Sunnyside Mennonite Church (Elkhart, Indiana, USA)
The Sunnyside Mennonite Church in the Dunlap part of Elkhart, Indiana, began as an outreach project of the Young People's Christian Association (YPCA) at Goshen College. The YPCA surveyed the Dunlap community in 1946 with positive results. The Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities erected a concrete block meetinghouse in 1947. The first services were held on 14 September 1947, but the dedication service occurred on 2 May 1948.
Early student leaders in the church included Richard Showalter, Ralph Buckwalter, Roy Bucher, Chester Raber, and John Lederach.
In 1956, the meetinghouse was too small, so the congregation decided to build a new facility adjacent to the former building. The new meetinghouse was dedicated on 21 April 1957.
On 11 April 1965, the Palm Sunday tornadoes that devastated Northern Indiana destroyed the Sunnyside church and killed one of its members, though 27 died in the vicinity of the church. Within 48 hours, the congregation decided to rebuild as soon as possible. Groundbreaking took place two weeks later. The new building was dedicated on 3 April 1966.
In 2020, the Sunnyside congregation provided free rental space to a new Hispanic Mennonite congregation, Iglesia Menonita Piedra Vida (Living Stone Mennonite Church). By 2023, it also hosted La Posada Immigrant Aid, a faith-based immigrant legal aid center for Hispanic immigrants in Elkhart County.
Bibliography
Good, Sheldon C. "Hispanic peace church invigorates established congregation." TheMennonite 4 May 2020. Web. 15 August 2024. https://anabaptistworld.org/hispanic-peace-church-invigorates-established-congregation/.
Griggs, Jessica. "Indiana center offering immigrant aid." Anabaptist World 4, no. 6 (5 May 2023): 28.
"Hundreds of Mennonite Disaster Service volunteers...." Gospel Herald 58, no. 16 (27 April 1965): 367.
"Sunnyside history." Sunnyside Mennonite Church. 2024. Web. 14 August 2024. https://sunnysidemc.com/sunnyside-history/.
Preheim, Rich. In Pursuit of Faithfulness: Conviction, Conflict, and Compromise in Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2016: 256, 275, 312.
"Sunnyside." Gospel Herald 59, no. 11 (22 March 1966): 252.
Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 220.
Zehr, Terry. "Sunnyside Mennonite." Gospel Evangel 87, no. 7 (November 2006): 9-10.
Additional Information
Address: 23786 Sunnyside Avenue, Elkhart, Indiana 46516
Telephone: 574-875-7790
Website: https://sunnysidemc.com/
Denominational Affiliations:
Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at Sunnyside Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Student Leadership | 1947-1952 |
| Chester A. Raber (1929-2022) | 1952-1953 |
| John M. Lederach | 1954-1957 |
| D. Richard Miller | 1958-1962 |
| Marlin Zook (Assistant) | 1961-1962? |
| Nelson W. Histand (1910-1988)(Bishop) | 1962-1964? |
| Ernest "Leonard" Garber | 1964-1971 |
| Herbert Schultz | 1971-1972 |
| Ray Keim (1926-2013) | 1964-1966 |
| Clare F. Schumm | 1971-1986 |
| Wayne Nitzsche | 1985-1986? |
| Virgil M. Gerig (1918-2006)(Interim) | 1987-1988 |
| Gerald Good | 1988-1997 |
| Brenda Isaacs (Interim) | 1995 1997 |
| James M. Isaacs (Interim) | 1995 |
| Terrence D. "Terry" Zehr (1958-2020) | 1997-2017 |
| Dorothy A. Kratz (1930-2021)(Care & Visitation) | 2002-2005 |
| Melissa Fisher Fast | 2006-2016 |
| Amy Kratzer (Youth & Worship) | 2003-2021 |
| Randall C. Miller (Transitional) | 2017-2019? |
| Charles W. Geiser | 2019-2022 |
| Teresa L. "Terri" Geiser | 2019-2022 |
| Rebecca Helmuth (Interim) | 2023 |
| Rachel Nafziger Hartzler (Interim) | 2023 |
| Maria Hosler Byler | 2023- |
| Osée Tshiwape | 2024- |
Sunnyside Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 11 |
| 1960 | 46 |
| 1970 | 80 |
| 1980 | 130 |
| 1990 | 119 |
| 2000 | 130 |
| 2009 | 141 |
| 2020 | 136 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Chester A. Raber. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 663. All rights reserved.
Sunnyside Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), located in Dunlap, Indiana, between Elkhart and Goshen, a member of the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference, began in 1946 as a mission of the Goshen College YPCA under the leadership of Paul Mininger (sponsor of the YPCA) and Richard Showalter. A church building was completed in 1948 with the help of the General Mission Board. There were 38 members in 1958, with C. Richard Miller as pastor.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | August 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Sunnyside Mennonite Church (Elkhart, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2024. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Sunnyside_Mennonite_Church_(Elkhart,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=179461.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (August 2024). Sunnyside Mennonite Church (Elkhart, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Sunnyside_Mennonite_Church_(Elkhart,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=179461.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.