Living Word Bible Fellowship (Boyds, Maryland, USA)
The Dawsonville Mennonite Church near Boyds, Maryland, began in May 1953 as a Sunday school outpost of the Goshen Mennonite Church in Laytonsville. The group met in an 1889 building leased to them by the Primitive Baptist Church. It was rededicated as a church on 6 September 1953. Dawsonville Mennonite took over ownership of the building in 1976. In 1979, it added a fellowship hall with kitchen facilities, classroom space, and a nursery.
Located in the distant suburbs of Washington, D.C., the Dawsonville Mennonite Church gradually became less rural and more multi-cultural in its makeup. In the early 2010s, the congregation changed its name to Living Word Bible Fellowship. Beginning in 2014, its pastor had an Ethiopian Anabaptist background.
Bibliography
Davis, Rande. "Dawsonville Mennonite Church's Wayne Roberson." The Monacacy Monocle 3, 20 (2 February 2007): 1, 10. https://monocacymonocle.com/images/issues_2007/MM_2007-02-02.pdf.
"Our Mennonite churches: Dawsonville." Gospel Herald 54, no. 8 (21 February 1961): 166. Includes photo.
Peachey, John and Esther. "Woodbine, Maryland." Gospel Herald 47, no. 19 (11 May 1954): 451.
"The rural churches trail." Sugarloaf Regional Trails. Web. 12 August 2025. https://sugarloafregionaltrails.org/churches.php.
Additional Information
Address: 16500 Whites Ferry Road, Boyds, Maryland 20841
Telephone: 240-756-0188
Website: https://www.livingwordbf.org/
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2018)
Pastoral Leaders at Living Word Bible Fellowship
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Menno D. Sell (1911-2004) | 1953-1955 |
| Wilmer A. Hunsecker (1919-2013) | 1953-1990? |
| T. Wilson Blake | 1983-1998 |
| Ellis Wayne Roberson | 1998-2014 |
| Tilahun Beyene Kidane | 2014- |
Living Word Bible Fellowship Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1955 | 3 |
| 1960 | 10 |
| 1970 | 30 |
| 1980 | 44 |
| 1990 | 37 |
| 2000 | 41 |
| 2009 | 48 |
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | August 2025 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Living Word Bible Fellowship (Boyds, Maryland, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2025. Web. 2 Feb 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Living_Word_Bible_Fellowship_(Boyds,_Maryland,_USA)&oldid=181037.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (August 2025). Living Word Bible Fellowship (Boyds, Maryland, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 2 February 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Living_Word_Bible_Fellowship_(Boyds,_Maryland,_USA)&oldid=181037.
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