Zion Mennonite Church (Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, USA)
The Zion Mennonite Church located west of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, USA began as a Sunday school outpost of the Conestoga Mennonite Church on 2 June 1946. The Conestoga congregation obtained a dollar-a-year lease from the cemetery committee of the former Friedens Church. The facility had no electricity and a pot-belly stove for heat.
After seven months the group added preaching services, followed by midweek Bible studies, and Summer Bible School. When a long-term lease was not available at Friedens, the congregation moved three miles to the former Zion Methodist Episcopal Church that had been built in 1835. The church added an annex in 1955, enlarged the building in 1980, and was renovated it again in June 2003.
The congregation formally organized on 24 April 1951. The dedication service of the Zion building took place on 21 July 1951. T. K. Hershey served as pastor and bishop until 1954. The congregation then called Jesse Yoder to pastoral service but allowed him to complete his education before he began to pastor in 1957.
The congregation began an annual relief sale during Ford Berg's leadership; this later grew into the Pennsylvania Relief Sale held at the Harrisburg Farm Show Building.
In the 1970s the congregation helped to launch Alternative Cable TV (ACTV), a non-profit Christian cable station. Its pastor at the time, John Rush, was co-founder of the organization.
Bibliography
"About Us." Zion Mennonite Church. Web. 7 January 2022. http://zionmennonite.com/story/
Frederick, Terry. "Zion realizes six-year dream" Atlantic Coast Conference Currents 24, no. 4 (July August 2003): 4.
"John Rush resigns at ACTV, new direcctor named." Atlantic Coast Conference Currents 17, no. 3 (May-June 1996): 6.
Stoltzfus, Grant M. Mennonites of the Ohio and Eastern Conference; From the Colonial Period in Pennsylvania to 1968. Studies in Anabaptist and Mennonite history, no. 13. Scottdale, Pa: Herald Press, 1969: 342.
Williamson, Denise. "Zion Mennonite Church, Birdsboro." Atlantic Coast Conference Currents 4, no. 5 (September-October 1983): 1.
Additional Information
Address: 582 Zion Road, Birdsboro, Pennsylvania
Phone: 610-856-7417
Website: Zion Mennonite Church
Denominational Affiliations:
Pastoral Leaders at Zion Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Tobias K. Hershey (1879-1956) | 1951-1954 |
| Noah K. Mack (1911-1974)(Assistant) | 1953-1973 |
| Ford Berg (1917-1963) | 1954-1957 |
| Jesse Yoder (1922-1985) | 1957-1959 |
| Isaac L. Mast (1913-1992) | 1959-1963 |
| Ross M. Goldfus (1923-2012) | 1964-1970 |
| John L. Rush | 1970-1990? |
| Gary B. Williamson | 1982-1987? |
| David K. Stoltzfus (1931-2002) | 1988-1997 |
| Nilson Assis | 1997-1999 |
| Noah S. Stoltzfus (1934-2008) | 1999-2003 |
| Steven Alan Musselman | 2004-2019 |
| Verle Brubaker (Interim) | 2019-2020 |
| Steve Crane (Interim) | 2020-present |
Membership at Zion Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1951 | 42 |
| 1960 | 79 |
| 1970 | 112 |
| 1980 | 53 |
| 1990 | 62 |
| 2000 | 85 |
| 2007 | 76 |
| 2020 | 42 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Articles
By Melvin Gingerich. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1033. All rights reserved.
Zion Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, is located half way between Reading and Morgantown and a half mile off Route 122. Organized in 1949 as an outpost of the Conestoga congregation, it had 98 members in 1958, with Jesse Yoder and Noah K. Mack serving as ministers. It is a member of the Ohio and Eastern Conference.
By Harold S. Bender. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1139-1140. All rights reserved.
Zion Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA), Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, a member of the Ohio and Eastern Conference, was organized 24 April 1951, with 42 charter members coming largely from the Conestoga congregation with T. K. Hershey as bishop-pastor. The work was started in 1916 as an outpost of Conestoga. Meetings were held in the former Friedens Baptist Church until July 1951, when the former Zion Methodist Church was occupied, which is located seven miles (11 km) south of Reading and eight (13 km) miles north of Morgantown. Ford Berg served as pastor 1954-1957, followed by Jesse Yoder 1957-1959 (ordained 1951). In 1958 the membership was 90;
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | January 2022 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Zion Mennonite Church (Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. January 2022. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Zion_Mennonite_Church_(Birdsboro,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=172871.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (January 2022). Zion Mennonite Church (Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Zion_Mennonite_Church_(Birdsboro,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=172871.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.