RMC Church (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA)
The first recorded deed for a separate parcel of land for a meetinghouse in the Lancaster-Rohrerstown area is found in Deed Book A., page 196, in the Recorder’s Office at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It shows that on 31 August 1750, Christian Stoneman sold one acre of land, near the Little Conestoga in Hempfield Township, with the meetinghouse already erected thereon and to provide a burial place for their dead, to John Jacob Brubaker and Ulrich Roadt, elders and trustees for the Society of Mennonists, being a part of the 1050 acres patented to Hans Brubaker and Bishop Benjamin Hershey, as found in Patent Book A., Volume 5, page 271.
Local Mennonites used this first meetinghouse until the summer of 1791. The membership had expanded westward, so the congregation took down the building and rebuilt an enlarged meetinghouse on the road north of Rohrerstown on land purchased from the Brubaker family. This building was known as Brubaker's. In 1854, the meetinghouse was demolished and a new one erected at the same location. When the congregation purchased additional cemetery land in 1879, the congregation began to call itself Rohrerstown. Throughout this time, Rohrerstown was part of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference, which held its spring conference at the Rohrerstown meetinghouse.
In 1895, when the meetinghouse became too small, the congregation erected a plain brick church in Rohrerstown. It included a basement and also had an adjoining cemetery. Rohrerstown also began a Sunday school at this time.
Rohrerstown shared its pastors and deacons with the Millersville Mennonite Church until the 1950s.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the church experienced a period of decline related to internal tensions regarding television ownership, dress regulations, and strict discipline.
In the 2010s, outreach to Spanish-speaking members of the community increased. In 2016, the congregation hired a Puerto Rican pastor. Bilingual services began on Sunday evenings, along with a separate Spanish-language ministry called RMC Lancaster. In 2025, church management transitioned to RMC Lancaster, though the congregation continued to identify as bilingual.
Bibliography
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: 90-96, 109-110, 285. Available in full electronic text at https://archive.org/details/mennonitesoflanc00weav_0/page/n3/mode/2up.
Additional Information
Address: 601 Rohrerstown Road, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603
Telephone: 717-394-0203
Website: https://www.facebook.com/rmc.church.2025
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2017)
Pastoral Leaders at RMC Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Benjamin Hershey (1697-1789) (Bishop) |
By 1719-1725? 1725?-1789 |
| Benjamin Hershey, Jr. (1732-1812) (Bishop) |
?-? ?-1812 |
| Jacob Brubaker (1751-1832 (Bishop) |
1780?-1783? 1783?-1832? |
| Andreas H. Kauffman (1782-1845) | By 1800-1845 |
| John Brubaker (1787-1842) (Bishop) |
1829-1831 1831-1842 |
| John Shenk (1789-1857) | 1835-1857 |
| Christian S. Herr (1812-1880) | 1842-1880 |
| Henry Shenk (1794-1865)(Bishop) | 1843-1865 |
| Joseph Burkholder (1803-1875)(Bishop) | 1864-1875 |
| Jacob K. Brubaker (1814-1879) (Bishop) |
1859-1875 1875-1879 |
| Amos Shenk (1832-1909) (Bishop) |
1876-1879 1879-1890s |
| John K. Brubaker (1844-1898) | 1879-1898 |
| Benjamin Hertzler (1829-1906) | 1881-1906 |
| Amos D. Wenger (1867-1935) | 1897-1908 |
| Daniel N. Lehman (1852-1925) (Bishop) |
1898-1921 1921-1925 |
| Abraham B. Herr (1845-1925)(Bishop) | 1899-1925 |
| Daniel N. Gish (1867-1954) | 1907-1954 |
| Jacob G. Hess (1883-1959) | 1922-1959 |
| John H. Mosemann (1877-1938)(Bishop) | 1926-1938 |
| Landis M. Shertzer (1883-1978) | 1928-1950s |
| Christian K. Lehman (1888-1961)(Bishop) | 1938-1961 |
| Jay "J. Herbert" Fisher (1919-2019) | 1943- |
| Paul H. Gochnauer (1931-2005) | 1955-1976 |
| Jonas "J. Clyde" Shenk (1911-1989) | 1976-1986 |
| Millard P. Garret | 1981-2002? |
| David L. Weaver | 1987-2005? |
| Mauro A. Galati Jr. | 2004-2006 |
| Dennis W. Ernest | 2006-2016 |
| David Torres-Oyala | 2016- |
RMC Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1907 | 175 |
| 1914 | 500 in District |
| 1920 | 595 in District |
| 1930 | 600 in District |
| 1940 | 662 in District |
| 1950 | 194 |
| 1960 | 139 |
| 1970 | 98 |
| 1980 | 71 |
| 1990 | 77 |
| 2000 | 70 |
| 2009 | 50 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Ira D. Landis. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 353. All rights reserved.
Rohrerstown Mennonite Church ((MC)), located 3 miles northwest of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a member of the Lancaster Conference, started at Abbeyville about 1750 with Bishop Benjamin Hershey, three Hans Brubachers, Peter Swarr, and others on the land immediately west of Hickory Town, now Lancaster. In 1791 they moved on Brubaker land, north of Rohrerstown, where a beautiful cemetery still marks the spot. After 63 years a new meetinghouse was placed on the same site. In 1895 a brick church was built on the third site south of the square in Rohrerstown, 50 x 75 ft. This building was completely renovated in 1955-56. These churches have been the scene of the spring sessions of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference from time immemorial until 1953, when it was first held at East Petersburg. This was the home of two bishops named Benjamin Hershey, Bishops Jacob and John Brubaker, Preacher John K. Brubaker, and John Shenk. It is a part of the Rohrerstown-Millersville circuit and in recent years most of the ministers were from the Millersville area. The membership in 1957 was 173, with Christian K. Lehman as bishop, Jacob G. Hess, J. Herbert Fisher, and Paul H. Gochnauer as ministers.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | February 2026 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "RMC Church (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2026. Web. 15 Apr 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=RMC_Church_(Lancaster,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181555.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (February 2026). RMC Church (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 15 April 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=RMC_Church_(Lancaster,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181555.
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