Fairview Mennonite Church (Reading, Pennsylvania, USA)
The Fairview Street Mennonite Mission in Reading, Pennsylvania, began in 1932 when the Reading Mission conducted a tent meeting in East Reading. In 1933, the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities rented a house at 1609 Fairview Street for use as a worship space. Within a few years, it purchased the home. Although the church subsequently built a new facility in 1956, the congregation still used the building in 2025. The members at Fairview Street were considered part of the Reading Mission until about 1950.
The 1956 building, dedicated on 16 December 1956 at 545 South 16th Street, served until 2016, when the congregation purchased and renovated the former Reading Brewery building. After the 1956 building, the congregation became known as the Fairview Mennonite Church.
In 1977, the congregation launched the Fairview Christian School in its basement with 30 students. In 1999, the school purchased the former Spring Ford knitting mill for the school.
In 1999, Fairview Mennonite was among 15 congregations granted release by the Lancaster Mennonite Conference to form the somewhat more conservative Keystone Mennonite Fellowship. Those congregations continued to use the 1963 Confession of Faith as their standard instead of the newer 1995 Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective.
Bibliography
"History." Fairview Mennonite Church. Web. 14 April 2025. https://www.fairviewmennonitechurch.com/history.
"Our history." Fairview Christian School. Web. 14 April 2025. https://fairviewchristianschool.com/about/our-history/.
Sensenig, J. Carl. Called of God: The Mennonite Churches of Reading, Pennsylvania. Denver, Pa.: J.C. Sensenig, 2007.
Additional Information
Address: 1701 Fairview Street, Reading, Pennsylvania 19606
Telephone:
Website: https://www.fairviewmennonitechurch.com/
Denominational Affiliations:
Pastoral Leaders at Fairview Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Jacob B. Gehman (1880-1958)(Superintendent) | 1933-1934? |
| Noah G. Musser (1902-1976)(Superintendent) | 1934-1940s |
| Luke L. Horst (1922-2020 | 1943-1987 |
| Leroy H. Gehman (Bishop) |
1970-1995 1995-2004 |
| Jay E. Fox | 1976-2010 |
| Ted Steinruck (Bishop) |
1996-2019 2019- |
| Lester S. Zimmerman (Bishop) | 2004-2019 |
| Marcus R. Fox | 2009- |
| Keith L. Gehman | 2019- |
| Ryan D. Huber | 2021- |
Fairview Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 17 |
| 1960 | 28 |
| 1970 | 41 |
| 1980 | 53 |
| 1990 | 77 |
| 2000 | 88 |
| 2009 | 110 |
| 2024 | 157 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Noah G. Good. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 290-291. All rights reserved.
The Fairview Street Mennonite Mission (Mennonite Church (MC), Reading, Pennsylvania, grew out of a need for more room at the Twelfth Street Mission. A small number of families who had been attending the Mennonite services at the Twelfth Street Mission moved to the southeast end of Reading. Since there was no church of any denomination in the immediate area, and many children wanted to attend Sunday school, a dwelling was rented for that purpose in 1932.
The Fairview Street Mission was opened under J. B. Gehman, who was then in charge of the mission work in Reading with its center at Twelfth and Windsor streets.
After the work had grown a few years preaching services and congregational life were established. The double house in which the Sunday school had been held was bought and renovated. It now has a roomy chapel in the first floor, Sunday-school rooms, and living quarters for mission workers. Luke L. Horst, minister, his family, and two workers, Elsie Gehman and Ireta Gassman, have been living here and assisting regularly at all three of the missions in Reading.
The Sunday school is the largest regular activity, usually about 125. The summer Bible school has the largest attendance, usually reaching 200.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | April 2025 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Fairview Mennonite Church (Reading, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2025. Web. 28 Apr 2025. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Fairview_Mennonite_Church_(Reading,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=180526.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (April 2025). Fairview Mennonite Church (Reading, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 28 April 2025, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Fairview_Mennonite_Church_(Reading,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=180526.
©1996-2025 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.