Bethel Mennonite Church (Broadway, Virginia, USA)

From GAMEO
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Bethel Mennonite Church, Broadway, Virginia, 2012.
Photo by Elwood Yoder; used with permission.
Source: Mennonite Archives of Virginia
.

The Bethel Mennonite Church (Mountain Valley Mennonite Churches, formerly Mennonite Church) four miles (6.5 km) north of Cootes Store, Rockingham County, Virginia, was a member of the Virginia Mennonite Conference before withdrawing from the conference in 2002 over doctrinal concerns. It then became a member of the Mountain Valley Mennonite Churches, a group of churches unwilling to join the then new Mennonite Church USA.

About 1915 a Sunday school was started by two Baptist girls under a tree near this place. It was later moved to an old store building near by. The Mennonite Church was invited to take the work over and the store building was purchased in 1918 and used for services until around 1925 when it was torn down, moved to its present location, and enlarged. The membership was 110 in 1953 and the pastor was M. D. Emswiler. In 2018 the pastors were Stephen R. Estep and Millard Sonifrank.

Bibliography

Anabaptist (Mennonite) Directory 2011. Harrisonburg, VA: The Sword and Trumpet, 2011: 65.

Additional Information

Address: 18425 Runions Creek Road, Broadway, Virginia 22815

Denominational Affiliations:

Mountain Valley Mennonite Churches

Ordained Pastors at Bethel Mennonite Church

Name Years
of Service
Abram G. Heishman (1879-1958) 1925?-1937?
M. Dewey Emswiler 1935-1954
Harold Emswiler 1953-1969?
A. T. Rollins 1969-1971?
Earl R. Delp 1971-1977
J. Ward Shank 1978-1980
Stephen R. Estep 1983-present
Millard Sonifrank 2000?-present

Membership at Bethel Mennonite Church

Year Membership
1930 49
1935 77
1940 76
1945 78
1950 95
1955 107
1960 109
1965 120
1970 120
1975 111
1980 101
1985 63
1990 68
1995 54
2000 60
2005 55
2010 45
2015 35

Maps

Map:Bethel Mennonite Church (Broadway, Virginia)


Author(s) Timothy Showalter
Samuel J. Steiner
Date Published April 2019

Cite This Article

MLA style

Showalter, Timothy and Samuel J. Steiner. "Bethel Mennonite Church (Broadway, Virginia, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2019. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bethel_Mennonite_Church_(Broadway,_Virginia,_USA)&oldid=165612.

APA style

Showalter, Timothy and Samuel J. Steiner. (April 2019). Bethel Mennonite Church (Broadway, Virginia, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bethel_Mennonite_Church_(Broadway,_Virginia,_USA)&oldid=165612.




Hpbuttns.png

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 311. All rights reserved.


©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.