First Mennonite Church (Bluffton, Ohio, USA)
The First Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA), Bluffton, Ohio, is one of the four congregations comprising the Swiss Mennonite community about Bluffton, was member of the Middle District Conference (now Central District Conference). By 1900 a number of families of the settlement had moved into the village to enter different lines of business. They soon organized a special Sunday school for the town members, and later held occasional preaching services, first in the afternoons in the Lutheran church, and later in a rented up-town business building. By 1906 the congregation had grown large enough to justify a special building, and a building was erected. It remained a part of the large Swiss congregation, however, and was served by the same ministers. By 1918 it asked for a separate organization, and a separate full-time minister was secured. Elmer Basinger was the first to serve in this capacity, to be succeeded in the years to follow by S. M. Musselman, A. S. Shelley, A. E. Kreider, H. T. Unruh, J. N. Smucker, and Alvin Beachy, the pastor in 1952. The 1952 membership was 527; in 2004 it was 561.
| Author(s) | C. Henry Smith |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Smith, C. Henry. "First Mennonite Church (Bluffton, Ohio, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Bluffton,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=56397.
APA style
Smith, C. Henry. (1953). First Mennonite Church (Bluffton, Ohio, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Bluffton,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=56397.
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