1863 - Van Wert Mission of Evangelische Gemeinschaft (Evangelical Community) established, meeting in second story rooms in downtown Van Wert.
1872 - First church building. It was built on the present location facing south (Crawford Street).
1873 - Parsonage built to the east, adjacent to the church building.
1881 - English replaces German at Sunday night services.
1914 - New building, facing Walnut Street, dedicated on January 11.
1946 - Merger of United Brethren (New Constitution) and Evangelical denominations.
Our name changed to Trinity Evangelical United Brethren Church.
1957 - Educational unit dedicated.
1964 - New parsonage built at present location (northeast corner of Crawford and Cherry).
1968 - Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren denominations combine. We become Trinity United Methodist.
1971 - Old sanctuary is remodeled.
1975 - Parking lot completed.
1991 - New sanctuary completed.
2006 - Old sanctuary renovated to become “The Gate.”
2022-Congregational vote to disafilliate from the United Methodist Church and join the Global Methodist Church
2023-We became Trinity Church of Van Wert
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The Van Wert Mission of the Indiana Conference of the Evangelical Community was formed in 1863. Rev. George Hertel was assigned to the St. Mary’s Circuit, which included several churches in Indiana and Ohio.
With four families (eight members), the Van Wert Mission met in second story rooms in downtown Van Wert. The eight members were Mr. and Mrs. Chilcote, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Hertel, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Haffen, and Mr. and Mrs. George A. Hertel. German was the only language spoken at these services.
In 1872 the first building was constructed. We do not know the cost. It sat at the northeast corner of the Crawford Street/Walnut Street intersection, with the main door facing south (Crawford Street).
The pastor, J. Keiper, continued to preach in German, although English was becoming more common among the people.
In 1873 a parsonage was completed east of and adjacent to the church at a cost of $700.
KIRCHE
DER
EVANGELISCHEN
GEMEINSCHAFT
1872
This translates into “Church of the Evangelistic Community.” This is the inscription on a stone is now on the west wall of the basement inside The Gate. Later, it seems, the name of the denomination evolved into “Church of the Evangelistic Association” and, still later, the “Evangelical Church.”
In 1881 Pastor B. F. Dill reported that, “The old harassing language difficulty has been removed, and there is now English preaching every Sunday night.” We don’t know why he referred specifically only to “Sunday night” in this statement.
Parsonage was moved 25 feet farther eastward.
The Great Van Wert Flood occurred in March of 1913 and almost certainly damaged the church building. This may or may not have been the reason for a new structure, which was begun that year. The parsonage was moved eastward 25 feet to make room for the new church building. The new building, facing west (Walnut Street), was dedicated on January 11, 1914. The cost was $17,000.
The church elder at the time was S. H. Baumgartner; his name is on one of the windows. The pastor was F. J. Stedcke; his name is also on one of the windows. The program for the dedication lists as members of the building board and trustees: Jacob Mohr, John C. Albright, George J. Wise, Wm. Hertel, Jr., Walter Murphy, Elmer Stripe, William Hagerty, and Edwin S. Baxter. The parsonage trustees were Gottlieb Mohr, S. L. Rider, and Jacob Trim. By this time, the church was officially called the First Evangelical Church.
JH Rilling, the pastor from 1917 to 1923, wrote: “There have been no great revivals and large increases in membership, but there was steady increase and growth in all of the organizations of the church. The indebtedness on the new church is $5,150, almost unprovided for, has been paid. The Rally Day offerings the last five years have amounted to $1,694.51; the highest for one Rally Day, October 17, 1920, being $531.81.” (Note: The present-day value of that $531.81 is $6026.87.)
The Evangelical Church merged with the United Brethren in Christ (New Constitution) Church in 1946, and our name changed from the First Evangelical Church to the Trinity Evangelical United Brethren Church.
Notice that “Trinity” then became a part of our name -- a change which was unanimously approved by the congregation. This name avoided any confusion with that of the First United Brethren in Christ (Old Constitution), which, like all Old Constitution UB churches, was not a part of the merger. Calvary United Brethren in Christ (New Constitution) was a part of the merger and became Calvary Evangelical United Brethren; however, it no longer exists.
Also, in 1946, give or take a year, the church bought a Wurlitzer electronic organ, which was considered a great addition at the time.
The educational unit was built in 1956 at a cost of $132,000. It was dedicated on September 22, 1957.
A new parsonage was completed at the present location (northeast corner of the Crawford/ Cherry intersection) in 1964 at a cost of $26,000.
The Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren denominations combined in 1968. We became the Trinity United Methodist Church.
In 1971 we remodeled the sanctuary, costing $75,000.
The parking lot was completed in 1975. Prior to that, all parking had been on the street.
The new Allen Digital Computer Organ System was dedicated on May 16, 1976, at a concert presented by Ira A. Gerig, a music professor at Fort Wayne Bible College.
The present sanctuary was completed in 1991, costing $560,000. The cornerstone inscription is “Built to the Glory of God.”
In 2006 the old (1914) sanctuary under
went extensive interior renovations and became “The Gate,” a multipurpose area.
In 2022, the congregation voted to disafilliate from the United Methodist Church and to join the Global Methodist Church.
In 2023, we officially became Trinity Church of Van Wert.