Greensburg Mennonite Church (Greensburg, Kansas, USA)

The Greensburg Mennonite Church in Greensburg, Kansas, began with the efforts of Earvey M. Yost, formerly a minister in the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. That denomination silenced him after he questioned some of its doctrinal positions. He then explored other relationships, including the Mennonite Church (MC). In April 1932, the Missouri-Kansas Mennonite Conference held revival meetings in Greensburg with Clayton F. Derstine, who received Yost into the Mennonite Church and helped to launch the Greensburg congregation during the meetings. The early Greensburg membership included people from the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, and some from the General Conference and Krimmer Mennonite Brethren.

The Missouri-Kansas Conference welcomed the Greensburg congregation at its August 1932 annual meeting and noted the need for a house of worship. The congregation had been renting a large tabernacle. The congregation dedicated its new church basement on 27 November 1932. In 1937, when farming conditions improved, the congregation purchased and remodeled a two-story brick school building for the congregation's use. It dedicated this building on 10 October 1937 and began to use the name Calvary Mennonite Church. It extensively remodeled the church in 1953. It erected a new building in the early 1970s.

The church purchased a parsonage in late 1960. Sometime in the 1960s, the congregation reverted to the name Greensburg Mennonite Church.

The church benefited from the presence of the Kiowa County Memorial Hospital, which was administered by the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities from its founding in 1950.

On 4 May 2007, the church and parsonage were destroyed by a tornado that leveled 90% of the structures in Greensburg. Mennonite Disaster Service helped with cleanup. The church was subsequently rebuilt in 2008 on the original foundation.

In 2023, the South Central Mennonite Conference withdrew from Mennonite Church USA and, in 2024, chose to become a district of LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches. Greensburg Mennonite Church thus became part of LMC.

Bibliography

Blackburn, Jeffrey D. Light at the end of the funnel: a journey through disaster and trauma. Greensburg, Kan.: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017.

Derstine, C. F. "Greensburg, Kansas" Gospel Herald 25, no. 9 (2 June 1932): 185.

_____. "Greensburg, Kans." Gospel Herald 25, no. 29 (20 October 1932): 616-617.

Dubé, Andi. "MDS assists Greensburg, Kan., recovery." TheMennonite 10, no. 12 (19 June 2007): 23.

Erb, Paul. South Central Frontiers: A History of the South Central Mennonite Conference. Scottdale, Pa: Herald Press, 1974: 339-344.

"The Greensburg (Kansas) congregation...." Gospel Herald 30, no. 22 (26 August 1937): 473.

"Greensburg, Kans." Gospel Herald 25, no. 38 (22 December 1932): 809.

Holdeman, E. K., Mrs. "Greensburg, Kans." Gospel Herald 30, no. 34 (18 November 1937): 734.

Robinson, Laurie Oswald. "Church, town coming back one year later." TheMennonite 11, no. 9 (6 May 2008): 19.

Schrag, Jim. "Tornado destroys Greensburg Church building." TheMennonite 10, no. 10 (15 May 2007): 6.

Additional Information

Address: 310 West Pennsylvania Avenue, Greensburg, Kansas 67054

Telephone: 620-723-2620

Website: https://greensburgchurch.org/

Denominational Affiliations:

LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches

Mennonite Church USA (Until 2023)

Pastoral Leaders at Greensburg Mennonite Church

Name	Years of Service
Earvey M. Yost (1902-1983) (Bishop)	1932-1943 1943-1945
Samuel R. Janzen (1921-2012)	1943-1955
Peter A. Friesen (1879-1967)(Bishop)	1945-1950
Robert W. Keller (1926-1997)	1955
Lay Leadership	1955-1956
Eugene Garber	1956-1957
Lay Leadership	1957-1960
Henry J. King (1891-1981)(Bishop)	1960-1963
Calvin R. King	1963-1969
Daniel A. "D. A." Raber (1927-2024)	1969-1981?
Jerry Moore	1981-1982
Thomas A. Porter	1983-1987
Charles E. Lyon	1989?-1994
Jeffrey D. Blackburn	1994-2024
Brad Roth (Interim)	2024-

Greensburg Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Members
1933	39
1940	83
1950	70
1960	76
1970	86
1980	119
1990	113
2000	95
2009	78

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

By Melvin Gingerich. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 495. All rights reserved.

Calvary Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church (MC)), located in Greensburg, Kiowa County, Kansas, is a member of the South Central Mennonite Conference. It was organized in October 1932, with E. M. Yost as pastor and H. A. Diener of Hutchinson, Kansas, as bishop. The congregation in 1952 had 76 baptized members, only a few of whom had been members of the Mennonite Church, the majority having come from the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, and some from the General Conference and Krimmer Mennonite Brethren. P. A. Friesen, returned missionary from India, was bishop and pastor of the congregation 1945-1950. Others who have served in the ministry of the congregation included Samuel Janzen and Deacon A. F. Willems, with Earl Buckwalter as bishop after 1950.

Author(s)	Samuel J Steiner
Date Published	March 2025

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "Greensburg Mennonite Church (Greensburg, Kansas, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2025. Web. 10 Apr 2025. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Greensburg_Mennonite_Church_(Greensburg,_Kansas,_USA)&oldid=180377.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (March 2025). Greensburg Mennonite Church (Greensburg, Kansas, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 10 April 2025, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Greensburg_Mennonite_Church_(Greensburg,_Kansas,_USA)&oldid=180377.

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