Mininger, Hiram J. (1870-1953)
Hiram J. Mininger, a Church of God in Christ, Mennonite preacher, the son of John and Susanna (Johnson) Mininger, was born on 8 January 1870 in Hatfield, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He grew up on the farm and attended the district school until the sixth grade and one summer of German Sunday school conducted by the Franconia Mennonite Church. He married Katie Bechtel, whose parents were also Mennonites, in September 1889. Nine sons and seven daughters were born to this union. He wrote: "At the time when we were married very few of the Mennonite youth joined the church before marrying. Soon after marriage we informed the local pastor, Bishop Josiah Clemmer, that we wished to change our way of living and would like to join the church, upon which it was openly announced and a class of 12 couples received instructions every other Sunday for several months on changing our lives and how to live when affiliated with the church, and were baptized." Mininger was a truth-seeker and gave much time to reading the Bible and to prayer. He became deeply interested in church history. He soon felt a need for a new birth, which he obtained when he earnestly sought the Lord and His ways through much prayer and fasting. When the door to a fuller fellowship in the Mennonite church seemed to close, he, his wife, and a few others joined the Church of God in Christ Mennonites, when John Holdeman and Tobias Unruh held meetings in Pennsylvania in March 1898. A few years later they moved to Ithaca, Michigan, where Mininger was ordained to the ministry in March 1904. After serving the Newark congregation at Ithaca as associate minister for many years, he took charge of the congregation at Wauseon, Ohio. He preached with great fervor and emphasis the whole truth as he believed it. He was a pioneer in the evangelistic field, devoting much time and effort to conducting revival meetings.
| Author(s) | P. G Hiebert |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Hiebert, P. G. "Mininger, Hiram J. (1870-1953)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 30 Oct 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mininger,_Hiram_J._(1870-1953)&oldid=116549.
APA style
Hiebert, P. G. (1957). Mininger, Hiram J. (1870-1953). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 30 October 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mininger,_Hiram_J._(1870-1953)&oldid=116549.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 695. All rights reserved.
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