Midwest Mennonite Fellowship

The Midwest Mennonite Fellowship grew out of a number of ministers' desire for fellowship for themselves and their congregations along with the need of a winter Bible School for their young people. Most of these ministers were from the midwestern United States. A few were from eastern Ontario.

On 1 October 1976, 15 of these interested ministers gathered at Fairview, Michigan for a day of fellowship and sharing of concerns. Out of this meeting grew an interest in including others unaffiliated with a conference. At this meeting a committee of three were elected to plan the next meeting. The three brethren chosen were Samuel Yoder (Minnesota, USA), Leighton Martin (Ontario, Canada), and Roman Schlabach (Michigan, USA).

The second meeting was held 8-10 February 1977, at Stone Lake, Wisconsin. This meeting was well attended, with 50 ministers present, along with the representation from the local congregation. A third meeting was held at the Salem Mennonite Church near Kinross, Iowa, 1-3 July 1977. About 500 people attended these services. Interest in a winter Bible school was the main topic of the ministers business session. There was strong support for the school and an association to support it. The latter was organized by 23 ministers gathered at Nappanee, Indiana, 21 September 1977. The first program committee was made up of Leon King (Ohio), Homer Miller (Indiana), and Alvin Mast (Wisconsin). A five-member school board was chosen as follows: Leighton Martin (Ontario, Canada), Victor Miller (Michigan, USA), Arnie Skrivseth (Minnesota, USA), Olen Miller (Indiana, USA), and Samuel Yoder (Minnesota, USA). Thirteen churches joined the Mid-West Fellowship as charter members. In 2001 the fellowship had 36 congregations with a total membership of 2,001.

Midwest Mennonite Fellowship is composed of congregations voluntarily subscribing to the following:

• First, an appreciation of our Christian heritage as brought to us through the Mennonite Church, and a commitment by the grace of God to preserve this heritage;
• Second, an acceptance of the Christian fundamentals of our faith as amended and adopted in 1964 at Hartville, Ohio;
• Third, a congregational type of church administration, but with an appreciation for a broader fellowship in sharing matters concerning the Faith;
• Fourth, a commitment to maintain a proper Scriptural discipline.

The Fellowship reserves the right, by vote of the members, to discontinue membership to any congregation who fails to maintain proper Scriptural discipline. Congregations wishing to withdraw membership may do so by submitting a written request to the Moderating Committee, which shall be acted upon thereafter by the members.

A former elementary school building at Lansing, Minnesota was chosen as the site for Maranatha Bible School, a winter Bible school. The building, leased at first and later purchased, has also been used to hold the annual winter ministers' meetings. Bible School begins the first Monday of January and runs for 12 weeks. Total annual enrollment in 1990 was 200 students and in 2010 was 130 students.

Midwest Mennonite Fellowship has also operated Deeper Life Ministries, a discipleship and counselling center in Plain City, Ohio. The property of the former Sunnyhaven Childrens' Home was given to the Fellowship in 1993. Deeper Life also includes a bookstore which can be accessed on the Internet.

Midwest Mennonite Fellowship has affiliated with Mid-Atlantic Mennonite Fellowship and Southeastern Mennonite Conference in the board management both for the Maranatha Bible School and the Deeper Life Ministries. The three groups have also jointly sponsored a ministers' study week each October, rotating the location among the groups.

Midwest Mennonite Focus has served as the bimonthly periodical for the Fellowship since 1980. Howard Bean has served as editor since its beginning.

In 2011 the fellowship had 36 congregations with a total membership of 2,166. Although Canada has only 25% of the congregations, it has about 50% of the membership.

Midwest Mennonite Fellowship Congregations: 2011

Congregation	Location	State/Province	Founded	Members
Berean Mennonite Church	Wickenburg	Arizona	1969	27
Bethany Mennonite Church	Stratford	Wisconsin	1973	39
Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church	Nappanee	Indiana	1955	55
Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church	Millbank	Ontario, Canada	1956	50
Buck Creek Mennonite Church	Richland Center	Wisconsin	1968	41
Canaan Mennonite Chapel	Madison	Indiana	1976	10
Conservative Mennonite Fellowship	Fairview	Michigan	1967	6
Country View Chapel	Wilmot	Ohio	1994	63
Countryside Mennonite Fellowship	Hawkesville	Ontario, Canada	1960	229
Crystal View Mennonite Church	Floradale	Ontario, Canada	1984	187
Donegal Mennonite Fellowship	Donegal	Ontario, Canada	2009	76
Fresh Start Chapel	Washington	Indiana	1988	39
Glad Tidings Mennonite Fellowship	Tara	Ontario, Canada	1984	78
Gospel Light Chapel	Trail	Ohio	1968	122
Grace Fellowship Mennonite Church	Charlevoix	Michigan	1986	10
Grace Mennonite Fellowship Church	New Hamburg	Ontario, Canada	1976	65
Hartville Conservative Mennonite Church	Hartville	Ohio	1956	96
Hillside Mennonite Church	Shoals	Indiana	1969	22
Maranatha Mennonite Church	Taylorsville	Mississippi	1996	18
Moorefield Mennonite Fellowship	Moorefield	Ontario, Canada	2000	122
Moriah Mennonite Church	Plain City	Ohio	1995	23
North Liberty Mennonite Church	North Liberty	Indiana	1992	35
Northwood Chapel	Littlefork	Minnesota	1961	17
Northwoods Mennonite Church	Hayward	Wisconsin	1960	48
Otter Lake Conservative Mennonite Church	Parry Sound	Ontario, Canada	1972	47
Pilgrim Mennonite Church	Middlefield	Ohio	1959	42
Pleasant View Conservative Mennonite Church	Cochranton	Pennsylvania	1961	91
Prairie Chapel Mennonite Church	Hutchinson	Kansas	1996	23
Prairie Mennonite Church	Blooming Prairie	Minnesota	1974	43
Sandy Ridge Mennonite Church	Bremen	Indiana	1981	126
Seney Mennonite Church	Seney	Michigan	1952	9
Sonlight Chapel	Apple Creek	Ohio	1976	73
Traverse Bay Mennonite Church	Traverse City	Michigan	1967	41
Western Plains Mennonite Church	Raymond	Alberta, Canada	1999	20
Woodlawn Mennonite Fellowship	Dorking	Ontario, Canada	1989	121
Zion Mennonite Fellowship	Brussels	Ontario, Canada	1963	52
Total				2,166

See also Conservative Mennonites.

Bibliography

Bean, Howard, ed. Midwest Mennonite Fellowship: History, Institutions, and Leaders, 1977-2011. Midwest Mennonite Fellowship, 2011.

Mennonite Church Directory 2010. Harrisonburg, VA: Christian Light Publications, Inc., 2010: 88-92.

Mennonite Church Information (2001).

Mennonite Yearbook & Directory (1988/89, 1997).

Additional Information

Website: The Bookstore of Deeper Life Ministries

Author(s)	Dan Schrock
	Howard Bean
Date Published	December 2011

Cite This Article

MLA style

Schrock, Dan and Howard Bean. "Midwest Mennonite Fellowship." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2011. Web. 3 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Midwest_Mennonite_Fellowship&oldid=179847.

APA style

Schrock, Dan and Howard Bean. (December 2011). Midwest Mennonite Fellowship. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 3 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Midwest_Mennonite_Fellowship&oldid=179847.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 584. All rights reserved.

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