A Brief History Of the

Kansas Eldership

     The Kansas Eldership fo the Churches of God was originally a part of the Kansas and Missouri Eldership.  At one time it also included the Nebraska Eldership.

     It became difficult to administer the affairs of the church across state boundaries so it was decided to form a separate eldership within the state of Kansas.

     A preliminary eldershiop was held at Keplinger School House in Crawford County, Kansas, on Saturday, September 18, 1880.  C.B. Konkel was chosen speaker and J.V. Whisler was chosen clerk.  David Helpinger, Newton Hill, W. Shipman, and C.B. Konkel constituted the committee on organization.  M.C. Ogden, Joshua Good, Hill, Shipman, and Keplinger composed the committee to draft the constitution and by-laws.  S. Diehl, Whisler, and Keplinger were members of the committee on arrangements.

     At the General Eldership at Findlay, Ohio, on May 24, 1881, the communication from the preliminary eldership in Kansas was referred to the committee on boundaries.  The committee reported on Tuesday afternoon, May 31:  'In regard to the request from the brethren in Kansas, asking for the privilege of forming and eldership in said state, your committee recommends that their request be granted and that the name be The Kansas Eldership of the Church of God within the boundaries of the State'. 

     The first regular Eldership meeting was held in the Keplinger School House in Crawford County on September 23 and 24, 1881.  A constitution containing 15 articles was adopted.  The Kansas Eldership has continued to meet each year from that time to the present.  In 1883, it was found that there were about 200 isolated members in the state.  They were admonished to try to maintain their connection with the Church of God.  The chairman of the Standing Committee was instructed to locate them and where possible to have the nearest minister preach for them.  In 1889, the Eldership met for the first time in Fort Scott.  It was reported that during the previous year the ministers had preached 1,635 sermons.  There had been 108 conversions, 92 had been baptized, 156 were fellowshipped, the present membership was 731 and there were 12 churches in the state.

     The Central View Church of God in Sharon, Kansas, was organized in 1892.  The church building was completed in 1897.  The church was closed in 1974.  The pulpit and pews were given to the chapel of the Church of God Indian Mission in Mentmore, New Mexico.

     The Clover Meadow Church of God at Lamar, Colorado, was organized in 1899.  The church building was completed in 1915.  The church closed in 1964.

     The Erie Street Church of God in Wichita, Kansas, was begun in January 1952, and completed on April 29, 1952.  The members of the Wichita congregation continued to meet, but no longer use the Erie Street church building.  The congregation now has services in a meeting room in the Century II Center.  They are now called the New Hope Church of God.

     The First Church of God in Fort Scott, Kansas, is the largest Church of God in Kansas.  Organized in 1888, its first bethel was a frame church at the corner of Oak and Grant Streets.  The present bethel, a brick church at the corner of Wall and Broadway Streets, was completed in 1928.

     The Gerlane Church of God was organized in 1913 in Gerlane townsite, Barber County, Kansas, 9 miles southeast of Medicine Lodge, Kansas.  Services were discontinued in the early 1940's.  The building was dismantled in 1952.

     The Lake City Church of God in Barber County, Kansas, was organized in 1930.  It was combined with the Gerlane Church in 1938.  The building was sold in 1951.

     The Pleasant Valley Church of God in Gueda Springs, Kansas, was established as a mission church in 1896.  In 1898 the bethel was dedicated.  The church was dismantled in the early 1950's.

     The Maple Grove Bethel Church of God at Neodesha, Kansas, was organized in 1888.  The first bethel was completed in 1890.  In August, 1901, the church was struck by lightning and burned to the ground.  The present bethel was built on the same site and was completed in 1902.

     The Mulberry Church of God, Mulberry, Kansas, was organized in 1902.  The bethel was completed that same year.  In 1962 the bethel was sold to the Holiness Church.

     The New York Valley Church of God at Yates Center, Kansas, was organized in 1884.  The first church was built in 18905.  In February 1918, the church building was destroyed by a cyclone.  In August 1918, a new bethel was completed.  In 1961, the New York Valley schoolhouse was purchased by the church and moved and connected to the church for classroom use.

     There are now four Churches of God in Kansas:  The New Hope Church of God in Wichita, the First Church of God in Fort Scott, the Maple Grove Bethel Church of God in Neodesha, and the New York Valley Church of God in Yates Center.