Mennonites and Mission
Pastor Jacob preaches on Matthew 28:18-20, the “asbestos capital of the world,” and the history of the Mennonite mission in Ambler.
History
Ambler Mennonite Church is located between two communities. To the north of us are the wooded fields of Montgomery and Bucks counties, where Mennonites have traditionally lived and farmed. To the south of us are the neighborhoods of Philadelphia. We feel called to work in between, bringing together rural folks and city folks; kids and adults; old Mennonites, new Mennonites, and not Mennonites; with members from as far north as Perkasie, Souderton, and Collegeville, and as far south as Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, and Radnor.
Click the link below for a sermon on the history of Ambler Mennonite Church:
Our church was founded by Mennonite mission workers who regularly drove the 15 miles down from Souderton to serve in west Ambler. Early on, they had no building, no pastor, and no program—just a sense that God was calling them here for an “Ambler Gospel Mission.” In 1952, a group of these workers—Abram Godshall, John Ruth, Samuel Landis, Lauretta Walters, and others—began holding Sunday School classes for local kids and their families in a garage behind Center Street. Somehow, from these very humble beginnings, a little church grew. More and more people kept showing up, and so, after a few years, Abram purchased a house on Tennis Avenue where they would all fit. He rented part of it to Paul and Esther Long, a newly-wed Mennonite couple from Harleysville who became like parents to a generation of Ambler kids.
In 1958, Norman Hunsberger was called to be the church’s first official pastor. When he and his wife Mary moved to Ambler, they were befriended by a couple from Reiffs Mill Road named Burnes and Lillian Rose. The Roses (who were black) and the Hunsbergers (who were white) would walk the streets of the town together, inviting their neighbors to church activities. The diversity in the church today has its roots in this relational ministry.
In 1961, the church was finally able to construct its own building, on the corner of Mount Pleasant Avenue and Spring Garden Street. That building, with some later additions, continues to be home to Ambler Mennonite Church. From these origins, we’ve expanded to include other neighbors looking for the warmth and community of a small church, young families with kids, college and graduate students studying in Philadelphia, and members of larger churches who want to put their leadership gifts to use. We’re still small, eclectic, quirky, and friendly. We like to eat together and tell tale tales. And we’re serious about Jesus. Come and see!