9.

The Role of Conference in

Transitions and Expansions

The Ohio Mennonite Conference from 1870 to 1920

A study of the Ohio Mennonite Conference records takes the historian through the pages of the Herald of Truth and the conference minutes. The following items are selected because they represent the concerns and burdens of the delegates which gathered annually for deliberation and fellowship in the era of 1870-1910.

The June 1870 Herald of Truth refers to English preaching at Nold's Church, one of the earliest records in the transition from German to the language of the nation. At the same conference ministers were present from Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Michigan.

The June 1873 issue editorially refers to some "discord and disagreement" and states that the purpose of a conference "is to consult together over matters relating to the interest of the church and to promote the kingdom of Christ." The same editorial cites the presence of brethren from Skippack in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, as well as Cumberland County in the same state. There were also representatives from Markham, Ontario.

In July of 1877 the Herald of Truth tells of a "conference in Ohio" where five bishops and eleven ministers were present and the "usual declaration of the doctrines and the practices of the church" were affirmed. A communion service was part of the occasion.

In June of the following year "great harmony and good feeling" characterized the conference at Oberholtzer's Church where twenty ministers and deacons assembled.

In 1880 the conference was held at Sherrick's meetinghouse in Allen County. Present were six bishops, seven deacons, and twenty ministers. This session of the conference was notable for a number of positive statements and also prohibitions. It noted that there is no excuse for not sending the gospel to the heathen. Family worship was encouraged, and Christians were told to observe

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