Pleasant Grove Conservative Mennonite Church (Goshen, Indiana, USA)
Pleasant Grove Conservative Mennonite Church, located five miles southeast of Goshen, Indiana, was built in 1948 as a branch of the Townline and Griner churches. The first services were held here 15 August 1948. Services were held in all three of the churches every Sunday, the ministers alternating between the three churches. In 1956 the congregations organized separately. The membership of the Pleasant Grove congregation at that time was 260, with Clarence A. Yoder (ordained in 1948, as bishop 1950), Menno S. Schrock (transferred from Old Order Amish), and Edwin J. Knepp (ordained in 1954).
In 1954 the Bethel Church was built four miles northeast of Nappanee, and a congregation was organized as a branch of the Pleasant Grove congregation with Homer Miller as bishop; in 1957 it had 85 members, while Pleasant Grove had 240.
In the late 1950s the congregation led a colonization effort in the Noxubee County, Mississippi area as a result of rising land prices in Elkhart County, Indiana.
In February 1999 the congregation left the Conservative Mennonite Conference and joined the Biblical Mennonite Alliance.
In 2015 the leading minister was Randall L. Riegsecker and the associate pastors were Cleo Orendorf and Roy Rodes. The congregation had 190 members and an average attendance of 245.
Bibliography
Biblical Mennonite Alliance. Directory (August 2015); (2019): 40.
Biblical Mennonite Alliance. "Directory of BMA Congregations." Web. 13 May 2012. http://www.biblicalmennonite.com/congregations.html.
Hershberger, Brenda. Anabaptist (Mennonite) Directory 2012-13. Harrisonburg, VA: The Sword and Trumpet, 2012: 40.
Miller, Ivan J. History of the Conservative Mennonite Conference, 1910-1985. Grantsville, Md: I. J. Miller, 1985: 109-110.
Yoder, Nathan E. Together in the Work of the Lord: a History of the Conservative Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2014: 242.
Additional Information
Address: 13483 County Road 38, Goshen, IN 46528
Phone: 574-642-4269
Denominational Affiliation: Biblical Mennonite Alliance
Ordained Pastors at Pleasant Grove Conservative Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Shared with Founding Churches |
1948-1956 |
| Clarence A. Yoder (1917-1998)(Bishop) | 1956-1985? |
| Menno S. Schrock (1900-1988) | 1956-1980s |
| Edwin J. Knepp | 1956-1959 |
| Joni Beachy | 1961-1965 |
| Henry M. Yoder (1924-2011) | 1962-1980s |
| Nelson Yoder | 1975-1993? |
| Randall Riegsecker (Bishop) | 1985?-present |
| Marvin Troyer | 1993-1999? |
| Cleo Orendorf | 1999?-2015? |
| Roy Rodes | 2000-present |
| Jonathan Zimmerman | 2018-present |
Membership at Pleasant Grove Conservative Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1955 | 291 |
| 1960 | 240 |
| 1965 | 274 |
| 1970 | 197 |
| 1975 | 189 |
| 1980 | 184 |
| 1985 | 203 |
| 1990 | 140 |
| 1995 | 135 |
| 2007 | 165 |
| 2011 | 165 |
| 2019 | 155 |
Map
Map:Pleasant Grove Conservative Mennonite Church (Goshen, Indiana, USA)
| Author(s) | Samuel T. Eash |
|---|---|
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Date Published | June 2019 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Eash, Samuel T. and Samuel J. Steiner. "Pleasant Grove Conservative Mennonite Church (Goshen, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2019. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pleasant_Grove_Conservative_Mennonite_Church_(Goshen,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=165957.
APA style
Eash, Samuel T. and Samuel J. Steiner. (June 2019). Pleasant Grove Conservative Mennonite Church (Goshen, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pleasant_Grove_Conservative_Mennonite_Church_(Goshen,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=165957.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 189. All rights reserved.
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