Old Road Mennonite Church (Gap, Pennsylvania, USA)
Before 1800, Peter Eby was ordained to the ministry as an assistant for Henry Metzler of the Strasburg congregation in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A congregation formed at Paradise, where the first meetinghouse was built in 1806. After many years of worship in private homes, two additional meetinghouses were erected: one, called Hershey, in 1837, and another called Old Road in 1841.
The Old Road meetinghouse was erected along the Old Road between Lancaster and Philadelphia, about a mile east of White Horse, in Salisbury Township. It was viewed as a central location after the Hershey meetinghouse had been built. A cemetery was already present at the location. The Old Road meetinghouse was renovated and enlarged in 1892.
Services were originally held every four weeks. By the 1900s, Old Road had services every two weeks. Services changed to weekly in the mid-1950s.
Bibliography
"New Meeting House." Herald of Truth 29, no. 18 (15 September 1892): 280.
Ruth, John L. The Earth is the Lord's: a narrative history of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2001: 460, 1138-1169.
Weaver, Martin G. Mennonites of Lancaster Conference: containing biographical sketches of Mennonite leaders, histories of congregations, missions, and Sunday schools, record of ordinations, and other interesting historical data. Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1931. Reprinted Ephrata, PA: Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church Publication Board, 1982: 48-59, 73-76, 88. Available in full electronic text at https://archive.org/details/mennonitesoflanc00weav_0/page/n3/mode/2up.
Additional Information
Address: 5795 Old Philadelphia Pike, Gap, Pennsylvania 17527
Telephone: 717-768-3450
Website: https://www.facebook.com/OldRoadMennonite
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2017)
Pastoral Leaders at Old Road Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Joseph Horst (1774-1856) | 1795?-1856 |
| Samuel Wenger (1804-1879) | 1838-1879 |
| Peter Eby (1765-1843)(Bishop) | 1841-1843 |
| Christian Herr (1780-1853)(Bishop) | 1840-1853 |
| Jacob Hershey (1803-1883) | 1843-1883 |
| Joseph Hershey (1791-1856)(Bishop) | 1850-1856 |
| Benjamin Herr (1801-1888)(Bishop) | 1856-1888 |
| Jacob R. Hershey (1817-1910) | 1858-1910 |
| Isaac Eby (1834-1910)(Bishop) | 1876-1910 |
| John K. Ranck (1840-1896) | 1878-1896 |
| David M. Hostetter (1836-1899) | 1886-1899 |
| Amos H. Hoover (1852-1941) | 1895-1941 |
| John B. Senger (1850-1932) | 1900-1932 |
| Christian M. Brackbill (1853-1936)(Bishop) | 1910-1936 |
| Ira L. Hershey (1868-1940) | 1920-1940 |
| Abraham L. Martin (1881-1946)(Bishop) | 1921-1946 |
| Jacob "J. Eby" Leaman (1912-1983) | 1941-1942? |
| Martin R. Hershey (1882-1974) | 1934-1956? |
| G. Parke Book (1879-1957)(Bishop) | 1946-1957 |
| Sanford E. Hershey (1921-2008) | 1952-1961 |
| Clair B. Eby (1913-1999)(Bishop) | 1957-1990s |
| Richard B. Buckwalter (1925-2019) | 1961-2003? |
| G. Hershey Hostetter (Associate) | 1975-1985 |
| Mark M. Leaman (Bishop) | 1982-2000s? |
| Rodney Nafziger (1952- )(Associate) | 1986-1989? |
| Robert H. Benner | 1999?-2010s |
| Kendall D. Kurtz | 2006?-2009? |
| Dale R. Hostetter (Pastoral Care) | 2009-2010s |
| Robert Bender (Interim) | 2012-2014 |
| Scott Elkins | 2014-2019 |
| Cohen Peifer? | 2020s- |
Old Road Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1915 | 150 |
| 1920 | 147 |
| 1930 | 1051 In District |
| 1940 | 120 |
| 1950 | 105 |
| 1960 | 98 |
| 1970 | 87 |
| 1980 | 118 |
| 1990 | 111 |
| 2000 | 134 |
| 2009 | 141 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Ira D. Landis. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 49. All rights reserved.
Old Road (or White Horse) Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), located near an early family cemetery one mile east of White Horse, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a part of the Hershey circuit of the Lancaster Conference. Until 1841 the congregation met for worship in private homes and in the Pequea Presbyterian church. In 1841 a stone meetinghouse was built along the Old Philadelphia Pike. In 1892 a frame building farther from the road and larger replaced it. This meetinghouse was remodeled in 1947. Martin R. Hershey and Sanford E. Hershey are the ministers, and Clair Eby bishop. The membership in 1957 was 104.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | January 2026 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Old Road Mennonite Church (Gap, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. January 2026. Web. 19 Jan 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Old_Road_Mennonite_Church_(Gap,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181452.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (January 2026). Old Road Mennonite Church (Gap, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 January 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Old_Road_Mennonite_Church_(Gap,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181452.
©1996-2026 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.