Masontown Mennonite Church (Masontown, Pennsylvania, USA)
Masontown Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA), located one mile east of Masontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania on the Smithfield-Masontown Rd., a member of the Allegheny Conference, is perhaps the oldest organized Mennonite congregation west of the Allegheny Mountains. Mennonites settled in the region about Masontown around 1790. Jacob Newcomer was the first minister of this group. Peter Longeneker, formerly of Berks County, Pennsylvania, was the first resident bishop. This congregation was under the supervision of the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, bishops some time before the Southwestern Pennsylvania (now Allegheny) Conference was organized in 1876. J. N. Durr, who was largely responsible for the organization of the conference, was ordained to the ministry here at the early age of 18 in 1872 and to the office of bishop at the age of 20. Nicholas Johnson, the third bishop, is given the credit for conducting the first Sunday school in the Mennonite Church (MC) in the United States. This service was held on the upper floor of a springhouse on his farm in 1842. The 1956 brick meetinghouse, the third one built, was erected in 1871, with a seating capacity of 200. The first was a log church, a half mile north of the present site, which was also used for school purposes. The second meetinghouse was a frame building about one mile east. The membership in 1956 was 138, with Paul M. Roth as pastor. In 2005 the membership was 55.
Other ministers who served this congregation were Walter Campbell, A. J. Metzler, Lloy A. Kniss, Elmer D. Hess, J. A. Brilhart, Ed. Miller, S. F. Coffman, Christian Deffenbaugh, David Johnson, and Joseph Bixler.
Additional Information
Address: PO Box 683, 295 Mennonite Church Road, Masontown, Pennsylvania 15461
Phone: 724-583-2557
Website:
Denominational Affiliations: Allegheny Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at the Masontown Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Jacob Newcomer | 18??-? |
| Peter Longenecker (Bishop) | ?-? |
| Joseph Bixler (1778-1862) (Bishop) |
18??-? ?-1830s? |
| Nicholas D. Johnson (1787-1873) (Bishop) |
1820?-1840 1840-1873 |
| David Johnson (1817-1908) | 1848-1908 |
| Christian Deffenbaugh (1839-1922) | 1872-1922 |
| John N. Durr (1853-1934) (Bishop) |
1872-1873 1873-1898 |
| Samuel F. Coffman (1872-1954) | 1899-1900 |
| Edward Miller | 1900-1901 |
| John A. Brilhart (1857-1937) | 1902-1907 |
| Elmer D. Hess (1884-1972) | 1910-1925 |
| Abram J. Metzler (1902-1996) (Bishop) |
1926-1928 1928-1936 |
| Paul M. Roth (1912-1982) | 1937-1968 |
| Walter Campbell | 1950 |
| Carl W. Opel (1932-1996) | 1969-1996 |
| Henry Breakiron (Co-Pastor)(1920-2013) | 1996-1999 |
| David Crable | 1997?-2004? |
| Ronald Smith | 2006?- |
Membership at the Masontown Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1916 | 105 |
| 1925 | 99 |
| 1930 | 90 |
| 1940 | 113 |
| 1950 | 92 |
| 1960 | 144 |
| 1970 | 77 |
| 1980 | 74 |
| 1990 | 90 |
| 2000 | 91 |
| 2007 | 55 |
| 2020 | 55 |
| Author(s) | Paul M. Roth |
|---|---|
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Roth, Paul M. and Samuel J. Steiner. "Masontown Mennonite Church (Masontown, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 20 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Masontown_Mennonite_Church_(Masontown,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=172410.
APA style
Roth, Paul M. and Samuel J. Steiner. (1957). Masontown Mennonite Church (Masontown, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 20 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Masontown_Mennonite_Church_(Masontown,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=172410.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 535. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.