Bethel Fellowship Church (Fortuna, Missouri, USA)
Bethel Mennonite Church (Fellowship of Evangelical Churches, formerly General Conference Mennonite Church) at 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).
In about 2018 the church changed its name to Bethel Fellowship Church.
Bibliography
Bethel Mennonite Church. "Bethel Mennonite Church - History." Web. 30 December 2006. [broken link].
Garber, Twila. "History of the Mennonites of Moniteau and Morgan Counties, Missouri." 7 May 1954. Web. 8 January 2023. http://yourbethel.com/wiki/bethelpedia/history-of-the-mennonites-of-moniteau-and-morgan-counties-missouri/
Hilty, P. P. "History of the Bethel Mennonite Church, Fortuna, Missouri, 1867-1942." The Mennonite 57, no. 23 (9 June 1942): 6-8.
History of Bethel Church. Fortuna, MO: The Church, 1967.
Additional Information
Address: 37830 Bethel Church Rd., Fortuna, Missouri 65034
Phone: 573-378-4878
Website: http://yourbethel.com/
Denominational Affiliation: Fellowship of Evangelical Churches
Pastoral Leaders at Bethel Fellowship Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Daniel Brundage (1812-1895) | 1869-1871 |
| John Schneider | 1869-1871 |
| Peter P. Lehman (1846-1919) | 1871-1903 |
| Manasseh S. Moyer (1845-1903) | 1878-1901 |
| David D. King (1874-1928) | 1904-1913 1915-1919 |
| John M. Regier (1885-1960) | 1913-1915 |
| Peter P. Hilty (1871-1959) | 1919-1926 |
| John D. Warkentin (1889-1958) | 1927-1932 |
| Clyde H. Dirks (1908-1969) | 1932-1936 |
| Jacob Unruh (1906-1987) | 1937-1941 |
| Harvey "Leonard" Metzker (1917-1993) | 1941-1943 |
| Howard D. Raid (1912-2004) | 1943-1945 |
| Erwin "E. A." Albrecht (1906-1994) | 1946-1956 |
| Paul E. Hilty(1915-1996)(Interim) | 1957-1958 |
| Ernest E. Porzelius | 1958-1963 |
| Abraham Friesen | 1964-1970 |
| Russel R. Welty (1924-2011) | 1970-1974 |
| Ralph Graber (1927-2002) | 1974-1977 |
| Lloyd C. Penner (1912-1983) | 1978-1983 |
| Ward W. Shelly (1914-1997)(Interim) | 1984 |
| Bruno A. Penner (1928-2020) | 1984-1995? |
| Tom Voth | 1996?-2006? |
| David Zapf | 2006-2018? |
| Jerry Bush | 2019- |
Membership at Bethel Fellowship Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1920 | 162 |
| 1930 | 140 |
| 1940 | 140 |
| 1950 | 135 |
| 1960 | 119 |
| 1970 | 128 |
| 1980 | 159 |
| 1990 | 187 |
| 2000 | 213 |
| Author(s) | E. A. Albrecht |
|---|---|
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Date Published | January 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Albrecht, E. A. and Samuel J. Steiner. "Bethel Fellowship Church (Fortuna, Missouri, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. January 2023. Web. 23 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bethel_Fellowship_Church_(Fortuna,_Missouri,_USA)&oldid=174502.
APA style
Albrecht, E. A. and Samuel J. Steiner. (January 2023). Bethel Fellowship Church (Fortuna, Missouri, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bethel_Fellowship_Church_(Fortuna,_Missouri,_USA)&oldid=174502.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 311. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.