Inman Mennonite Church (Inman, Kansas, USA)
The Inman Hoffnungsau Mennonite Church began as a Sunday school post of the Hoffnungsau Mennonite congregation. Already in the 1880s, a group began meeting one or two Sundays a month in a rural school in the Inman area. A larger group moved to the Inman Grade School when the rural school became too small. In 1909, the Hoffnungsau congregation built a small church in Inman and supplied it with ministers. It was not recognized as a separate congregation until 8 January 1921. Most of the 106 charter members came from the Hoffnungsau congregation. It became part of the Western District Conference in 1921, and of the General Conference Mennonite Church in 1922.
The congregation built a new church facility which it dedicated on 3 March 1955.
Inman Mennonite Church transferred to the South Central Mennonite Conference in 2016. The South Central Conference withdrew from Mennonite Church USA in 2023 and became a bishop district of LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches. Thus, Inman Mennonite Church became an LMC congregation at that time.
Bibliography
Haury, David A. Prairie People: A History of the Western District Conference. Newton, KS: Faith and Life Press, 1981: 146-147.
Additional Information
Address: 304 South Pine Street, Inman, Kansas 67546
Telephone: 620-585-6550
Website: https://www.inmanmennonite.com/
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Pastoral Leaders at Inman Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Abraham Albrecht (1880-1955) | 1921-1923 |
| John D. Epp (1894-1960) | 1923-1924? |
| David C. Ewert (1889-1976) | 1926?-1935? |
| John E. Kauffman (1898-1953) | 1936-1947 |
| Aaron J. Epp (1918-1992) (Supply) |
1947-1949 1984-1985 |
| William L. Wilkinson (1916-2001) | 1949-1951 |
| Benjamin P. "Ben" Rahn (1913-2004) | 1951-1962 |
| Roger Siebert | 1963-1967 |
| Ben K. Friesen (1927-2022) | 1967-1981 |
| Ralph K. Weber | 1981-1984 |
| Jerry Moore | 1985-1988 |
| Ed R. Stucky (Transitional) | 1988-1989 |
| Jerry L. Kaiser (1950-2024) | 1989-2007 |
| Eric Buller | 2008?-2016 |
| Michael Hiebert | 2016-2019 |
| Nick Ladd (Interim) | 2019 |
| Jack Norris | 2019- |
Inman Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1921 | 106 |
| 1940 | 171 |
| 1950 | 194 |
| 1960 | 204 |
| 1970 | 284 |
| 1980 | 319 |
| 1990 | 212 |
| 2000 | 146 |
| 2009 | 130 |
| 2020 | 114 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Ben Rahn. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 40. All rights reserved.
The Inman Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA), located in Inman, McPherson County, Kansas, a member of the Western District Conference, dates almost to the coming of the Mennonites to Kansas and the establishment of the Hoffnungsau congregation, its mother church. Because of the large area of settlement, Sunday schools were soon started in various schoolhouses in the outlying areas of the settlement. In 1909 the mother church erected and dedicated a small church building in Inman as a home mission project, supplying it with ministers. In 1921 this group organized as the Inman Mennonite Church with 106 charter members and Abraham Albrecht as pastor. Nine ministers had served as pastor by 1955, with Ben Rahn the present pastor. The 1953 membership was 206. A new modern church was dedicated on 3 March 1955.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | July 2025 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Inman Mennonite Church (Inman, Kansas, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2025. Web. 19 Jan 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Inman_Mennonite_Church_(Inman,_Kansas,_USA)&oldid=180964.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (July 2025). Inman Mennonite Church (Inman, Kansas, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 January 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Inman_Mennonite_Church_(Inman,_Kansas,_USA)&oldid=180964.
©1996-2026 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.