West Sterling Mennonite Church (Sterling, Illinois, USA)
Jonas Baer, a Lutheran, started the West Sterling Mission, Sterling, Illinois, in 1928. Before his death, he asked Aaron C. Good whether the Science Ridge Mennonite Church could take it over. The Science Ridge congregation agreed.
A mission chapel, built in 1939 by Science Ridge, replaced the original building that Jonas Baer had erected. It dedicated a renovated and enlarged building on 2 July 1950. Some renovations took place in 1957/58.
West Sterling did not become a fully independent congregation until 11 November 1956. It became a member of the Illinois Mennonite Conference of the Mennonite Church (MC) the following year.
The charismatic movement deeply impacted the West Sterling congregation in the late 1970s. Division arose especially when Jared Yoder, a charismatic, came as interim pastor in 1979. Some members withdrew at that time.
From 1980 to 1987, the congregation co-hosted a Voluntary Service unit in Sterling, Illinois. A total of 14 people served over the years as day care center workers, transportation providers for social service agencies, summer Bible school teachers, and boys/girls club leaders.
The West Sterling Mennonite Church was last listed in the 1993 Mennonite Yearbook. It apparantly closed after the last pastor, Rudy Martens, retired.
In 2024, the non-denominational Living Bread Fellowship occupied the former West Sterling building.
Bibliography
Long, R. N., Mrs. "Sterling, Illinois." Gospel Herald 35, no. 10 (4 June 1942): 201.
Smith, Willard H. Mennonites in Illinois. Studies in Anabaptist and Mennonite History, 24. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1983: 212-213, 340, 457-458, 552.
Swope, Ira, Mrs. "Sterling, Ill." Gospel Herald 32, no. 27 (5 October 1939): 569.
"The Voluntary Service unit in Sterling, Ill." Gospel Herald 80, no. 26 (20 June 1987): 476.
"The West Sterling, Ill., Mennonite Mission...." Gospel Herald 43, no. 28 (11 July 1950): 700.
"The West Sterling, Ill., mission congregation...." Gospel Herald 49, no. 47 (20 November 1956): 1116.
Additional Information
Address: 1003 Griswold Avenue, Sterling, Illinois
Phone:
Website:
Denominational Affiliations: Illinois Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at West Sterling Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Jonas H. Baer (1853-1933) | 1928-1933 |
| Science Ridge ministers | 1933-1941 |
| Daniel G. Lapp (1867-1951) | 1941-1946 |
| Science Ridge ministers | 1946-1949 |
| Robert W. Keller (1926-1997) | 1949-1950 |
| Paul A. Friesen (1923-2022) | 1951-1955 |
| Vernon E. Schertz (1925-2013) | 1955-1959 |
| Aaron C. "A. C." Good (1881-1978)(Interim) | 1959-1960 |
| Melvin E. Hamilton (1918-2008) | 1960-1966 |
| Donald Schrader | 1966-1968 |
| Harley R. Stauffer (1942-1990) | 1969-1978 |
| Jared Yoder (Interim) | 1979 |
| John V. Troyer (1911-2004)(Interim) | 1980-1981? |
| Lay Leadership & Visiting Ministers |
1981-1984? |
| Herbert M. Dalke (1918-2012) | 1984-1986 |
| Rudolph "Rudy" C. Martens (1926-2013) | 1986-1993 |
West Sterling Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1956 | 46 |
| 1960 | 60 |
| 1970 | 25 |
| 1980 | 47 |
| 1990 | 22 |
| 1993 | 24 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Melvin Gingerich. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 929. All rights reserved.
West Sterling Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), Sterling, Illinois, was established in 1928. It had 57 members in 1957, with Vernon Schertz as pastor, and was a mission congregation sponsored by the Science Ridge Mennonite Church.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | April 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "West Sterling Mennonite Church (Sterling, Illinois, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2024. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=West_Sterling_Mennonite_Church_(Sterling,_Illinois,_USA)&oldid=178647.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (April 2024). West Sterling Mennonite Church (Sterling, Illinois, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=West_Sterling_Mennonite_Church_(Sterling,_Illinois,_USA)&oldid=178647.
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