The Kempsville Amish Mennonite Church (Beachy Amish) is located a half mile (1 km) northeast of Kempsville, Virginia, in the southeastern part of the state. An Old Order Amish community had been established here near the beginning of the present century by settlers, many of whom came from Somerset County, Pennsylvania. In 1940 some of the later arrivals in the community led a movement to allow ownership of automobiles by members of the congregation. This produced a schism and the formation of the Kempsville church. After this event, most of the Old Order who did not join the progressive group moved out of the community.  In 1955 the congregation had 150 members, with Jacob J. Hershberger and Ezra N. Troyer serving as ministers and Paul Brenneman as bishop. The congregation operated a parochial school, fully organized in 1946. A Conservative Mennonite church was organized here in 1952, with Simon Coblentz as bishop. Some 15 families left the community in 1953 to found a new congregation at Montezuma, GA.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 165. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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