |
| Charles Geiser | 2011-2017? |
| Jake Hess | 2017?-2022 |
| Tim Stair | 2017-present |
Membership at Hively Ave. Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1958 | 31 |
| 1960 | 39 |
| 1970 | 114 |
| 1980 | 156 |
| 1990 | 150 |
| 2000 | 103 |
| 2009 | 103 |
| 2020 | 100 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By William Klassen. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1078. All rights reserved.
Elkhart Mennonite Church (General Conference Mennonite Chruch) began holding services in January 1958 and was organized as a congregation with 40 charter members on 31 August 1958. In April 1959 Walter Gering began to serve as pastor. Since its inception the congregation has met in the West Side School but in July 1959 a 4-acre plot with parsonage located at the corner of Hively and Pleasant Plain was purchased on which a meetinghouse was built.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | October 2022 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Hively Avenue Mennonite Church (Elkhart, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. October 2022. Web. 24 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hively_Avenue_Mennonite_Church_(Elkhart,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=174196.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (October 2022). Hively Avenue Mennonite Church (Elkhart, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hively_Avenue_Mennonite_Church_(Elkhart,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=174196.
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