Clinton Brick Church (Goshen, Indiana, USA)

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The first Mennonites (as opposed to Amish Mennonites) to settle east of Goshen, Indiana in Clinton Township came in about 1845. According to tradition, these early Mennonites built a log meetinghouse in 1854, though land was not conveyed until 1856. Initially, ministers from Yellow Creek Mennonite came to preach.

The first resident minister was John Nusbaum, a native of Switzerland, who settled in Clinton Township in 1860.

In 1880, the congregation replaced the log meetinghouse with a new brick building. It held its first service on 30 October 1880. In 1919, it enlarged the building and added a basement. In 1945, it added a balcony. On 7 December 1945, the meetinghouse burned. The congregation completed a new brick building in 1947, which was dedicated on 7 December 1947.

At a congregational meeting on 13 July 2014, a majority of church members voted to leave the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference and Mennonite Church USA due to the increase it saw in LGBT inclusion in the conference and denomination. The removal from membership became effective on 1 October of that year. At that time the church changed its name to Clinton Brick Church. Its weekly attendance was about 50 at that time.

In 2019 the Clinton Brick Church closed. It transferred ownership of its building to the Foundation Community Church, which had been founded in 2018.

Bibliography

Groff, Anna. "Clinton Brick Leaves Indiana-Michigan." The Mennonite: Daily News/Updates. 16 October 2014. Web. 21 October 2014. https://anabaptistworld.org/clinton-brick-leaves-indiana-michigan/.

Kauffman, Gary, ed. Brick by Brick: The Story of Clinton Brick Mennonite Church. Goshen, Ind.: The Church, 2004: 46.

Kauffman, Maxine. "History of the Clinton Brick Mennonite Church." Mennonite Historical Bulletin (March-June  1945).

Kennel, Ron. "Clinton Brick Mennonite." Gospel Evangel 87, no. 8 (December 2006): 3-4.

Preheim, Rich. In Pursuit of Faithfulness: Conviction, Conflict, and Compromise in Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2016: 30-33, 149, 308, 367.

Springer, Joe. "Clinton Brick Church." Personal e-mail (29 April 2024).

Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 87-90.

Archival Holdings

Clinton Brick Church at Mennonite Church USA Archives.

Additional Information

Address: 62499 State Road 13, Goshen, Indiana

Phone:

Website:

Denominational Affiliations: Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference (Until 2014)

Mennonite Church USA (Until 2014)

Pastoral Leaders at Clinton Brick Church

Name Years
of Service
Yellow Creek Ministers 1854-1860
John Nusbaum, Sr. (1800-1876) 1860-1876
William Pletcher (1816-1877) 1865-1877
Abraham Hoover (1822-1896) 1868-1886
John Jacob "J. J." Weaver (1830-1920) 1875-1896
Henry Martin (1801-1883) 1874-1883
Peter Y. Lehman (1836-1925)
(Bishop)
1884-1892
1892-1901
John C. Gnagy (1817-1889) 1881-1889
David Garber (1862-1934) 1889-1894
John Garber (1860-1944)
(Bishop)
1892-1903
1903-1933
Samuel Honderich (1878-1971) 1902-1907
John C. Springer (1871-1910) 1908-1909
Amos Nusbaum (1868-1954) 1907-1954
Samuel S. Miller (1908-1995) 1936-1946
1948-1953
Amsa H. Kauffman (1894-1977)
(Bishop)
1947-1952
1952-1967
John J. Yoder (1919-2001)
(Bishop)
1955-1967
1967-1976
Brian P. Laverty 1975-1977
Stan Miller (Interim) 1978
Carl L. Smeltzer 1979-1989
Clifford Miller (Interim) 1990
Ronald L. Kennel 1990-2007
Greg Yantzi (Interim) 1998
Daniel Z. Miller (Transitional) 2007-2008
Lay Leadership 2009-2012
David Hathaway 2012-2018?

Clinton Brick Church Membership

Year Members
1880s 75
1905 75
1920 96
1930 107
1940 101
1950 146
1960 205
1970 176
1980 217
1990 123
2000 127
2009 127

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

By Amsa H. Kauffman. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 627. All rights reserved.

Clinton Brick Mennonite Church, Goshen, Indiana.
Photo by John Yoder; used with permission
.

Clinton Brick Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA), located in Clinton Township, Elkhart County, near Goshen, Indiana, is a member of the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. The church was organized in 1854 with approximately 40 members, under the leadership of John Nusbaum, who served as the first pastor. In 1954 the membership stood at 154, most of whom were rural people. The first meetinghouse was a log structure, built in 1854, with a seating capacity of 100. In 1880 a new solid brick building was erected, which served the congregation until 1944, when it was destroyed by fire. In 1946 a new solid brick church was built which had a seating capacity of 300. Ministers who served for a length of time prior to 1950 were John Nusbaum, Henry Miller, Peter Lehman, John Garber, David Garber, Samuel Honderich, Amos Nusbaum, Samuel S. Miller, and Amsa H. Kauffman (1950).


Author(s) Samuel J Steiner
Date Published April 2024

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "Clinton Brick Church (Goshen, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2024. Web. 4 Oct 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Clinton_Brick_Church_(Goshen,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=178768.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (April 2024). Clinton Brick Church (Goshen, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 4 October 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Clinton_Brick_Church_(Goshen,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=178768.




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