The Topeka Mennonite Church, located in Topeka, Indiana, USA, was an outgrowth of the Silver Street Mennonite Church near Goshen. A number of families who belonged to Silver Street lived near Topeka and had a long distance to church, so in 1893 they asked J. C. Mehl, pastor of the Silver Street Church, to provide services for them at Topeka. Mehl preached for them every four weeks.

In 1897 they bought the Methodist Eden Chapel located west of Topeka and moved it one mile east of the town. J.C. Mehl then preached for them every two weeks. However, he found the 13-mile drive and the care of the two congregations difficult and ordained John C. Lehman in December 1901 to serve the Topeka congregation. Lehman formally organized the now-independent Topeka congregation in 1902 and also began Sunday school. Topeka became a charter member of the Central Conference Mennonite Church.

In 1927 the congregation built the church in the long-term town location. A generous gift from the Jonathon Yoder estate provided the funds for the new church. A yellow house was also moved to the property as the parsonage. In 1930, 90 former members of the Maple Grove congregation joined the Topeka congregation. In 1991 the church added a fellowship hall to the existing building. It provided accessibility features like ground-level entry and a lift to the sanctuary. The fellowship hall replaced a parsonage that the congregation built in the 1960s.

In 1970, the congregation rented and renovated an older home to be used as a halfway house for recent parolees from prison. It became known as the House of Simon. In 1972 the program moved to a larger facility southwest of Topeka.

In 1998, the church started the Precious Child Preschool; it continued after the church closed.

In 2013 Topeka Mennonite withdrew from Mennonite Church USA and became an independent Mennonite congregation. In December 2018, the congregation closed. It deeded the building to a group called Topeka Christian Assembly.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Samuel J. Steiner
	Steven Nolt
Date Published	February 2023

Fedorow, Denise. "Topeka Mennonite stops services after 120 years." The Goshen News 21 December 2018. Web. 18 February 2023. https://www.goshennews.com/news/local_news/topeka-mennonite-stops-services-after-120-years/article_2133140b-4a0b-51c3-b6b0-980a9a73421e.html

Goering, Jack. "Stepping-stone to readjustment for parolees." The Mennonite 86, no. 35 (28 September 1971): 569.

"Halfway house in Indiana second chance for parolees." The Mennonite 85, no. 31 (1 September 1970): 523.

"Open house at House of Simon." Central District Reporter (18 April 1972): A4

Rich, Elaine Sommers, ed. Walking Together in Faith: The Central District Conference, 1957-1990. Bluffton, Ohio: The Conference, 2003: 39.

"Topeka (Ind.) Mennonite Church...." The Mennonite 107, no. 2 (28 January 1992): 38.

Weaver, William B. History of the Central Conference Mennonite Church. Danvers, Ill: The author, 1926: 91-92. Available in full electronic text at http://www.archive.org/details/MN5038ucmf_9.

Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 362.

Additional Information

Address: 206 East Lake Street, Topeka, Indiana 46571

Phone:

Website:

Denominational Affiliations: Central District Conference

Mennonite Church USA

Pastoral Leaders at Topeka Mennonite Church

Name	Years of Service
John C. "J. C." Mehl (1850-1948)	1893-1901
John C. Lehman (1862-1944)	1901-1919
Ernest Hostetler (1894-1968)	1918-1926
Earl L. Salzman (1896-1961)	1926-1941
Wilmer S. Shelly (1893-1981)	1941-1947
Esko W. Loewen (1917-1981)	1947-1953
Orlin F. Frey (1919-1970)	1953-1956
Martin H. Schrag (1919-2002)	1956-1957
Roy W. Henry (1916-1995)	1957-1960
Ernest J. Bohn (1894-1992)(Interim)	1961-1962 1966
Willard A. Schrag (1917-2011)	1962-1966
Abe H. Peters (1916-1996)	1966-1972
Richard Bucher	1973-1983
Clarence E. Rempel	1983-1994
Robert R. "Bob" Coon (1931-2021)(Transition)	1994-1995
John E. Hockman (1956-2012)(Co-Pastor) (Pastor)	1995-1997 1997-2005
Joan Hockman (Co-Pastor)	1995-1997
Elmer Wyse (Transitional)	2005-2007?
Robert Martz	2007-2013?
Conrad Showalter	2013?-?

Membership at Topeka Mennonite Church

Year	Membership
1898	21
1925	99
1930	200
1950	229
1960	213
1970	200
1980	138
1990	130
2000	136
2009	111
2018	13

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

Topeka Mennonite Church (General Conference Mennonite [GCM]), located in Topeka, Lagrange County, Indiana, a member of the Central District, began in 1893 when Silver Street members and others living near Topeka began to worship together. They purchased the Eden Chapel in 1897, moved it west of Topeka, and used it until the present building was completed in 1927. John Mehl was the first pastor. He was succeeded by John C. Lehman, Ernest Hostetler, Earl Salzman, Wilmer S. Shelly, Esko Loewen, and Orlin F. Frey.

The charter membership in 1898 was 21; 90 were added in 1930 when a part of the Maple Grove (Mennonite Church, later unaffiliated) congregation merged with this church. The membership in 1959 was 208, with Roy W. Henry as pastor.

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. and Steven Nolt. "Topeka Mennonite Church (Topeka, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2023. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Topeka_Mennonite_Church_(Topeka,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=174849.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. and Steven Nolt. (February 2023). Topeka Mennonite Church (Topeka, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Topeka_Mennonite_Church_(Topeka,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=174849.

Topeka Mennonite Church (Topeka, Indiana, USA)

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