View source for Capital Christian Fellowship (Lanham, Maryland, USA)

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The Cottage City Mennonite Mission was founded by young Mennonite carpenters, mostly from [[Denbigh (Warwick County, Virginia, USA)|Denbigh]], [[Virginia (USA)|Virginia]], working in [[Washington (District of Columbia, USA)|Washington, D. C.]], in the fall of 1922. Cottage City was a small [[Maryland (USA)|Maryland]] town of about 1,000 bordering Washington, D. C. A small Mennonite fellowship began to meet in the rear of H. M. Brunk's real estate office in Cottage City. The [[Virginia Mennonite Missions|Virginia Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities]] took initial leadership but felt unable to develop the work or to build a meetinghouse. It asked the larger [[Eastern Mennonite Missions (Lancaster Mennonite Conference)|Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities]] of the [[LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches|Lancaster Mennonite Conference]] to oversee the work, which it did in October 1927.

The Lancaster Conference recognized the Cottage City group as a congregation and ordained Ray J. Shenk in 1928 to provide pastoral leadership. Initially, building lots had been purchased in Washington, D. C., but they were traded for a property in Cottage City about a half mile from the D. C. border. The Eastern Board erected a meetinghouse in 1929 and dedicated it on 16 June 1929.

Cottage City helped to launch [[First Mennonite Church of Columbia (Ellicott City, Maryland, USA)|Maple Grove Mennonite Church]] near Ellicott City, Maryland, and the Guildford Road Mennonite Church. In the late 1980s, Cottage City Mennonite supported the first Mennonite church to be established in Guyana.

For many years, the presence of a [[Voluntary Service]] Unit in the Cottage City community benefitted the congregation. 

When David Eshleman, an experienced church planter, became pastor in September 1994, the Cottage Hill congregation looked for new growth opportunities. Its membership had stagnated. The congregation leased its Cottage City building to another church and entered into a rental agreement with Capitol College (now Capitol Technology University) for its 300-seat auditorium on its campus in South Laurel, Maryland, about 11 miles north of Cottage City. When the move occurred in September 1995, the congregation changed its name to Capital Christian Fellowship. In 2022, the Overcoming Power Apostolic Temple occupied the former Cottage City Mennonite Church building.

At its new location, Capital Christian Fellowship instituted a full worship team and band, cell groups within the congregation, and outreach to neighbors of non-ethnic Mennonite backgrounds, including African Americans.

It has been in the Washington-Baltimore District of [[LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches]]. By 2017 it had also become a member of the Evana Network. 

Capital Christian Fellowship purchased a property for a new facility on Greenbelt Road in Lanham, Maryland, six miles outside of Washington, D.C., in 2001. It moved into the new church building in 2004.

The congregation launched a food pantry in 2014 known as Janet's Garden. Other ministries included a Wednesday evening dinner, discipleship classes, a Basketball & Bible Study, and English as a Second Language classes. The heritage of church members included over 30 countries.

= Bibliography =
"50th ordination anniversary." ''Gospel Herald'' 71, no. 8 (21 February 1978): 162.

Brenneman, B. F. "Washington, D. C." ''Gospel Herald'' (7 October 1926): 604.

"Cottage City congregation revives hope in change." ''Gospel Herald'' 88, no. 45 (14 November 1995): 14.

Good, Helen. "President of Guyana helps dedicate first Mennonite church." 84, no. 24 (11 June 1991): 11.

Haddox-Rossiter, Akeia and Jaye Lindo. "Open hours, open shop." ''Shalom News'' 37, no. 1 (January-March 2017): 7.

Mellinger, John H. "Work of the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities." ''Mennonite Year-Book and Directory'' (1930): 8-9.

Shenk, R. J. "Washington, D. C." ''Gospel Herald'' 22, no. 3 (18 April 1929): 52. 

Weaver, Martin G. ''Mennonites of Lancaster Conference: containing biographical sketches of Mennonite leaders, histories of congregations, missions, and Sunday schools, record of ordinations, and other interesting historical data''. Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1931. Reprinted Ephrata, PA: Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church Publication Board, 1982: 296, 394. Available in full electronic text at https://archive.org/details/mennonitesoflanc00weav_0/page/n3/mode/2up.

Wert, Carol L. "Dying congregation relocates, revives." ''theMennonite'' 1, no. 22 (28 July 1998); 4.
= Additional Information =
'''Address''': 10411 Greenbelt Road, Lanham Maryland 20706

'''Telephone''': 301-262-7008

'''Website''': https://capitalchristian.org/

'''Denominational Affiliations''':

[https://lmcchurches.org/ LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches]

[https://www.mennoniteusa.org/ Mennonite Church USA] (Until 2017)
== Pastoral Leaders at Capital City Fellowship ==
{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! Name !! Years<br/>of Service
|-
| Visiting Ministers || 1922-1928
|-
| Ray J. Shenk (1896-1985) || 1928-1958
|-
| George F. Brunk (1890-1963) || 1932-1943
|-
| Lewis C. Good (1899-1978) || 1953-1978
|-
| William R. McGrath (1931-2015) || 1956-1959
|-
| Lewis C. Good, Jr.<br />(Bishop) || 1970-1978<br />1978-2006
|-
| James R. Fahnstock || 1977-1989?
|-
| Curtis S. Ashburn || 1986-1989?
|-
| Wilmer Z. Good (1939-2021) || 1984-2000s
|-
| James Keegan || 1990-1994?
|-
| John "David" Eshleman (Lead) || 1994-2004
|-
| Jon Chester "Chet" Miller-Eshleman || 1998-2004
|-
| Noah J. Kaye (Lead) || 2004-2010
|-
| Nelson Okanya (Associate) || 2006-2011
|-
| Thurman Custis (Youth) || 2006-2007
|-
| Caleb Kaye (Various roles) || 2011-2023
|-
| Glenn Kauffman (Lead) || 2012?-
|-
| Jaye Lindo (Youth) || 2014-2018
|-
| Akeia Haddox-Rossiter (Various roles) || 2016-
|-
| Joseph Alexander (Youth) || 2023-
|}

== Capital City Fellowship Membership ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|-
! Year !! Members
|-
| 1931 || 29
|-
| 1940 || 60
|-
| 1950 || 37
|-
| 1960 || 38
|-
| 1970 || 30
|-
| 1980 || 47
|-
| 1990 || 56
|-
| 2000 || 77
|-
| 2009 || 250
|}
= Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article =

By Ira D. Landis. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from ''Mennonite Encyclopedia'', Vol. 1, p. 721. All rights reserved.

Cottage City (Maryland) Mennonite Suburban Mission ([[Mennonite Church (MC)]]) was founded by young Mennonite carpenters, mostly from [[Denbigh (Warwick County, Virginia, USA)|Denbigh]], [[Virginia (USA)|Virginia]], working in [[Washington (District of Columbia, USA)|Washington, D. C.]], in the fall of 1922. They started a church under the [[Virginia Mennonite Conference (Mennonite Church USA)|Virginia Conference]]; but since October 1927, the mission has been under the mission board of the [[LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches|Lancaster Conference]]. Ray J. Shenk is the minister and mission superintendent. The membership in 1954 was 38.
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