Difference between revisions of "Ohio Mennonite Conference"

From GAMEO
Jump to navigation Jump to search
[checked revision][checked revision]
(→‎2010 Update: updated table)
Line 15: Line 15:
 
In 2017 the following 77 congregations were members of the Ohio Conference of the Mennonite Church:
 
In 2017 the following 77 congregations were members of the Ohio Conference of the Mennonite Church:
  
<div align="center"> {|  class="wikitable"  
+
<div align="center">  
 +
{|  class="wikitable"  
 
! Congregation !! City !! State
 
! Congregation !! City !! State
 
|-  
 
|-  
Line 133: Line 134:
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| [[Zion Mennonite Church (Archbold, Ohio, USA)|Zion Mennonite Church]] || Archbold || Ohio
 
| [[Zion Mennonite Church (Archbold, Ohio, USA)|Zion Mennonite Church]] || Archbold || Ohio
|} </div>
+
|}  
 +
</div>
  
 
= Bibliography =
 
= Bibliography =

Revision as of 14:07, 30 May 2017

1990 Article

The Ohio Conference of the Mennonite Church (Ohio Conference of Mennonite Church USA after the merger of the Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church) had its origins in the Ohio Mennonite Conference (1843; some accounts trace the origins of the conference to 1834) and the Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference (1893). These two conferences merged in 1927 to form the Ohio Mennonite and Eastern Amish Mennonite Joint Conference, later shortened to Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference. In 1978 another realignment occurred when the eastern congregations, located largely in Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, and New Jersey, formed the Atlantic Coast Conference of the Mennonite Church. The remaining Ohio congregations then formed the Ohio Conference by the present name.

In 1986 the conference had 11,136 members (80 congregations) and 164 ministers. The congregations were located in Ohio except for four in western Pennsylvania, one in Michigan, and one in Kentucky. The main settlements of these congregations were in Holmes County, Wayne County, the area around the town of Archbold, Stark County, the area around the town of West Liberty, Logan County, and Columbiana County Some small, rather isolated, rural churches were established in the late 1940s and 1950s. Since then greater effort went into beginning new congregations in urban and suburban areas. In 1987 there were four congregations in Cleveland.

The Kidron community in Wayne County served as a base for many of the conference's programs. Here are located the conference offices with staff serving in administration, youth ministries and nurture, and peace and service work. In the late 1960s a full-time conference minister along with overseers replaced the traditional Mennonite bishop system of pastoral oversight to congregations. Camp Luz, a Mennonite-affiliated youth camp, is located near Kidron, as is Central Christian High School (founded 1961). In 1987 the latter was a 200-student secondary school. The bimonthly periodical of the conference is The Ohio Evangel.

When strong leaders have emerged in the Ohio Conference in the post-World War II period, they have tended to move outside of the conference to where the church-wide institutions are located. For example, the Elida community (Allen County) produced the Augsburger family of leaders (A. Don, Myron, David), and the Oak Grove congregation in Wayne County produced outstanding educational and theological leaders in the Meyer (Albert J.) and Yoder (John H.; Mary Ellen Yoder Meyer) families.

The conference has had theological and social interaction with the three other main Mennonite bodies within the state including joint meetings with the Central District (GCM) in 1984. Four congregations had affiliations with both conferences. Church planting and mission efforts were increasingly coordinated between these two conferences. Various informal contacts with the Conservative Mennonite Conference and the large Ohio Amish population continued.

2017 Update

In 2017 the following 77 congregations were members of the Ohio Conference of the Mennonite Church:

Congregation City State
Agora Christian Fellowship Columbus Ohio
Beech Mennonite Church Louisville Ohio
Berean Fellowship Church Youngstown Ohio
Berlin Mennonite Church Berlin Ohio
Bethel Mennonite Church West Liberty Ohio
Central Mennonite Church Archbold Ohio
Chestnut Ridge Mennonite Church Orrville Ohio
Community Christian Fellowship Rio Grande Ohio
Cross Connections Strasburg Ohio
Crown Hill Mennonite Church Rittman Ohio
Emmanuel Mennonite Church Monclova Ohio
Fairpoint Mennonite Church Fairpoint Ohio
First Mennonite Church of Canton Canton Ohio
Friendship Mennonite Church Bedford Heights Ohio
Gilead Mennonite Church Chesterville Ohio
Good Shepherd Mennonite Church Archbold Ohio
Huber Mennonite Church New Carlisle Ohio
Inlet Mennonite Church Wauseon Ohio
Jubilee Mennonite Church Bellefontaine Ohio
Kalida Family Outreach Center Kalida Ohio
Kidron Mennonite Church Kidron Ohio
Lafayette Christian Fellowship West Lafayette Ohio
Lee Heights Community Church Cleveland Ohio
Leetonia Mennonite Church Leetonia Ohio
LifeBridge Community Church Dover Ohio
Lima Mennonite Church Lima Ohio
Lockport Mennonite Church Stryker Ohio
Maple Grove Mennonite Church New Castle Pennsylvania
Martins Creek Mennonite Church Millersburg Ohio
Martins Mennonite Church Orrville Ohio
Midway Mennonite Church Columbiana Ohio
Millersburg Mennonite Church Millersburg Ohio
New Mercies Community Church Burton Ohio
Oak Grove Mennonite Church West Liberty Ohio
Oak Grove Mennonite Church Smithville Ohio
Orrville Mennonite Church Orrville Ohio
Peace Mennonite Church Elyria Ohio
Pike Mennonite Church Elida Ohio
Pine Grove Mennonite Church Stryker Ohio
Primera Iglesia Menonita Helena Ohio
Salem Mennonite Church Wooster Ohio
Salem Mennonite Church Elida Ohio
Salem Mennonite Church Kidron Ohio
Salem Mennonite Church Waldron Michigan
Sharon Mennonite Church Plain City Ohio
Sonnenberg Mennonite Church Kidron Ohio
South Union Mennonite Church West Liberty Ohio
Southside Mennonite Church Springfield Ohio
Summit Mennonite Church Barberton Ohio
Sunnyside Mennonite Church Conneaut Lake Pennsylvania
Tedrow Mennonite Church Wauseon Ohio
Toledo Mennonite Church Toledo Ohio
University Euclid Christ New Testament Bedford Heights Ohio
Valley View Mennonite Church Spartansburg Pennsylvania
Wayside Chapel Pedro Ohio
West Clinton Mennonite Church Wauseon Ohio
Wooster Mennonite Church Wooster Ohio
Zion Mennonite Church Archbold Ohio

Bibliography

Gospel Herald (5 April 1988): 234-36.

Horsch, James E., ed. Mennonite Yearbook and Directory. Scottdale: Mennonite Publishing House (1988-89): 31-33.

Miller, Levi. Our People: The Amish and Mennonites of Ohio. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1983.

Stoltzfus, Grant M. Mennonites of the Ohio and Eastern Conference. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1969.

Additional Information

Ohio Conference of Mennonite Church USA website.


Author(s) Levi Miller
Date Published July 2010

Cite This Article

MLA style

Miller, Levi. "Ohio Mennonite Conference." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2010. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Ohio_Mennonite_Conference&oldid=148603.

APA style

Miller, Levi. (July 2010). Ohio Mennonite Conference. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Ohio_Mennonite_Conference&oldid=148603.




Hpbuttns.png

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 650. All rights reserved.


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