Way of Life Community Church (Mobile, Alabama, USA)
The Mobile Mennonite Church, Mobile, Alabama, USA, emerged in 1967 from the Voluntary Service unit that had been established in the city by the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions earlier in the decade. The Board rented a storefront in the Birdville community in 1967, initially calling it the Friendship Center. In 1969, a hurricane destroyed the property. The Board then purchased and renovated a house on Cottrell Street that served as the church for 14 years. It dedicated a new meetinghouse, built with much volunteer help, on 25 March 1984.
The Voluntary Service unit, which had been a core of the congregation, closed in 1989.
In June 1969, the Friendship Center became the Mobile Mennonite Church. Visiting ministers and lay leaders served the congregation until July 1969, when John D. "J. D." Landis was licensed as a minister.
The congregation was affiliated with the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. 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). Mobile Mennonite became part of this new fellowship.
In the early 2000s, the congregation changed its name to Way of Life Community Church.
After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, an outreach to the Vietnamese community in Bayou La Batre through the efforts of Thi Nguyen, a Mennonite Central Committee worker who came to the area as a service worker. A Vietnamese Way of Life Community Church eventually emerged at Bayou La Batre that continued to relate to the Mobile congregation.
Bibliography
Dagen, Paul L. Seedtime and Harvest, 1942-1987: History of Alabama Northwest Florida District Mennonite Churches. [Atmore, Alabama]: P. L. Dagen, 1987: 104-111.
Garner, David. "A 'Mobile' church." The Good News Messenger (September/October 2000): 2.
Kim, Susan. "Ministry born out of Katrina." Anabaptist World 14 September 2015. Web. 27 December 2023. https://anabaptistworld.org/ministry-born-out-of-katrina/.
"On Mar. 25,..." Gospel Herald 77, no. 18 (1 May 1984): 321.
"The Voluntary Service unit...." Gospel Herald 79, no. 33 (15 August 1989): 588.
Additional Information
Address: 1760 Riverside Drive, Mobile, Alabama 36605
Phone: 251-382-3485
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/wayoflifemobile
Denominational Affiliations: Lancaster Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at Way of Life Community Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Lay leaders | 1967-1969 |
| John D. "J. D." Landis (1948-2016) (Bishop) |
1969-1985 1985-1989 2004?-2016? |
| Jon Landis (Associate) | 2005-? |
| David Neuenschwander | 1987-1988 |
| Reuben G. Sairs | 1989-1999 |
| Duane Longenecker | 1989-1993 |
| David J. Garner | 1994-2004 |
| Ryan Cain | 2016?- |
Way of Life Community Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 5 |
| 1980 | 5 |
| 1990 | 19 |
| 2000 | 22 |
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | December 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Way of Life Community Church (Mobile, Alabama, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2023. Web. 27 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Way_of_Life_Community_Church_(Mobile,_Alabama,_USA)&oldid=178025.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (December 2023). Way of Life Community Church (Mobile, Alabama, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 27 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Way_of_Life_Community_Church_(Mobile,_Alabama,_USA)&oldid=178025.
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