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The Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church was a daughter congregation of the Pleasant Grove Conservative Mennonite Church of Millersburg, Indiana. Most of its members were formerly part of the Old Order Amish. Crowded conditions led to a decision to purchase property and build a church near Nappanee. Construction began in fall 1954, and the first service was held on 6 February 1955. Homer Miller was the only ordained leader who came from the mother church; he had originally been ordained as a minister in the Old Order Amish church in 1948. The Bethel congregation was part of the Conservative Mennonite Conference at this time.

In 1967 Bethel started a mission congregation at Shoals, Indiana, later called the Hillside Mennonite Church; it became independent in 1969. In 1969 Bethel withdrew from the Conservative Mennonite Conference as it was dissatisfied with the efforts of conference leaders to help address tensions within the congregation. The congregation remained unaffiliated until 1977 when it joined the newly forming Midwest Mennonite Fellowship. In 1976 Bethel began another congregation at Canaan, Indiana that became the Canaan Mennonite Chapel. In 1981 the Bethel congregation decided to divide, so another church building the Nappanee area was purchased, and the Sandy Ridge Mennonite Church was founded.

In 1964, Bethel Mennonite established a medical aid plan for its members. The purpose of the plan was "[t]o share and bear one another's burden (Galatians 6:2 and Philippians 2:4), which may arise from Medical Needs, Hospitalization, Surgery, and death of our members." The plan was available to all members of the congregation in good standing and their dependents. This plan created conflicts with the Internal Revenue Service which tried to remove the congregation's tax exempt status for its activities prior to 1981. This was appealed, and the U. S. Court of Appeals found in favor of the congregation in 1984.

In 2014 the church had 55 members and was a member of the Midwest Mennonite Fellowship. The ministerial team included Bishop Lyle R. Miller, Minister Calvin Yoder, and Deacon David Bontrager, Jr.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Samuel J Steiner
Date Published	August 2011

Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church, Petitioner-appellant, v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent-appellee, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. - 746 F.2d 388. Web. 10 August 2009. http://cases.justia.com/us-court-of-appeals/F2/746/388/31322/.

"Bethel, Nappanee, Indiana." Midwest Mennonite Focus 20, no. 2 (March-April 1989): 16-17.

Mennonite Church Directory 2014. Harrisonburg, VA: Christian Light Publications, Inc., 2014: 96.

Miller, Homer D. "Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church." Midwest Mennonite Focus 6, no. 5 (September-October 1985): 8.

Miller, Ivan J. History of the Conservative Mennonite Conference, 1910-1985. Grantsville, Md: I.J. Miller, 1985: 114.

Additional Information

Address: 25402 County Road 50, Nappanee, Indiana

Phone: 574-773-3570

Denominational Affiliation:

Conservative Mennonite Conference (1955-1969)

Midwest Mennonite Fellowship (1977-present)

Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church Pastors

Name	Years of Service
Homer D. Miller Bishop, 1957-	1955-1997
Jacob E. Miller	1955-1963?
Floyd Miller	1964-1981
Eugene Hershberger	1983-
Lyle Miller	1997-
Calvin Yoder	2007-

Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Membership
1955	58
1959	85
1968	85
1985	100
1999	118
2009	69
2014	55

Original Article from Mennonite Encyclopedia

Vol. 4, p. 1065 by Melvin Gingerich Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church, located two miles north and 2.5 miles east of Nappanee, Indiana, was organized in 1955 and its church built in 1954-55. The 1959 membership was 85, with Homer D. Miller its bishop and Jacob E. Miller its minister.

Maps

Map:Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church (Nappanee, Indiana)

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church (Nappanee, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2011. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bethel_Conservative_Mennonite_Church_(Nappanee,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=176507.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (August 2011). Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church (Nappanee, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bethel_Conservative_Mennonite_Church_(Nappanee,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=176507.

Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church (Nappanee, Indiana, USA)

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