Moorepark Community Church (Three Rivers, Michigan, USA)
In 1947, the Middlebury Mennonite Church opened a Sunday school in Moorepark, a village five miles north of Three Rivers, Michigan. Wilbur Yoder, Middlebury's pastor, conducted services during the first year. On 4 July 1948, Etril J. Leinbach was ordained to lead the Moorepark group meeting in a former 1876 Reformed Church building.
Moorepark became independent of Middlebury Mennonite on 26 October 1955 and part of the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference of the Mennonite Church (MC).
In 1986 the congregation purchased six acres of land closer to town and finally built a new church complex in 1992, with the first service in December 1992. At the time of its move, Moorepark Mennonite Church changed its name to Moorepark Community Church.
In 2000, the congregation withdrew from the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. It became an independent, non-denominational community church.
Bibliography
"History." Moorepark Community Church. 2024. Web. 4 July 2024. https://mooreparkchurch.com/history/.
"New church building." Gospel Herald 84, no. 30 (23 July 1991): 12.
Preheim, Rich. In Pursuit of Faithfulness: Conviction, Conflict, and Compromise in Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2016: 310.
Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 244.
Additional Information
Address: 55701 Wilbur Road, Three Rivers, Michigan 49093
Telephone: 269-279-2719
Website: https://mooreparkchurch.com/
Denominational Affiliations:
Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference (Until 2000)
Mennonite Church (MC) (Until 2000)
Pastoral Leaders at Moorepark Community Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Wilbur Yoder (1909-1974)(Bishop) | 1947-1948 1969-1972 |
| Etril J. Leinbach (1910-2006) (Bishop) |
1948-1956 1956-1969 |
| Melvin D. Leidig (1925-2018) | 1972-1974 |
| Homer C. Yoder (1932-2024) | 1975-2003 |
| Kenneth W. Miller (1957-2016) | 1995-2016 |
| Vern "Bud" Granger | 2016- |
Moorepark Community Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1955 | 49 |
| 1960 | 74 |
| 1970 | 72 |
| 1980 | 72 |
| 1990 | 82 |
| 2000 | 146 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By John Christian Wenger. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1110. All rights reserved.
Moorepark Mennonite Church (MC) was established as an outpost of the Middlebury, Indiana, congregation (MC) in 1947. In 1955 the congregation became independent. The meetinghouse was purchased from a former Reformed congregation. At first the preaching was done by Wilbur Yoder, pastor of the sponsoring congregation, but in 1948 Etril Leinbach was ordained preacher; eight years later he became bishop. In 1958 the membership was 63, with Leinbach serving as pastor.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | July 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Moorepark Community Church (Three Rivers, Michigan, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2024. Web. 7 Jul 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Moorepark_Community_Church_(Three_Rivers,_Michigan,_USA)&oldid=179246.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (July 2024). Moorepark Community Church (Three Rivers, Michigan, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 7 July 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Moorepark_Community_Church_(Three_Rivers,_Michigan,_USA)&oldid=179246.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.