First Mennonite Church (Nappanee, Indiana, USA)
As early as 1853, the Amish Mennonite settlers who had entered land in this part of Elkhart County, Indiana, USA, met in the homes for worship. In about 1854, John Ringenberg was ordained and served as the first minister of the group. When the Culp School, the first in Nappanee, was built, the group began to meet in it.
In 1875 the group formally organized a church with 13 charter members. Jonathan Smucker served as minister until he moved from the community in 1895 and served as bishop until his death.
For many years the church was known as the Amish Mennonite Church. After the Indiana-Michigan Conferences of the Amish Mennonites and Mennonites merged, it became known as the West Market Street Mennonite Church.
The first church building was erected on the site of the present church in 1878. It was a small building, 34 ft. by 40 ft. In 1910 the congregation remodeled the building; it turned the old building, added an addition to the front, and put a basement under the entire building.
The early 1920s found this church, along with other churches in the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference, in disagreement with the conference's emphasis on clothing regulations for women. In the fall of 1923, 56 members withdrew from the conference and were joined by 35 from North Main Street Mennonite to make an independent congregation. In the spring of 1924, 25 more members were added. Those wishing to remain with the Indiana-Michigan conference affiliated with the North Main Street Church. Ezra S. Mullett, the former minister at North Main Street, became the pastor at West Market Street.
In the summer of 1926, the congregation applied for affiliation with the General Conference Mennonite Church. Soon after that, it became known as the First Mennonite Church of Nappanee.
Sometime between 2015 and 2020, First Mennonite Church withdrew from the Central District Conference of Mennonite Church USA and became an independent community church. In 2023 it still retained the First Mennonite name.
Bibliography
Roth, Elva May Schrock. 75th anniversary edition of the history of the First Mennonite Church, Nappanee, Indiana. Nappenee, Indiana: First Mennonite Church, 1950. Available in full electronic text at: https://archive.org/details/75thanniversarye00roth_0.
Additional Information
Address: 900 West Market Street, Nappanee, Indiana 46550
Phone: 574-773-7294
Website:
Denominational Affiliations:
Pastoral Leaders at First Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| John Ringenberg (1827-1871) | 1854-1871 |
| Jonathan P. Smucker (1834-1903) (Bishop) |
1873-1875 1875-1903 |
| John "Jacob" Bleile (1841-1902) | 1885-1890s |
| James Henry McGowan (1851-1927) | 1888-1927 |
| Eli A. Bontrager (1861-1956) | 1900-1903 |
| Levi W. Yoder (1877-1947) | 1911-1930 |
| Ezra S. Mullett (1882-1981) | 1923-1943 |
| Jacob J. Enz (1919-2001) | 1944-1948 |
| Rollin W. Moser (1915-2008) | 1948-1951 |
| Earl L. Salzman (1895-1961) | 1951-1958 |
| Seminary Students (Interim) | 1958-1959 |
| Gordon R. Dyck | 1959-1964 |
| Henry H. Funk (Interim) | 1964-1965 |
| Harvey "Leonard" Metzker (1917-1993) | 1965-1968 |
| David Braun (Interim) | 1968 |
| Harry Spaeth | 1968-1977 |
| Richard Yoder | 1978-1981 |
| Robin K. LaRue | 1982-1989 |
| Gordon Myers (Interim) | 1990 |
| John M. Dey | 1990-1994 |
| Gary E. Martin | 1994-1998 |
| Mark W. Stahl | 1998-2006? |
| Janet Gail Brown | 2007?-2016? |
| Sebastiano "Bob" Rosa | 2015?-2019 |
| Kami Coffin | 2020-present |
Membership at First Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1920 | 121 |
| 1930 | 142 |
| 1940 | 170 |
| 1950 | 156 |
| 1960 | 169 |
| 1970 | 112 |
| 1980 | 84 |
| 1990 | 90 |
| 2000 | 90 |
| 2009 | 87 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Jacob J. Enz. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 111. All rights reserved.
First Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA), located at 900 West Market St., Nappanee, Indiana, first known as the Amish Mennonite Church and later as the West Market Street Mennonite Church. It was a member of the Middle District Conference (now part of the Central District Conference). Before 1923 the congregation was a member of the Mennonite Church (MC). The congregation was organized in 1875 after groups of settlers had met for worship in homes and schoolhouses since 1853. The first meetinghouse was erected in 1878, rebuilt in 1910, and remodelled in 1926 and 1955, a frame structure with a seating capacity of about 250. In 1955 the membership was 164, with Earl L. Salzman as pastor. In 2005 the membership was 87.
| Author(s) | Elva May Schrock Roth |
|---|---|
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Date Published | January 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Roth, Elva May Schrock and Samuel J. Steiner. "First Mennonite Church (Nappanee, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. January 2023. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Nappanee,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=174662.
APA style
Roth, Elva May Schrock and Samuel J. Steiner. (January 2023). First Mennonite Church (Nappanee, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Nappanee,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=174662.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.