The
story of Kern Road Mennonite Church began in 1959 in a living room on
the south side of South Bend. A small group of determined and
faith-filled people met together. Their vision was to gather a
Christian community that would support one another in their faith,
reach out to their neighborhoods, commit to serving in the community,
and be a beacon of hope and light in the South Bend region. One of the
participants was Tobe Schmucker. Tobe had moved his family to South
Bend to begin a new ministry, Hope Rescue Mission, several years
earlier. He and others felt a call to gather people in the region who
would be interested in a Mennonite presence and fellowship in South
Bend. After a period of time, the group left the home setting and began
meeting on Sunday mornings at Hope Rescue Mission. Ultimately they
purchased land and built a church on Kern Road that was dedicated in
1962.
The congregation named itself Kern Road Chapel, signaling their
commitment to be open to other-than-born-Mennonite participants. In
1982, still open to those not born Mennonite, the church changed its
name to Kern Road Mennonite Church to communicate its desire to be
connected to Anabaptists and become the Mennonite presence in South
Bend that they had always intended to become. The congregation has
grown to be the home congregation of over 500 people with regular
attendance averaging about 220 on a Sunday during the church year.
The
story of Kern Road Mennonite Church began in 1959 in a living room on
the south side of South Bend. A small group of determined and
faith-filled people met together. Their vision was to gather a
Christian community that would support one another in their faith,
reach out to their neighborhoods, commit to serving in the community,
and be a beacon of hope and light in the South Bend region. One of the
participants was Tobe Schmucker. Tobe had moved his family to South
Bend to begin a new ministry, Hope Rescue Mission, several years
earlier. He and others felt a call to gather people in the region who
would be interested in a Mennonite presence and fellowship in South
Bend. After a period of time, the group left the home setting and began
meeting on Sunday mornings at Hope Rescue Mission. Ultimately they
purchased land and built a church on Kern Road that was dedicated in
1962. 
The congregation named itself Kern Road Chapel, signaling their
commitment to be open to other-than-born-Mennonite participants. In
1982, still open to those not born Mennonite, the church changed its
name to Kern Road Mennonite Church to communicate its desire to be
connected to Anabaptists and become the Mennonite presence in South
Bend that they had always intended to become. The congregation has
grown to be the home congregation of over 500 people with regular
attendance averaging about 220 on a Sunday during the church year.