First Mennonite Church (Wadsworth, Ohio, USA)
The First Mennonite Church, Wadsworth, Ohio, USA, had its roots in three families that moved to the area from Montgomery and Berks counties Pennsylvania in summer 1851. These families, including Jonas C. and Esther Nice, Henry and Levina Nice, and John and Katherine (Nice) Alderfer, sought greater economic opportunity. Jacob and Lydia Oberholzer joined them in the fall of 1851. These families were sympathetic to John H. Oberholtzer's proposed reforms of the Franconia Mennonite Conference and thus did not join local Mennonite congregations.
John Oberholtzer ordained Ephraim Hunsberger, one of his followers, as bishop to lead the small group at Wadsworth. Hunsberger moved to Wadsworth in October 1852 and organized the congregation, which first met in a local schoolhouse. With the help of friends in Pennsylvania, the congregation erected a frame church outside the town and dedicated it on 9 October 1853. It used this building until 1892, when it purchased a Congregational church within the town. In 1960, First Mennonite moved to its present location on Trease Road, gaining a much larger sanctuary and greatly expanded Sunday School space.
The congregation launched Sunday School in 1854. It was also instrumental in the creation of the Wadsworth Institute, the first Mennonite effort in North America at higher education. That school existed from 1868 to 1878.
In 2022 the congregation sponsored the Trease Road Child Care Center (TRCCC), using the church's Sunday school rooms. It also administered the MENWA apartments, a 70-unit non-profit senior citizen apartment house for middle to low-income tenants.
In 2022 the congregation was part of the Central District Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
Bibliography
Rich, Elaine Sommers, ed. Walking Together in Faith: The Central District Conference, 1957-1990. Bluffton, Ohio: The Conference, 2003.
The First Hundred Years: First Mennonite Church, Wadsworth, Ohio, 1852-1952. Wadsworth, Ohio: The Church, 1952.
Additional Information
Address: 405 Trease Rd., Wadsworth, Ohio 44281
Phone: 330-331–9289
Website: http://www.firstmennonite.com/
Denominational Affiliations: Central District Conference Conference
Pastoral Leaders at First Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Ephraim Hunsberger (1814-1904) | 1852-1893 |
| Henry Nice (Assistant)(1822-1902) | 1853-1865 |
| Noah C. Hirschy (1867-1925) | 1893-1901 |
| John W. Kliewer (1869-1938) | 1901-1903 |
| Elmer F. Grubb (1872-1959) | 1903-1909 |
| Warren S. Shelly (1885–1952) | 1909-1918 |
| Menno M. "M. M." Lehmann (1883-1969) | 1919-1922 |
| Louis L. "L. L." Miller (1886-1981) | 1922-1927 |
| Wilmer S. Shelly (1893-1981) | 1927-1941 |
| Donovan E. Smucker (1915-2001) | 1941-1944 |
| Russell L. Mast (1915-2007) | 1945-1949 |
| Andrew J. "A. J." Neuenswander (1888-1972) | 1949-1962 |
| Roy W. Henry (1916-1995) | 1962-1966 |
| Lester Hostetler (1892-1989)(Interim) | 1966-1968 |
| Donald R. Steelberg | 1968-1983 |
| William Keeney (1922-2006)(Interim) | 1983-1984 |
| James R. Mohr (1938- ) | 1984-2006? |
| David H. Kraybill (Interim) | 2006-2007 |
| Rachel L. Siemens | 2007-2013? |
| Randy Smith (Interim) | 2013-2014 |
| Charles Bontrager | 2014-2019 |
| Janette R. "Jan" Croyle | 2019-present |
Membership at First Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1853 | 22 |
| 1890 | 77 |
| 1900 | 135 |
| 1920 | 200 |
| 1930 | 178 |
| 1940 | 222 |
| 1950 | 221 |
| 1960 | 248 |
| 1970 | 241 |
| 1980 | 152 |
| 1990 | 113 |
| 2000 | 104 |
| 2007 | 106 |
| 2020 | 80 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Russell L. Mast. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 866. All rights reserved.
Wadsworth First Mennonite Church (General Conference Mennonite [GCM] ), located in Wadsworth, Medina County, Ohio, 12 miles west of Akron, was organized by Ephraim Hunsberger in 1852, who came to Wadsworth from Berks County, Pennsylvania. The first members were three families from the Bally Mennonite (GCM) Church at Hereford, Pennsylvania, who came in 1851. At the dedication of the first meetinghouse on 9 October 1853, twelve were baptized to be added to the charter membership of 10. Hunsberger was ordained 10 October 1852 in Pennsylvania for the new congregation at Wadsworth, and began preaching at Wadsworth the same month. The first deacon was ordained in 1853. In 1892 the congregation purchased its present meetinghouse, a former Congregational church on the corner of College and Pardee streets. The membership in 1957 was 264; A. J. Neuenschwander was the pastor.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | September 2022 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "First Mennonite Church (Wadsworth, Ohio, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2022. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Wadsworth,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=174170.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (September 2022). First Mennonite Church (Wadsworth, Ohio, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Wadsworth,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=174170.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.