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The Rich History of Whitewater Community Church
A group of Swiss immigrants came to the United States in the early 1800s. They came for religious freedom, opportunity, to make a better living for their families, and instruct their children in the Scriptures. The names of these families were: Buerkis, Gerbers, Langeneggers, Mosimans, Roths, Rutschmans, Schirmers, Stuckys, Theirsteins, Wuthrichs, and and Zuerchers.
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The Swiss started worshiping with Emmaus Mennonite Church because they had no building and their doctrine was very similar.
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The Swiss eventually broke off from Emmaus, but because of the warmth and fellowship experienced under the Mennonite Creed, they adopted Mennonite affiliation as Switzer Mennonite Church Society.
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Construction of their first facility started in 1888 and was completed in 1893. They took 5 years because most of the members were farmers, finances were an issue, but perseverance and sacrifice prevailed. These characteristics are still evident in the spirit of Swiss Church members today.
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The church officially joined the Western District Conference of Mennonites in 1899.
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Swiss Church was missionary minded from the beginning. Their first missionary was Mary Schirmer who went to the Hopi Indians in Arizona. She was accepted and supported by the Mennonite General Conference Board of Missions.
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After Mary went to the mission field, the Switzers joined the General Conference in 1905.
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Because of doctrinal differences, Swiss Church abandoned the General Conference in 1969.
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Since 1969, Swiss Church has been an independent, autonomous, non-denominational church.
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In 2015, Swiss Church voted to change its name to Whitewater Community Church as a part of the move to a new facility.
New Building
Since 2008, Whitewater Community Church has been in the process of constructing a new building. We have reached some major milestones in the last 5 years including the completion of a full sized gym/multipurpose room, conference room, and kitchen, as well as moving to the facility in 2016. Best of all, God has blessed the building process with zero debt. Only by God's grace has our little church been able to invest close to million dollars in this new facility.
You are not likely to hear a lot about our new building in services for a very distinct purpose: God's church is not a physical building! People, missions, and ministries will always take priority over fund drives and buildings. The majority of believers in the world don't have the luxury of nice buildings, which tells us that there are much more important things than structures. We aim to keep it that way. Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure!
