A checked version of this page, approved on 21 November 2023, was based on this revision.

The Creek Indian Mission north of Atmore, Alabama, USA, began in 1951 as a mission outreach to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians by the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. The Creek People who escaped expulsion in the Trail of Tears in 1836 became the core of a small Native American group that was recognized by the United States government. The mission work began when the Freemanville Mennonite Mission congregation in Atmore, Alabama, conducted a Summer Bible School on the reservation, beginning in 1951. David and Ida Weaver had moved from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania to the Atmore area in December 1950 to farm and help with the Freemanville mission.

In 1953 the Weavers began a Bible study in their home not far from the reservation. Later the group began to meet on Sundays in a double garage built near the Weaver home. The pastors at Freemanville provided leadership until 1956, when the mission board appointed David Weaver as superintendent of the mission.

The congregation constructed a church building in 1955/56. In 1959, the congregation began an outreach to Choctaw People at Mashulaville, Mississippi, and David and Ida moved there to lead the new work.

After Paul Leaman's resignation in early 1970, there was unrest within the congregation, possibly related to the dress and divorce and remarriage regulations of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. The congregation withdrew from the Lancaster Conference in 1970. David Weaver provided interim leadership.

Because of David Weaver's connection to the Ohio and Eastern Conference of the Mennonite Church (MC), the congregation joined that conference. It also began using the name Poarch Community Church. When the Gulf States Mennonite Conference emerged in 1979 to link Mennonite congregations from various conferences in the southern states, it joined that conference.

While Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 did not damage the Poarch church, it did impact many Poarch families. The church also served as a temporary shelter location for persons displaced by the storm.

In 2015 the Poarch congregation left the Gulf States Mennonite Conference. This move was part of a larger withdrawal of Mennonite congregations in the 2010s that were formerly part of Mennonite Church USA. These congregations were unhappy with Mennonite Church USA's failure to take stronger disciplinary actions against area conferences and congregations that expressed openness to the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. Poarch Community Church then joined the Good News Fellowship that same year.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Samuel J Steiner
Date Published	November 2023

Dagen, Paul L. Seedtime and Harvest, 1942-1987: History of Alabama Northwest Florida District Mennonite Churches. [Atmore, Alabama]: P. L. Dagen, 1987: 79-85.

"The first member of the Creek Indian...." Gospel Herald 47, no. 3 (19 January 1954): 68.

Maust, Elaine. "They’re not white; they’re Indian." Gospel Herald 83, no. 45 (6 November 1990): 761-764.

"Poarch Community provides shelter." TheMennonite 8, no. 18 (20 September 2005): 20.

Thomas, Everett J. "Update from Poarch Community Church." TheMennonite 8, no. 18 (20 September 2005): 20.

Additional Information

Address: 6210 Jack Springs Road, Atmore, Alabama 36502

Phone:

Website: https://www.facebook.com/poarchcommunitychurch/

Denominational Affiliations:

Good News Fellowship

Pastoral Leaders at Poarch Community Church

Name	Years of Service
C. Richard Kling (1923-1993)	1953-1956
Howard W. Stevanus (1888-1968)	1954-1956
David Z. Weaver (1922-1997)	1956-1959 1970-1971 1982-1997
Paul L. Dagen (1924-2015) (Bishop)	1958-1961 1961-1967
Paul G. Leaman (1932-2019)	1967-1970
Noah A. Yoder (1919-2010)	1971-1982
Clarence Rolin	1994?-1995
Lavaughn Lambert	1995-1998?
Terry Smith	1998?-2001
Steve W. Cheramie Risingsun (d. 2016)	2001-2010s
David P. Moulton	2007-2011
Johnny Stabler	2012?-2016
Trevor Daughtry	2016?-?
Brian Eskelinen	2023-

Poarch Community Church Membership

Year	Members
1955	11
1960	30
1970	24
1980	15
1990	48
2000	45
2009	45

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "Poarch Community Church (Atmore, Alabama, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. November 2023. Web. 27 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Poarch_Community_Church_(Atmore,_Alabama,_USA)&oldid=177814.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (November 2023). Poarch Community Church (Atmore, Alabama, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 27 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Poarch_Community_Church_(Atmore,_Alabama,_USA)&oldid=177814.

Poarch Community Church (Atmore, Alabama, USA)

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