Maple Grove Mennonite Church (Belleville, Pennsylvania, USA)
Source: Mennonite Community Photograph Collection, The Congregation (HM4-134 Box 1 photo 010.1-10).
Mennonite Church USA Archives, Goshen, Indiana.
The
The Amish began to settle in the Kishacoquillas Valley (Mifflin County, Pennsylvania) in about 1790. The Amish church grew to several districts, but began to experience divisions in the mid-19th century. In 1861, the conservative and progressive bishops conflicted, partly over the mode of baptism. Solomon Byler (1798-1888) insisted on baptism taking place in a creek. The more progressive members, including Solomon Byler and Bishop Samuel Yoder, joined the Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference in 1864. Samuel Yoder's congregation erected a simple frame church building in Union Township in 1866. The first Sunday school was held in 1871, though it was not held in the church until 1883.
In the 1890s, the Belleville Amish Mennonite congregation added to the church building's west end, added more entry doors, and raised the platform to improve sight lines. This was also a time of conflict within the congregation. Bishop Abraham Zook opposed higher education, singing in harmony instead of unison, and the implementation of Sunday schools. After failures in reconciliation, Zook and his followers left, formed the Locust Grove Amish Mennonite Church, and joined the Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference.
In 1927, the Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference merged with the Ohio Mennonite Conference to form the Ohio Mennonite and Eastern Amish Mennonite Joint Conference.
Prior to the 1930s, Belleville Amish Mennonite alternated services with the Allensville Mennonite Church and shared ministerial leadership. Elmer Hess introduced more formality, including a church constitution that used the name Maple Grove Mennonite Church. He also began to hold services every week at Belleville, causing a unilateral separation from Allenville.
In 1944, Maple Grove withdrew from the Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference and joined the Southwestern Pennsylvania Mennonite Conference (later Allegheny Mennonite Conference), still part of the Mennonite Church (MC).
The current building was built in 1956, with an education wing and fellowship hall added in 1991.
Maple Grove withdrew from the Allegheny Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA in 2017 and joined the Lancaster Mennonite Conference (LMC) in 2018. In 2018, the average Sunday morning attendance was 105.
Bibliography
History of the Maple Grove Mennonite Church. [Belleville, Pa.]: [Maple Grove Mennonite Church], 1974.
"Maple Grove Mennonite Church." Shalom News 38, no. 3 (July-September 2018): 9.
Shetler, Sanford G. Two centuries of struggle and growth 1763-1963: a history of Allegheny Mennonite Conference. Scottdale, Pa.: Allegheny Mennonite Conference, 1963: 248-253, 328-329.
Additional Information
Address: 115 Maple Grove Road, Belleville, Pennsylvania 17004
Telephone: 717-935-2513
Website: https://www.maplegrovemc.org/
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2017)
Pastoral Leaders at Maple Grove Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Solomon K. Byler (1798-1888) (Bishop) |
1850-1850s 1850s-1888 |
| John Hartzler (1815-1888) | 1858-1888 |
| Samuel Yoder (1824-1884)(Bishop) | 1864-1884 |
| John N. Yoder (1825-1906) | 1860s?-1906 |
| David J. Zook (1822-1895)(Bishop) | Before 1884-1886 |
| Joseph H. Byler (1853-1925) | 1883-1925 |
| Enoch Zook (1817-1888) | 1884-1888 |
| Samuel W. Peachey (1858-1937) | 1884-1887 |
| Michael Yoder (1831-1923)(Bishop) | 1886-1889 1898-1908 |
| Abraham D. Zook (1839-1909) (Bishop) |
1885-1889 1889-1898 |
| John M. Yoder (1866-1932) | 1905-1907 |
| Eli H. Kanagy (1861-1935) (Bishop) |
1908-1910 1910-1931 |
| John M. Hartzler (1871-1925) | 1915-1925 |
| Elmer D. Hess (1884-1972) | 1925-1936 |
| Aaron Mast (1880-1957)(Bishop) | 1934-1957 |
| Jacob F. Weirich (1907-1988) | 1952-1957 |
| Waldo E. Miller (1919-2004) | 1958-1972 |
| Paul H. Stoltzfus (1935-2021) | 1973-1980 |
| Kenneth G. Good (1910-1997)(Interim) | 1980-1981 |
| Leroy D. Umble (1920-2009)(Interim) | 1982-1986 |
| Robert L. Hartzler (1936-2022) | 1986-1992 |
| Ivan E. Yoder (1929-2008) | 1992-1998 |
| Kenneth E. Litwiller | 1998?-2001? |
| Richard "Alan" Kauffman | 2003-2023 |
| Phoebe Quaynor (Preaching/Teaching) | 2024- |
| Lisa Rheam (Administrative) | 2023- |
Maple Grove Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1907 | 270 With Allensville |
| 1915 | 124 |
| 1920 | 150 |
| 1930 | 176 |
| 1940 | 167 |
| 1950 | 235 |
| 1960 | 235 |
| 1970 | 317 |
| 1980 | 316 |
| 1990 | 324 |
| 2000 | 284 |
| 2009 | 288 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Ammon Kaufman and John L. Horst. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 474. All rights reserved.
The Maple Grove Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA), located about one mile east of Belleville, Pennsylvania, was organized by "meetinghouse" Amish as a congregation in 1863 under the leadership of Bishop Solomon Byler. Services in the new building were held for the first time on 9 August 1868. The congregation affiliated itself with the Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference, but is now affiliated with the Allegheny Conference. Samuel Yoder served as bishop 1864-1884. Succeeding bishops were David Zook 1884-1886, Michael Yoder 1886-1889, Abraham D. Zook 1889-1898, Michael Yoder assisted by John E. Kauffman 1898-1910, Eli H. Kanagy 1910-?, Aaron Mast 1935- .
The membership in 1954 was 278, with Aaron Mast as bishop and Jacob Weirich as minister.
In 1936 the Maple Grove congregation started a mission outpost at Barrville, five miles north of Belleville. It was organized as a separate congregation in 1956.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | August 2025 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Maple Grove Mennonite Church (Belleville, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2025. Web. 19 Jan 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Maple_Grove_Mennonite_Church_(Belleville,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181089.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (August 2025). Maple Grove Mennonite Church (Belleville, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 January 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Maple_Grove_Mennonite_Church_(Belleville,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181089.
©1996-2026 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
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