Conservative Mennonite Church of Ontario

Conservative Mennonite Church of Ontario was established in 1959. Curtis Cressman and Moses Roth, bishops; Moses Baer and Elmer Grove, ministers; Andrew Axt and Clarence Huber, deacons; with their followers, held their first separate church service on 22 November 1959, at the Township Hall, Baden. Services at Baden continued until the New Hamburg Conservative Mennonite church was built in 1960. The Heidelberg and Fort Stewart congregations were established the same year.

The reason for the group's withdrawal from the Mennonite Conference of Ontario (MC) was the desire to return to earlier biblical standards of nonconformity to the unequal yoke in regard to politics, immodest attire (dress), women's hair cutting, and wearing of jewelry. They wanted closer adherence and obedience to scriptural church ordinances. Their appeal to the conference was ineffective, resulting in their withdrawal.

In 1975, issues relating to radio and television again surfaced, causing about one-third of the most lenient members to secede and establish the Heidelberg Fellowship Church.

In 1986 there were 11 congregations, with 4 bishops, 17 ministers, and 7 deacons. Membership was 418. Ten schools offered instruction up to grade 10. Under the Fellowship Churches program, the Conservative Mennonite Church of Ontario has supported missions in India, Nigeria, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and the Philippines.

In 2010 the Conservative Mennonite Church of Ontario had 11 congregations with a total of 742 members. The group operated six schools and a publishing house, CMCO Publications.

Congregation	City	State	Members	Founded
Brookside Conservative Mennonite Church	Carthage	Ontario, Canada	121	1974
Calvary Conservative Mennonite Church	Elmira	Ontario, Canada	103	1969
Cedarvale Conservative Mennonite Church	Harriston	Ontario, Canada	118	1989
Ethel Conservative Mennonite Church	Ethel	Ontario, Canada	35	2007
Faith Haven Conservative Mennonite Church	Croton	Ontario, Canada	48	2004
Hillview Conservative Mennonite Church	Bancroft	Ontario, Canada	22	1961
India Conservative Mennonite Church	Kakinada	India	66	1981
Lakeview Conservative Mennonite Church	Zurich	Ontario, Canada	63	1967
Pineview Conservative Mennonite Church	Barwick	Ontario, Canada	63	1965
Shiloh Conservative Mennonite Church	Orwell	Ontario, Canada	45	1995
Woodside Conservative Mennonite Church	Stratton	Ontario, Canada	58	1987
Total			742

Bibliography

Constitution and Faith and Practice of the Mennonite Church of Ontario.

Directory of the Fellowship Churches. Farmington, N. Mex.: Lamp and Light Publishers, Inc.

Mennonite Archives of Ontario, Conrad Grebel College, Waterloo, Ont.

Mennonite Church Directory 2010. Harrisonburg, VA: Christian Light Publications, Inc., 2010: 57-58.

Reimer, Margaret Loewen, ed., One Quilt, Many Pieces. Waterloo, Ont.: Mennonite Publishing Service, 1983: 18.

Author(s)	Isaac R. Horst
	Sam Steiner
Date Published	September 2010

Cite This Article

MLA style

Horst, Isaac R. and Sam Steiner. "Conservative Mennonite Church of Ontario." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2010. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Conservative_Mennonite_Church_of_Ontario&oldid=135344.

APA style

Horst, Isaac R. and Sam Steiner. (September 2010). Conservative Mennonite Church of Ontario. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Conservative_Mennonite_Church_of_Ontario&oldid=135344.

---

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, pp. 191-192. All rights reserved.

©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.