Bethel Mennonite Church (Fortuna, Missouri, USA)
Bethel Mennonite Church (Fellowship of Evangelical Churches, formerly General Conference Mennonite Church), at 37830 Bethel Church Rd, Fortuna, Moniteau County, Missouri, was a member of the Middle District Conference. In April 1866 five families left Wayne County, Ohio, to become the first Mennonite settlers of this community. Others soon followed and on 21 April 1867, ministers John Schmidt and Jacob Pletscher of Summerfield, Illinois, visited the colony to have communion service and organize a church. Nineteen persons took part in this service. The first meetinghouse was built in 1869, enlarged in 1894; it was replaced by a larger church in 1908, with a seating capacity of about 450, which was in use in 2005. The 1952 membership was 137; in 1999 it was 219.
About 1990 the Bethel congregation withdrew from the General Conference Mennonite Church, but maintained its membership in the Central District Conference. At the time of the formation of Mennonite Church USA the congregation switched its affiliation to the Evangelical Mennonite Church (renamed Fellowship of Evangelical Churches in 2003).
Bibliography
History of Bethel Church. Fortuna, MO: The Church, 1967.
Bethel Mennonite Church. "Bethel Mennonite Church - History." 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2006. <http://www.bethelmennchurch.org/history.htm>
Additional Information
Bethel Mennonite Church website
Table 1: Bethel Mennonite Church Pastoral Leaders
| Name | |
| Peter P. Lehman | 1871- |
| M. S. Moyer | |
| D. D. King | |
| John M. Regier | |
| P. P. Hilty | |
| J. D. Warkentin | |
| C. H. Kirks | |
| Jacob Unruh | |
| Leonard Metzker | |
| Howard Raid | |
| E. A. Albrecht | |
| Ernest Porzelius | |
| Abraham Friesen | |
| Russel Welty | |
| Ralph Graber | |
| Lloyd Penner | |
| Ward Shelley | |
| Bruno Penner | |
| Tom Voth | |
| Dave Zapf |
Table 2: Bethel Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Membership |
| 1952 | 137 |
| 1999 | 219 |
| 2005 | 140 |
©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
To cite this page:
MLA style: Albrecht, E. A. "Bethel Mennonite Church (Fortuna, Missouri, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/B48651.html>
APA style: Albrecht, E. A. (1953). "Bethel Mennonite Church (Fortuna, Missouri, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/B48651.html>
