Development of Church Life in the Older Congregations / 239

Growth of Churches in Fulton County

After the death of Christian Stuckey in 1907 it became clear that the Central Church near Archbold, Ohio, should be "relieved" of its large membership by building two new places of worship, one to the east and one to the west of Central. Out of this movement came the West Clinton and the Lockport churches. The editor of the local Archbold Buckeye on January .10, 1908, had the following to say about the new churches:

At a meeting of the leaders of the Old Amish Mennonite meeting house a most important decision was reached. It has long been known that the congregation was too large or else the old hive, so dear to the hearts of hundreds

of the German citizens, is too small for the evergrowing audiences. Although the old church will seat seven hundred, it is so crowded to often be uncomfortable and on special occasions many are obliged to stand outside. . One to be built at Lockport and one near Pettisville.

The Ministers of the Amish Mennonite meetings receive no salaries. The expenses are light and although the members are the richest in the county the new meeting houses will be quite plain in accordance with the tastes and precepts of the congregation.

However, until 1944 there was still but one congregation, though there were three meetinghouses. In that year the congregations became separate, and each became independent of the other, though all were affiliated with the conference. The growth toward independence had been a gradual one for some years with teaching, evangelistic, and other activities going on in the several churches but participated in by any one of the three churches. Here, as elsewhere, the movement toward independent congregations was slow if not reluctant.

A detailed story of the Fulton County churches can be found in Orland Grieser's Out of the Wilderness: History of the Central Mennonite Church, 1835-1960. The book is edited by Ervin Beck, Jr. Grieser recounts the experiences of these churches in an interesting fashion as he notes the transition and growth. A strong sense of brotherhood persisted in these churches. Simplicity of life, temperance, disciplined behavior, the desire for a pure church, opposition to worldliness-all these prevailed among the membership or at least were strongly advocated.

The role of E. L. Frey as bishop was an important one. He emphasized the sharp difference between the church and the world and prescribed regulations to keep a "pure church." In 1925 with