North Main Street Mennonite Church (Nappanee, Indiana, USA)
Early Mennonite families began to settle in Locke and Union townships in Elkhart County, Indiana between 1853 and 1863, including settlers from Mahoning and Columbiana counties in Ohio. These included David Burkholder, who moved onto his homestead in Locke Township in 1863. The closest Mennonite churches were Yellow Creek and Holdeman.
Ministers from these churches held monthly preaching services in the Culp schoolhouse by 1863. When David Burkholder and wife joined in 1865, there were 13 members. In 1867, a new schoolhouse was built where monthly services were held until 1878. By then, the B & O Railroad had built a line through Nappanee in 1874, speeding economic development. When citizens built a new brick school in 1878, the Mennonites purchased and remodeled the former schoolhouse as a meetinghouse. They also initiated a Sunday school.
David Burkholder was ordained as a minister for Nappanee Mennonite Church in 1880; this meant the congregation was considered organized, and preaching services moved to every two weeks. The group also attracted some Amish Mennonite families who had left the Old Order. By 1893, the former schoolhouse was too small, and the congregation built a new brick meetinghouse that was dedicated on 29 October 1893 with John S. Coffman preaching in the morning and John F. Funk in the afternoon.
Young People's Bible Meetings began in 1908, and a women's sewing circle in 1910. After the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference and the Indiana-Michigan Amish Mennonite Conference merged in 1916, there were two Mennonite churches in Nappanee. The Nappanee Mennonite Church then was frequently referenced as the North Main Street Mennonite Church to distinguish it from the West Market Street Amish Mennonite Church (later First Mennonite Church).
In 1923, a division occurred in many churches in the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference between more conservative members and more acculturated members. The more conservative conference leaders desired increased enforcement of regulations on uniformity in dress and against things like life insurance. Pastor Ezra Mullet withdrew from North Main Mennonite Church with 35 members to join the West Market Street Amish Mennonite Church. Fifty members of the West Market Street Church who desired to stay with the conservative group adhering to conference polity transferred their membership to the North Main Street congregation. The West Market Street congregation later united with the General Conference Mennonite Church.
North Main founded the Osceola Mennonite Church in 1951. In 1955, some families withdrew to the Gospel Light Mission, a charismatic group shaped by Gerald Derstine.
In 1912, the congregation enlarged the meetinghouse and added a basement. In 1921, it added a balcony, and in 1952 the entire building was enlarged and remodeled.
In the 1970s, Dean Hochstetler, a member at North Main Mennonite Church, began a ministry of spiritual deliverance, including casting out demons, that became controversial within the denomination, though he was ordained in 1986.
In 1981 the congregation began a nursery school run by a church member. In 2002, it also purchased and updated the house next to the church, which in 2004 it called Shalom House. The building provided temporary housing for families in need.
In its later years, North Main maintained a community garden for the Family Christian Development Center.
The North Main Street Mennonite Church held its final service on 18 August 2019. Many members had left after Ruben Chupp retired in 2018. The property was sold to the Berea Christian Fellowship.
Bibliography
Chupp, Ruben. "Joining God's harvest." Gospel Evangel 96, no. 5 (September/October 2015): 2, 7.
_____. "The story of Shalom House." Gospel Evangel 93, no. 4 (July/August 2012): 7.
Leinbach, Vera. "North Main Mennonite Church." Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. 2020. Web. 17 July 2024. https://im.mennonite.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Congregational-Updates.pdf.
Preheim, Rich. In Pursuit of Faithfulness: Conviction, Conflict, and Compromise in Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2016: 41-42, 131-132, 248, 297, 311.
Ramer, Derrick. "North Main Street Mennonite." Gospel Evangel 87, no. 1 (January/February 2006): 3.
Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 79-87.
Additional Information
Address: 504 North Main Street, Nappanee, Indiana
Telephone:
Website:
Denominational Affiliations:
Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at North Main Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Visiting Ministers | 1863-1880 |
| David Burkholder (1835-1923) (Bishop) |
1880-1904 1904-1918 |
| Jacob Bleile (1841-1902) | 1889-1898 |
| Frank Hartman (1881-1945) | 1899-1902 |
| Noah Metzler (1854-1907) | 1903-1907 |
| Ezra S. Mullet (1882-1981) | 1907-1923 |
| Homer F. North (1890-1986) (Bishop) |
1926-1954 1954-1966 |
| Richard W. "Dick" Yoder (1929-2018) | 1956-1966 |
| Norman J. Lyndaker (1930-2015) | 1967-1974 |
| Howard E. Dunlap (1921-2014) | 1975-1978 |
| John C. King (1932-2017)(Bishop) | 1979-1990 |
| Gail L. Roth (1958- )(Associate) | 1983-1986? |
| Duncan Smith (1958- )(Associate) | 1990-1991? |
| Leon Kaufman (Interim) | 1990-1991 |
| Kenneth Bontreger | 1991-1998 |
| Daniel Z. Miller (Interim) | 1999-2001 |
| Ruben R. Chupp | 2001-2018 |
| Erik Sechrist (Youth) | 2000-2002? |
| Derrick D. Ramer (Youth) | 2003?-2010 |
| Lisa Showalter (Worship & Music) | 2005-2010s? |
| Danny Jones (Supply) | 2018 |
| Randall Miller (Transitional) | 2018-2019 |
North Main Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1865 | 13 |
| 1880 | 18 |
| 1893 | 47 |
| 1905 | 100 |
| 1920 | 169 |
| 1930 | 238 |
| 1940 | 305 |
| 1950 | 311 |
| 1960 | 358 |
| 1970 | 277 |
| 1980 | 238 |
| 1990 | 233 |
| 2000 | 232 |
| 2009 | 191 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Homer F. North. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 921. All rights reserved.
The North Main Street Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church (MC)), Nappanee, Elkhart County, Indiana, is a member of the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. The early Mennonite families began to settle in Locke and Union townships in Elkhart County about 1853-1863. Services were held in a nearby schoolhouse every four weeks. About 1878 a small building was purchased in Nappanee. A Sunday school was organized, which apparently created new interest. On 15 May 1880 David Burkholder was ordained minister, which sets the date when the congregation was organized. In 1893 a new brick building was built by the 43 members of the congregation. Preaching services were now held every two weeks. The first evangelistic meetings were held by John S. Coffman in 1894. The membership in 1906 was 117. The meetinghouse was enlarged in 1912, 1921, and 1952. It had a seating capacity of 450.
In 1923, when a division occurred in the church, Ezra Mullet (then pastor) withdrew with a group to the West Market Street Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church). Members of the West Market Street Church who desired to stay with the conservative group adhering to the conference transferred their membership to the North Main Street congregation. The West Market Street congregation later united with the General Conference Mennonite Church. D. D. Troyer was responsible for the worship services until Homer F. North was ordained as minister on 1 August 1926. North was ordained bishop in 1954.
Bishops who served in the congregation were David Burkholder, Jacob Christophel, Ray F. Yoder, and Homer F. North; ministers were Frank Hartman, Noah Metzler, Ezra Mullet, and D. D. Troyer. In the fall of 1952 the church sponsored the opening of a mission Sunday school in Osceola, just west of Elkhart, and Maurice Long was ordained in 1954 as minister for the work in Osceola. In 1955 the membership was 372, with Homer F. North as pastor.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | July 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "North Main Street Mennonite Church (Nappanee, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2024. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=North_Main_Street_Mennonite_Church_(Nappanee,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=179298.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (July 2024). North Main Street Mennonite Church (Nappanee, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=North_Main_Street_Mennonite_Church_(Nappanee,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=179298.
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