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History of Columbus Mennonite Church
by Sue Sprunger, Historian
In August 1956, a small number of Mennonite graduate
students at The Ohio State University started meeting together for
fellowship. Notes kept
during those first meetings indicate that among other topics they
“discussed the adjustment of rural Mennonites to the large city” and
they always sang hymns! The
Columbus Mennonite Fellowship was officially formed a year later on
November 23, 1957.
Attendance varied in those early years so they met in the home of one of
their members. Little did
they realize the legacy that would follow those first get-togethers!
The Fellowship consisted of students from two
different Mennonite conferences:
the Mennonite Conference and the General Conference Mennonite
Church, so they turned to their respective conferences for assistance.
The conferences agreed to make speakers available every other
Sunday, and the members themselves would take turns speaking the rest of
the Sundays. They met at
9:30 a.m., so that members could later attend worship services at other
community churches.
Even though college students tend to come and go,
some of the students stayed in the area permanently and more new
students came, so they soon outgrew the home they were meeting in and
began to look at other options.
In 1960, they rented the Church of the Brethren building for
$150/month. The upper part
of the building was rented to a family in the group, and the fellowship
met in the lower floor.
Services included a time of worship followed by Sunday school for adults
as well as two classes for children.
As the Fellowship experienced further growth, they
bought a house in May 1961 at 393 West 8th Avenue at a cost
of $18,750. In September of
1962, 24 adults formally became members of the Fellowship, and by 1963,
there was a part-time pastor.
According to a 1964 survey, over a quarter of the persons in the
church were of preschool age, and there were only five persons over the
age of 30! In 1965 the
Sunday school consisted of 27 children, eight babies in the nursery, and
four adult classes of 12 to 20 persons each!
Once again they were outgrowing their space.
In February of 1965, the Fellowship bought the Neil
Avenue Presbyterian Church property and the adjoining parsonage for
$55,000 – truly an act of faith – thus the Fellowship became the Neil
Avenue Mennonite Church. It
was also in 1965 that the first full-time pastor was called.
During the early 1970’s, the house attached to the church was
remodeled and used to provide temporary housing for transient men
between the ages of 18 and 30.
Called Paul’s Porch, this ministry continued until July 1982.
From April 1985 until January 1995, Neil Avenue
Mennonite Church became involved in the Sanctuary Movement and assisted
refugees from El Salvador who, because of injustices, had fled their
country for a safe haven in Columbus.
As membership continued to grow under the leadership
of Pastor Dan Schrock, members began to discuss how best to use the
space on Neil Avenue. We
loved our building, the sanctuary, the stained glass windows and the
acoustics, but we were running out of space for Sunday school classes,
potluck dinners and parking.
In the fall of 1998, a domino effect began.
The Linworth United Methodist Church built and moved into their
new church; then the Clintonville Baptist Church purchased and moved
into the old Linworth Methodist building; and the Neil Avenue Mennonite
Church bought the former Clintonville Baptist building on Oakland Park
Avenue! (The congregation
voted on June 7, 1998 to purchase the Clintonville Baptist Church
building.) Thus we came to
Clintonville and became the Columbus Mennonite Church.
CMC has been guided by six pastors during its
48-year history, including Henry Rempel, Glenn Esh, James Derstine,
Weldon Schloneger, Don Nofziger and Dan Schrock.
Although we have been without a pastor for the last two years, we
have recently called a pastoral couple to minister to our congregation.
Steven and Susan Ortman Goering will begin their ministry with us
in June 2004.
We have been in our present location since 1998, and
our membership continues to grow.
The present congregation has 130 active full members and nine
active associate members.
The average worship attendance is 171, and there are 75 children (infant
through teen). The church
building has been updated with a new entrance and the installation of an
elevator to make it handicapped accessible.
Our Sowing Circle has landscaped the property with beautiful and
colorful shrubs and flowers.
Columbus Mennonite Church believes God calls us to
be followers of Jesus Christ and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to
grow as a community of grace, joy and peace, so that God’s healing and
hope flow through us to the world.
We welcome you to join us for Sunday worship at 9:30 a.m.,
followed by Sunday school for all ages at 11:00.
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