Welcome to Hesston Mennonite Church!
We are a community of God’s people, seeking and following the way of Christ, experiencing and sharing the good news of healing and hope.
Our History
Hesston Mennonite Church (HMC) was born on October 3, 1909, with twenty-five charter members. Eight days earlier, Hesston College, first named Hesston Bible School and Academy, had opened its doors to twenty-two students.
Charter members transferred their membership from seven congregations, mostly from nearby churches. Eight members came from the PA Church at Zimmerdale, which continued to be the primary supporting congregation. HMC met on Sunday afternoons, so as not to interfere with PA Church services.
Bound together by time and history, these two institutions have shared facilities and personnel for over a century. Hesston College administrators D.H. Bender and J.D. Charles became the congregation’s first pastors. Primary founder T.M. Erb served as bishop.
The congregation met in campus facilities, first Green Gables, then the Administration Building, and finally in Hess Hall until the congregation built its own building in 1956. The college then used the sanctuary for chapels and other spaces for classrooms and faculty offices. The sharing continued when HMC built new facilities in 2007.
HMC has had its normal complement of pastoral and lay leaders who seek to provide relevant services to members and fulfill its mission to local and global communities.
by John Sharp
Our Commitments
As part of the Mennonite Church USA, we share these commitments along with our wide and diverse body of believers:
Follow Jesus
As an Anabaptist community of the living Word, we listen for God’s call as we read Scripture together, guided by the Spirit. Through baptism we commit ourselves to live faithfully as Jesus’ disciples, no matter the cost.
Witness to God’s peace
We are called to extend God’s holistic peace, proclaiming Christ’s redemption for the world with our lives. Through Christ, God frees the world from sin and offers reconciliation. We bear witness to this gift of peace by rejecting violence and resisting injustice in all forms, and in all places.
Experience transformation
The Holy Spirit dwells in and among us, transforming us to reflect God’s love. Through worship the Spirit gathers the body of Christ, where our diversity reveals God’s beauty. The Spirit empowers our communities to embody the grace, joy and peace of the gospel.
Hesston Mennonite is part of the Western District Conference of the Mennonite Church USA.
Core Scriptures
Philemon 6
I pray that everyone who meets you will catch your faith and learn from you how wonderful it is to live in Christ.
1 Peter 2:24
Jesus himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
Mark 12:29-31
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Luke 11:9,10
Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Lamentations 3:17,21-23
…my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; But I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
Isaiah 43:1b,4a
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. …you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.
Colossians 3:13-15
Bear with one another and if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…
Our Staff
Governance Board
Ministry Team Leaders
Our Ministry Partners
