Stumptown Mennonite Church (Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, USA)
The Stumptown Mennonite Church in Bird in Hand, Pennsylvania, began in 1781 when members began to meet in homes. In 1815, the group began to use the Stumptown schoolhouse. It built a plain meetinghouse in 1846 and a larger brick meetinghouse in 1882. After some controversy, a new brick building was constructed across the road and dedicated on 12 December 1916. Numerous additions and renovations have taken place since then, especially in 2005, with a new sanctuary, church offices, a foyer, a larger fellowship hall, and many new classrooms.
During the summers of 1868 and 1869, John Buckwalter, John Stauffer, and their wives led a small Sunday school with the encouragement of their pastor, David Witmer, though a lack of support closed the effort. The transition from German to English began by the 1860s after the ordination of John L. Landis.
Stumptown Mennonite Church has always been part of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. It helped to launch the Beaver Run Mennonite Church in 1953-1954.
Bibliography
"Bareville, Pa." Gospel Herald 9, no. 41 (11 January 1917): 753.
"Beginnings of Stumptown." Stumptown Mennonite Church. Web. 23 March 2026. https://stumptown.church/history/.
Leaman, Mary Ellen. "Stumptown Mennonite Church Congregación Menonita Shalom." Shalom News 36, no. 4 (October-December 2016): 3-4.
Ruth, John L. The Earth is the Lord's: a narrative history of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2001: 583, 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: 43-59, 66-71. Available in full electronic text at https://archive.org/details/mennonitesoflanc00weav_0/page/n3/mode/2up.
Additional Information
Address: 2813 Stumptown Road, Bird in Hand, Pennsylvania 17505
Telephone: 717-656-7878
Website: https://stumptown.church/
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2018)
Pastoral Leaders at Stumptown Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Johannes Herr (1720-1797) | ?-1797 |
| Jacob Hartman (1714-1796) | ca. 1760-1796 |
| Johannes Stauffer (1737-1811) | 1791-1811 |
| Heinrich Buckwalter (1742-1805) | 1796-1805 |
| Johannes Kreider (1747-1825) | ?-1825 |
| Peter B. Eby (1765-1843)(Bishop) | 1804-1843 |
| John Kreider (1784-1847) | 1812-1847 |
| George Zeiset (1793-1861) | after 1853-1861 |
| David Witmer (1800-1876) | 1833-1876 |
| Christian B. Herr (1780-1853)(Bishop) | 1840-1853 |
| Tobias Kreider (1811-1864) | 1847-1864 |
| Joseph Hershey (1791-1856)(Bishop) | 1849-1856 |
| Benjamin Herr (1801-1888)(Bishop) | 1856-1888 |
| Adam Rank (1808-1882) | 1862-1882 |
| John L. Landis (1832-1914) | 1865-1914 |
| David Buckwalter (1820-1906) | 1876-1906 |
| Isaac W. Eby (1834-1910)(Bishop) | 1878-1910 |
| Sanford B. Landis (1857-1926) | 1896-1926 |
| David L. Landis (1882-1961) | 1911-1940s |
| Elmer G. Martin (1894-1974) (Bishop) |
1926-1946 1946-1960s |
| Lloyd M. Eby (1911-1999) | 1943-1980s |
| John G. Oberholtzer (1914-2000) | 1953-1980s |
| Paul G. Landis (1932-2019)(Bishop) | 1962-1992? |
| Mark "M. Luke" Nolt | 1976-2004? |
| Paul M. Zehr (Bishop) | 1980-2000s |
| John M. Leaman | 1982?-2013? |
| Chester I. Kurtz (1934-2003)(Interim) | 1993-1994? |
| Donald M. Sensenig | 1994-2003 |
| Donald D. Sharp | 2003?-2013 |
| Jansen Herr (Youth) | 2004?-2008? |
| Mark W. Mentzer (Youth) (Lead) |
2009-2013 2013-2019 |
| R. Keith Nyce (Associate) (Lead) |
2015-2019 2019- |
| Austen Kewin (Associate) | 2024- |
| Greg Detweiler (Associate) | 2023?- |
Stumptown Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1907 | 2000 in District |
| 1913 | 250 |
| 1920 | 250 |
| 1930 | 300? |
| 1940 | 350 |
| 1950 | 310 |
| 1960 | 309 |
| 1970 | 305 |
| 1980 | 283 |
| 1990 | 287 |
| 2000 | 312 |
| 2009 | 259 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Ira D. Landis. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 648-649. All rights reserved.
Stumptown Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church (MC), located near Monterey, 8 miles northeast of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in Upper Leacock Township, is a member of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. The church had its beginnings was an outgrowth of the enlarging Mellinger congregation to the northeast. The members used a schoolhouse on the present meetinghouse site until 1846, when a worship center was built. This was enlarged in 1882 and replaced in 1916 by a 48 x 80 ft. brick structure. It was here during the summer of 1868 that John B. Landis and John Stauffer and their wives conducted a small Sunday school before the movement had conference approval. It was a part of the Mellinger-Stumptown circuit until a recent decade.
Elmer G. Martin is bishop, Lloyd M. Eby and John G. Oberholtzer ministers. This was the home congregation of Preacher Sanford B. Landis (1868-1926). The membership in 1957 was 310.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | March 2026 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Stumptown Mennonite Church (Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2026. Web. 15 Apr 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Stumptown_Mennonite_Church_(Bird-in-Hand,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181930.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (March 2026). Stumptown Mennonite Church (Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 15 April 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Stumptown_Mennonite_Church_(Bird-in-Hand,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181930.
©1996-2026 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.