Zion Mennonite Brethren Church (Dinuba, California, USA)
![](/images/thumb/8/86/ZionMBChurch1950.jpg/400px-ZionMBChurch1950.jpg)
Creator: Henry J. Wiens (1885-1975)
Digitized by Hiebert Library. Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies.
The Zion Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Church, located near Dinuba, Tulare County, California, was organized in March 1911 by several families from South Dakota who came to California under the leadership of Rev. John Z. Kleinsasser and settled on the Clark and Kennedy Ranch near Dinuba. The Zion congregation was the first--and only--Krimmer Mennonite Brethren (KMB) congregation ever established in California. The nearest other KMB congregation was located in Kansas. Kleinsasser served as the first pastor of the congregation, and a meetinghouse was completed in 1911.
The principal occupation of its members in the 1950s was grape farming, with cotton and dairy farming next.
In 1960, the Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Conference merged with the Mennonite Brethren Conference. At that time the Zion congregation became known as the Zion Mennonite Brethren Church.
Zion achieved its highest membership in 1954, with 262 members. Membership dwindled after that time until by the late 1980s the congregation no longer was considered viable. Zion held its last worship service on 28 August 1988.
The following ministers served the church up until 1957: J. Z. Kleinsasser, J. A. Wiens, A. J. Bearg, J. P. Glanzer, J. J. Kleinsasser, D. V. Wiebe, C. F. Plett, and Clarence E. Hofer, who was pastor in 1957. In 1957 the membership was 238.
Bibliography
Fresno Pacific University. "Zion Mennonite Brethren Church." Web. 20 March 2014. http://www.fresno.edu/library/cmbs/archives/cb509.
Archival Records
Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies, Fresno, CA: Record Group CB509.
Additional Information
Denominational Affiliation:
Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Church
Pacific District Conference of M. B. Churches
U. S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
Author(s) | Clarence E. Hofer |
---|---|
Richard D. Thiessen | |
Date Published | March 2014 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Hofer, Clarence E. and Richard D. Thiessen. "Zion Mennonite Brethren Church (Dinuba, California, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2014. Web. 23 Aug 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Zion_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Dinuba,_California,_USA)&oldid=116407.
APA style
Hofer, Clarence E. and Richard D. Thiessen. (March 2014). Zion Mennonite Brethren Church (Dinuba, California, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 August 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Zion_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Dinuba,_California,_USA)&oldid=116407.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1031. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
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