Christian Bomberger and his family were the first Mennonites to settle near what became Lititz, Pennsylvania. They arrived in 1722, soon followed by other Mennonite families. The borough of Lititz was founded in 1756 as a Moravian settlement inspired by Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, founder of the Moravian Church. By the late 19th century, Mennonites from the surrounding rural area began to live in the borough of Lititz.

The earliest church in Lititz was the non-denominational St. James, a 1744 log structure used by Moravians, Lutherans, and sometimes Mennonites.

The Lititz Mennonite Church began in 1907. Numerous members of the nearby rural Hess and Hammer Creek congregations lived in Lititz by the early 20th century. About 50 families asked the Hess-Hammer Creek District of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference to provide a meetinghouse for them in town. During the summer and fall of 1906, a brick meetinghouse was erected; it was dedicated on 3 February 1907. It was about the eighth church built in the town. Jacob H. Hershey, the first minister for the congregation, preached in English.

Sunday school began in the facility immediately, originally every other week, then weekly. Revival meetings began in 1908. A sewing circle, initiated informally by Lydia Huber in 1906, was an early activity of the Lititz congregation. The group initially met in homes and became a formal church program in 1914. Young People's Bible Meetings began in 1916.

A twenty-foot annex was added to the church in 1951, though numerous upgrades to the building had occurred over the years. Another substantial addition took place in 1980/81.

A controversial bishop ordination in 1952 caused years of unrest at Lititz Mennonite, which chaffed at Lancaster Mennonite Conference regulations. Its pastor, Melvin Lauver, was arbitrarily excluded from the lot for the bishop ordination because he did not adequately support the Bishop Board's decisions. Sore points included families wanting to sit together (rather than separated by gender), dress regulations, and ownership of televisions. Finally, in the late 1960s, more amenable bishops were given charge of the Lititz congregation.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Samuel J Steiner
Date Published	August 2025

Lapp, Alice Weber. Christ is our cornerstone: 100 years at Lititz Mennonite Church. Lititz, Pa.: The Church, 2007.

Lititz 1756-1956. Lititz, Pa.: [Bicentennial Committee], 1956: 29. Available in full electronic text at https://archive.org/details/lititz1756195600bice/page/28/mode/2up?q=Mennonite.

"Lititz, Pa." The Gospel Witness 2, no. 48 (27 February 1907): 761.

Ruth, John L. The Earth is the Lord's: a narrative history of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2001: 1138-1169.

Weaver, Martin G. Mennonites of Lancaster Conference: containing biographical sketches of Mennonite leaders, histories of congregations, missions, and Sunday schools, record of ordinations, and other interesting historical data. Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1931. Reprinted Ephrata, PA: Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church Publication Board, 1982: 169, 178. Available in full electronic text at https://archive.org/details/mennonitesoflanc00weav_0/page/n3/mode/2up.

Additional Information

Address: 165 Front Street, Lititz, Pennsylvania 17543

Telephone: 717-626-8237

Website: https://www.lititzmc.org/

Denominational Affiliations:

LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches

Mennonite Church USA (Until 2018)

Pastoral Leaders at Lititz Mennonite Church

Name	Years of Service
Jacob H. Hershey (1862-1947)	1907-1947
Jonas H. Hess (1841-1919)	1908?-1919
Howard H. Charles (1915-2002)	1943-1947
Melvin H. Lauver (1913-2003)	1949-1979
Jacob W. Frederick (1923-2007)	1974-1987
Linford W. Good	1984-1987
John Lederach	1985-1994
Naomi Lederach	1985-1994
Jacob "J. Clair" Hollinger (1929-2017)	1987-1994
Kent Sell (Youth)	1990-1995
Dennis W. Ernest	1994-2002
Todd Z. Moyer (Youth)	1996-1999
Tim Good (Youth)	2000-2001
Rodney A. Martin (Youth/Associate) (Lead)	2001-2009 2009-2022
Lowell Gerber	2003-2009
Sharon Brubaker	2022-

Lititz Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Members
1908	75
1913	140
1920	204
1930	460 (District)
1940	556 (District)
1950	200
1960	203
1970	195
1980	232
1990	220
2000	189
2009	174

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

Lititz Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church (MC)) is located in the center of a strong Mennonite community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Fifty members of the Hess and Hammer Creek congregations appealed for a meetinghouse in the borough (then Warwick). In 1906 this house was built. Jacob H. Hershey (1862-1947), ordained at Olathe, Kansas, but a native son, became the first pastor, but it was still part of the Hess-Hammer Creek District. Ephraim N. Eby (1852-1937) served as deacon, and Noah L. Landis (1857-1940) as bishop from the start. Amos S. Horst and Mahlon Zimmerman were the 1956 bishops, John S. Hess and Melvin Lauver pastors, and Lester B. Wenger deacon. The membership was 203 in 1956. The church was remodeled in 1952.

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "Lititz Mennonite Church (Lititz, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2025. Web. 12 Feb 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Lititz_Mennonite_Church_(Lititz,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181032.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (August 2025). Lititz Mennonite Church (Lititz, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 12 February 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Lititz_Mennonite_Church_(Lititz,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181032.

Lititz Mennonite Church (Lititz, Pennsylvania, USA)

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