Herold Mennonite Church (Bessie, Oklahoma, USA)
The Herold Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA), located three miles (4.8 kilometers) east and five miles (8 kilometers) north of Cordell, Oklahoma, a member of the Western District Conference, was organized in 1899 in the home of Jacob Jantzen with the help of three elders, Christian Krehbiel, Peter Balzer, and Jacob Toews. At this time the church building (built about 1897) on the Jantzen farm was purchased from the Sichar congregation, and the Sichar congregation moved to another site. It was replaced in 1915 by the church building of 1955.
Michael Klaassen, ordained elder in 1901, served until 1918, when he moved to Canada with 28 members on account of military service. He was followed by Jacob Jantzen, who served 40 years as minister, including 18 years as elder. Between this resignation and 1955 the church has had four ministers: J. R. Duerksen (1940), C. B. Friesen (1943), Paul Dahlenburg (1946), and Richard Tschetter (1951). The church membership in 1955 was 231.
After the 2012 Western District Conference annual meeting, Herold Mennonite Church left the conference, believing that conference leaders and delegates had departed from biblical authority and failed to follow the denomination’s Confession of Faith and Membership Guidelines. In June 2013 the congregation joined the South Central Mennonite Conference.
Bibliography
Schrag, Paul. "Western District Loses 7 Churches in a Year." Mennonite World Review (24 June 2013). http://www.mennoworld.org/2013/6/24/western-district-loses-7-churches-year/.
Additional Information
Address: 1313 N College Street, Cordell, OK 73632
Phone: 580-832-3435
Denominational Affiliations:
Western District Conference (until 2012)
South Central Mennonite Conference (2013-present)
| Author(s) | Richard Tschetter |
|---|---|
| Date Published | March 2014 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Tschetter, Richard. "Herold Mennonite Church (Bessie, Oklahoma, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2014. Web. 25 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Herold_Mennonite_Church_(Bessie,_Oklahoma,_USA)&oldid=115650.
APA style
Tschetter, Richard. (March 2014). Herold Mennonite Church (Bessie, Oklahoma, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Herold_Mennonite_Church_(Bessie,_Oklahoma,_USA)&oldid=115650.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 711. All rights reserved.
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