Northside Mennonite Church (Lima, Ohio, USA)
The Northside Mennonite Church (first Lima Mission, then Jefferson Street Mennonite (Mennonite Church)) was organized in the southeastern part of the city of Lima, Ohio, in January 1910 as a result of mission interest at the Pike and Salem congregations. E. E. Troyer and C. D. Brenneman were the first superintendents. Later in the year Preacher B. B. Stoltzfus and family of West Liberty were invited to locate at the mission.
Several years later, Mennonites were invited to assist in a Sunday school conducted on North Jefferson Street by the Presbyterian Board. The congregations in Allen, Logan, Champaign, and Fulton counties assisted B. B. Stoltzfus and his family in remodeling the church and building a home for the workers, completed in 1917. As part of the building fund Stoltzfus donated his share of an oats crop that he had raised in North Dakota.
The congregation was organized in 1922 by the Eastern A.M. and Ohio Mennonite conferences. The two conferences had ordained Henry Müller, a mission convert, as a deacon the year before. After Stoltzfus' health declined in 1924, the Board appointed Earl Miller and his wife Fern as workers, who left in 1926 to take charge of the Peoria, Illinois, mission. In 1926 Maurice O'Connell and his wife Geneva, converts of the Fort Wayne, Indiana, mission, were appointed superintendent and matron. O'Connell served as a licensed preacher until 1928, when he was ordained to the ministry. S. E. Allgyer ordained him bishop in 1940. After his death in 1946, he was succeeded by Glenn Martin of North Dakota. After 1953 Darwin O'Connell, assistant pastor, served as pastor. The membership in 1954 was 73.
In 1968 or 1969, the congregation relocated to 1318 North Main Street in Lima, and became known as the Northside Mennonite Church. After several years of discussion, in 1995 it merged with the First Mennonite Church of Lima (General Conference Mennonite) to form the Lima Mennonite Church. The new congregation met at Northside's location. Lavon J. Welty had served several years as pastor of both congregations.
See Lima Mennonite Church for the history of the merged congregations.
Bibliography
"Congregations explore merger to strengthen witness in their city." Gospel Herald 86, no. 27 (6 July 1993): 28-29.
Rich, Elaine Sommers, ed. Walking Together in Faith: The Central District Conference, 1957-1990. Bluffton, Ohio: The Conference, 2003.
Umble, John Sylvanus. Ohio Mennonite Sunday Schools. Goshen, Ind.: Mennonite Historical Society, 1941: 190-197.
Additional Information
Address: 1318 North Main Street, Lima, Ohio
Phone:
Website:
Denominational Affiliations: Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference
Mennonite Church (MC)
Mission Superintendents/Pastoral Leaders at Northside Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Eli E. Troyer (1884-1950) | 1910 |
| Charles D. "C. D." Brenneman (1866-1948) | 1910 |
| Benjamin B. "B. B." Stoltzfus (1861-1931) | 1910-1924 |
| Earl Miller (1900-1987) | 1924-1925 |
| Maurice O'Connell (1895-1946) | 1926-1946 |
| Darwin O'Connell (1917-2006) | 1942-1959 |
| Glenn B. Martin (1918-1996) | 1946-1952 |
| Rudy S. Borntrager (1910-1978) | 1959-1961 |
| Robert King | 1961-1964 |
| Lawrence B. Brunk (1917-2003) | 1964-1968 |
| Terry L. Ayers | 1969?-1972? |
| Gerald F. Sellers | 1971-1973? |
| David Eshleman | 1973-1983 |
| Clarence R. Sutter (1921-1998) | 1983-1986? |
| Lyman Hofstetter (1929-1997) | 1986?-1987? |
| Steven Good | 1987?-1992? |
| Lavon J. Welty | 1993-1995 |
Membership at Northside Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1920 | 19 |
| 1930 | 38 |
| 1940 | 80 |
| 1950 | 67 |
| 1960 | 73 |
| 1970 | 55 |
| 1980 | 95 |
| 1990 | 46 |
| 1994 | 67 |
| Author(s) | John S. Umble |
|---|---|
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Date Published | October 2022 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Umble, John S. and Samuel J. Steiner. "Northside Mennonite Church (Lima, Ohio, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. October 2022. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Northside_Mennonite_Church_(Lima,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=174238.
APA style
Umble, John S. and Samuel J. Steiner. (October 2022). Northside Mennonite Church (Lima, Ohio, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Northside_Mennonite_Church_(Lima,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=174238.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 346. All rights reserved.
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