Bank Mennonite Church (Dayton, Virginia, USA)
Photo by Elwood Yoder; used with permission.
Source: Mennonite Archives of Virginia.
Bank Mennonite Church (originally Mennonite Church, now Southeastern Mennonite Conference ) is located 2.5 miles (4 km) west of Dayton, Virginia, on the bank of Dry River in the Ashby district of Rockingham County. The first church, likely built in 1847, was enlarged in 1870, and served as a place of worship until the 1890s. The church now standing on the grounds was dedicated on 20 August 1893.
It was in this church that John S. Coffman, the pioneer Mennonite evangelist, was ordained to the ministry on 18 July 1875. This church figured most largely in the Virginia branch of the Wisler Mennonite division (Old Order Mennonite) of the Middle District of the Virginia Conference at the close of the 19th century.
The Bank congregation belonged to the Middle District of the Virginia Mennonite Conference. In 1953 it had a membership of 201 under the leadership of Joseph Heatwole and Melvin Heatwole. In 1972 the congregation became part of a group that formed the Southeastern Mennonite Conference. In 2007 the church had a membership of 122.
In 2014 the church had 144 members. The ministerial team included Bishop Nathan Horst, Ministers Philip Wenger and John E. Hartzler, and Deacon Linden Rhodes.
Bibliography
Mennonite Church Directory 2014. Harrisonburg, VA: Christian Light Publications, Inc., 2014: 126.
Additional Information
Address: 2493 Bank Church Road, Hinton, Virginia
Phone: 540-867-5818
Denominational Affiliation:
Virginia Mennonite Conference (MC) (Until 1972)
Mennonite Church (MC) (Until 1972)
Southeastern Mennonite Conference (1972-present)
| Author(s) | Harry A Brunk |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Brunk, Harry A. "Bank Mennonite Church (Dayton, Virginia, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bank_Mennonite_Church_(Dayton,_Virginia,_USA)&oldid=140564.
APA style
Brunk, Harry A. (1953). Bank Mennonite Church (Dayton, Virginia, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bank_Mennonite_Church_(Dayton,_Virginia,_USA)&oldid=140564.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 223. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.