Iglesia Menonita Jesucristo es el Señor (New Holland, Pennsylvania, USA)
Mennonites began outreach to Puerto Rican migrant workers in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1950, when T. K. Hershey, formerly a missionary in Argentina and Texas, started holding weekly Spanish-language services during the summer months in four local Mennonite churches on Saturdays and Sundays. This work came under the supervision of the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference.
In 1954, the board asked William G. Lauver to provide leadership to the Spanish ministry. Already in 1953, it decided to hold regular services in New Holland, Pennsylvania, due to the number of Hispanic families working at Victor Weaver's chicken processing plant. In 1954, the services were held in the New Holland Mennonite Church. In 1956, the congregation relocated to a building on Main Street in New Holland, where the congregation became known as the East Main Street Spanish Mennonite Church.
For several years in the early 1970s, the group met in a church on Tabor Road south of New Holland. It was not well-located, so in 1974, the congregation purchased the old meetinghouse of the New Holland Mennonite Church on North Roberts Avenue, after that congregation had built a new facility. In these years, the congregation became known as the New Holland Spanish Mennonite Church.
In the 2010s, the congregation used the name Iglesia Menonita Jesucristo es el Señor. Its participants included people from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, San Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Costa Rica.
Bibliography
Falcón, Rafael. The Hispanic Mennonite Church in North America 1932-1982. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1986: 93-95.
"Iglesia Menonita Jesucristo es el Señor." Shalom News 32, no. 4 (June-July 2012): 15.
Ruth, John L. The Earth is the Lord's: a narrative history of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2001: 1040-1042.
Address: 24 North Roberts Avenue, New Holland, Pennsylvania 17557
Telephone: 717-355-2082
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2018)
Pastoral Leaders at Iglesia Menonita Jesucristo es el Señor
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Tobias K. Hershey (1879-1956) | 1950-1953 |
| William G. Lauver (1896-1984) | 1954-1969 |
| George T. Miller (1916-2000) | 1969-1975 |
| Rafael Ramos | 1975-1982 |
| Teodoro Santiago (1937-2014) | 1973-1986 |
| Samuel M. Lopez | 1984-1987 |
| German Carrosco (1939-1995) | 1988?-1995 |
| Nering Huete | 1995? |
| Martin Ramirez | 1995-2002? |
| Mario E. Araya | 2003?-2011? |
| Jose Lopez (Interim) | 2011-? |
| ? | ? |
| Anthony Garcia | 2022- |
Iglesia Menonita Jesucristo es el Señor Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 24 |
| 1970 | 14 |
| 1980 | 29 |
| 1990 | 30 |
| 2000 | 56 |
| 2009 | 58 |
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | June 2025 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Iglesia Menonita Jesucristo es el Señor (New Holland, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2025. Web. 19 Jan 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Iglesia_Menonita_Jesucristo_es_el_Se%C3%B1or_(New_Holland,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=180846.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (June 2025). Iglesia Menonita Jesucristo es el Señor (New Holland, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 January 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Iglesia_Menonita_Jesucristo_es_el_Se%C3%B1or_(New_Holland,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=180846.
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