The Atlantic Coast Conference of Mennonite Church USA was originally the eastern section of the Ohio and Eastern Conference (Mennonite Church). The congregations forming in this section were part of the Conestoga-Maple Grove and the Atlantic States mission districts.

On 4 November 1978 these congregations approved a constitution that formed a new sister conference: the Atlantic Coast Conference of the Mennonite Church. Its primary purpose was to bring more continuity to mission, leadership, and youth activities. The new conference held its first full session in March 1979. The constitution was adopted on 28 March 1980, and revised in 1986, 1999 and 2003.

When it was formed, the conference was composed of 36 congregations and 3,887 members. By 1986 there were 44 congregations and 4,630 members divided into eight overseer districts that spanned an area from Massachusetts to North Carolina, and from the Atlantic Coast to the Appalachian Mountains. By 2003 there were 35 congregations and 4,635 members. After the merger of the Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church in 1999, the Atlantic Coast Conference became part of Mennonite Church USA. In July 2009 there were 35 congregations, including several church plants in formation, and 3,972 members located in Massachusetts, New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania. New church initiatives continued to evolve, especially in New England. The majority of congregations are concentrated in the mid-Atlantic region, as the conference's name implies.

Currents was the conference's bimonthly periodical in 2009. It was published in a newspaper format, carrying conference and churchwide news.

The conference developed a mission statement in 2007: Centered in Christ, Building Connections, Sharing God's Love.

In 2010 the following congregations were members of the Atlantic Coast Conference of Mennonite Church:

Bibliography

Additional Information

Address: 2257 Old Philadelphia Pike Lancaster, PA 17602

Phone: 717-394-8107

Website: Atlantic Coast Conference

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, pp. 42-43. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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