Difference between revisions of "Oak Grove Mennonite Church (Smithville, Wayne County, Ohio, USA)"
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| Christian K. Yoder || align="right" | 1861-1871 | | Christian K. Yoder || align="right" | 1861-1871 | ||
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| − | | | + | | Jonathan Smucker || align="right" | 1861-1887 |
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| John Smiley || align="right" | 1866-1878 | | John Smiley || align="right" | 1866-1878 | ||
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| Doug Zehr || align="right" | 2009-present | | Doug Zehr || align="right" | 2009-present | ||
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[[Map:Oak Grove Mennonite Church, Smithville, Wayne County, Ohio, USA]] | [[Map:Oak Grove Mennonite Church, Smithville, Wayne County, Ohio, USA]] | ||
{{GAMEO_footer|hp=Vol. 4, p. 1-2|date=1958|a1_last=Gerig|a1_first=Virgil M|a2_last= |a2_first= }} | {{GAMEO_footer|hp=Vol. 4, p. 1-2|date=1958|a1_last=Gerig|a1_first=Virgil M|a2_last= |a2_first= }} | ||
Revision as of 22:50, 1 December 2013
Oak Grove Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite), located near Smithville, Wayne County, Ohio, is probably the oldest Mennonite congregation of Amish background in the state. The first settlers came to the area about 1817 from Somerset and Mifflin counties, PA, and organized a congregation in 1818, meeting in homes for worship. Other families of Swiss Mennonite background came directly from Switzerland and Alsace-Lorraine. Early bishops were David Zook, Christian Schantz, Jacob Yoder, assisted by ministers Christian Brandt, Christian Naftzinger, Peter Blough, Solomon Zook, and deacons Jacob King and Jacob Troyer.
The first meetinghouse (frame) was built in 1862, and a second (Pleasant Hill) in 1881 to accommodate members in the northern part of the district. In 1905 the Oak Grove meetinghouse was replaced by the large frame structure used by the present congregation.
The early congregation was a member of the Amish General Conference and Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference, and until 1947 of the Ohio and Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference. Since 1947 Pleasant Hill has been a separate congregation, still under the Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference, while Oak Grove continued independent until 1970 when it became an early dually affiliated congregation in the Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference of the Mennonite Church and the Central District Conference of the General Conference Mennonite Church. Under able and progressive leadership the varied background of the Oak Grove congregation led to a fused polity, highly active congregational interest and participation in higher education, missions, and the broader program of the church at large. Though a rural church, less than half the members (numbering 400 in January 1958) were actively employed in agriculture. The bishop was Jacob S. Gerig, with Virgil M. Gerig minister with full pastoral authority in the local congregation.
Other leaders serving earlier in addition to the above were John K. Yoder and Benjamin Gerig (bishops), C. K. Yoder, Jonathan Smucker, Christian Kureth (Conrad), John Smiley, Isaac Miller, D. Z. Yoder, S. K. Plank, David Hostetler, Stephen Miller, C. Z. Yoder, Peter Conrad, Albert Hartzler, P. R. Lantz, Peter Baumgartner, J. N. Smucker, Wm. G. Detweiler, Elmer Meyer (ministers and deacons).
Bibliography
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. 3, 282.
Lehman, James O. Creative Congregationalism: the History of the Oak Grove Mennonite Church in Wayne County, Ohio. Smithville, OH: The Church, 1978.
"Oak Grove Mennonite Church." Wikipedia. 21 June 2013. Web. 1 December 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Grove_Mennonite_Church.
"Oak Grove Mennonite Church, 2007: Oak Grove History." Oak Grove Mennonite Church. 2007. Web. 1 December 2013. http://oakgrovemc.org/about/history/.
Umble, John S. Ohio Mennonite Sunday Schools. Goshen, IN: Mennonite Historical Society, 1941: 209-231.
Additional Information
Address: 7843 Smucker Road, Smithville, OH 44677 (coordinates: 40.85863, -81.83148 [N 40 51' 31" W 81 49' 53"])
Phone: 330-669-2697
Website: http://oakgrovemc.org/
Oak Grove Mennonite Church Leading Ministers
| Minister | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Christian Brandt | 1818-1866 |
| David Zook | |
| Peter Schrock | ?-1846 |
| Solomon Zook | ?-1870 |
| Peter Nafziger | ?-1841 |
| John Fertenwald | 1831-1849 |
| Joseph Frey | |
| Hannes Yoder | ?-1850 |
| Emmanuel Hochstetler | 1855-1862 |
| Jacob Yoder | 1850-1858 |
| Peter Blough | 1855-? |
| Christian Nafziger | 1844-1864 |
| Christian Schantz | |
| John K. Yoder | 1855-1906 |
| Christian Conrad | 1859-1890 |
| Christian K. Yoder | 1861-1871 |
| Jonathan Smucker | 1861-1887 |
| John Smiley | 1866-1878 |
| D. Z. Yoder | 1872-1929 |
| David Hostetler | 1880-1889 |
| Isaac Miller | 1891-1894 |
| Benjamin Gerig | 1895-1913 |
| J. S. Gerig | 1896-1925 |
| C. Z. Yoder | 1904-1930s |
| Peter R. Lantz | 1909-1927 |
| Jesse N. Smucker | 1931-1936 |
| William G. Detweiler | 1938-1947 |
| Virgil O. Gerig | 1947-1960 |
| Robert Otto | 1960-1965 |
| Lotus Troyer | 1965-1971 |
| Peter Wiebe | 1972-1984 |
| Jim Schrag | 1985-1994 |
| Dennis Schmidt | 1994-1996 |
| Norma Duerkson | 1993-2008 |
| Will Shertzer | 2008-2009 |
| Doug Zehr | 2009-present |
Map
Map:Oak Grove Mennonite Church, Smithville, Wayne County, Ohio, USA
| Author(s) | Virgil M Gerig |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1958 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Gerig, Virgil M. "Oak Grove Mennonite Church (Smithville, Wayne County, Ohio, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1958. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Oak_Grove_Mennonite_Church_(Smithville,_Wayne_County,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=104507.
APA style
Gerig, Virgil M. (1958). Oak Grove Mennonite Church (Smithville, Wayne County, Ohio, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Oak_Grove_Mennonite_Church_(Smithville,_Wayne_County,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=104507.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1-2. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.