Gormley Missionary Church began as a New Mennonite preaching appointment in the late 1860s or early 1870s under the leadership of Abraham Raymer and John Steckley, who were associated with Daniel Hoch, founder of  the New Mennonites. Raymer had been active in the Markham area as an independent Mennonite minister before 1860, and John Steckley began preaching about 1861. The New Mennonites likely met in homes and schoolhouses during the first years.

There was a division in the church in 1908 when the pastor John Ball and a number of families left because the Mennonite Brethren in Christ did not favor the baptism of the Holy Spirit resulting in speaking in tongues. John Ball became a minister in the emerging Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.

The first building was erected on Stouffville Road in 1873. The New Mennonites, through a series of mergers, were part of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ denomination in 1883 that remained known by that name until 1947. Currently the denomination is the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada. The original wood frame building was replaced with a brick one in 1931. A major extension which added a fellowship hall, offices, nursery, and foyer was dedicated in 1966.

In 1950 there were 133 members; in 1975, 124; in 1985, 101; in 1995, 90. The congregation has been affiliated with the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, its predecessors and successors since its founding.

Bibliography

Additional Information

Address: 120 Gormley Road West, Richmond Hill, Ontario

Phone: 905-887-5846

Website: Gormley Missionary Church

Denominational Affiliation: Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada

Gormley Missionary Church Pastors

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 543-544. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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