In 1963, a “home missionary” named Grover Moyer visited various Amish homes in Geauga County of Ohio and stirred the desire within hearts to know more about the Lord. This started a few Bible studies within the Amish community.
Some of that Bible study group stayed Amish, some of them were forced to leave the community and some of them started Zion Christian Fellowship.
On the last Sunday of September in 1964, five Amish families met at the home of Mahlon and Florence Byler on Georgia Rd in Middlefield, OH. The families took turns hosting the group in their homes on Sunday mornings. Ministers from Holmes County would come and preach for them.
The five charter member families were Allan and Barbara Miller, Mahlon and Florence Byler, Lester Bylers, Dan Bylers and William C. and Kathryn Byler. The group quickly grew to include more families.
Their vision was for:
- A plain, scriptural/spiritual church based on the word of God.
- They wanted their children and grand children committed to the faith and to truth.
- A teaching program for the youth and adults.
- “We had more zeal than common sense” – Mahlon Byler
- Wanted to be a witness to those around us.
May or June of 1965 they started meeting in William C. Byler’s hayloft on Shed Rd. They built a staircase to make it easier to get up there.
May 1965 they held preordination meetings in the upstairs of the Mesopotamia Grange Hall. John Dan Miller was ordained.
June 24, 1965 Mel Miller and Alan Miller left at 3 to pick up the blueprints for the new church house. Alan was quite intrumental in getting it built. He was soon to be married but at the time he was single.
Mahlon was the oldest of the group and felt responsible to provide a place so he donated nearly half of his home property, giving up his field and garden. Most of the group lived near his place.
In July of 1965, while the church was being built. A wind storm blew over one of the first walls that went up. There was some talk in the community that perhaps God was telling them that they shouldn’t build. They continued the plans though and worked evenings and weekends until it was finished.
They started having church in the new building in the fall of 1965. Mel Miller and Alan Miller worked all through the night on a Friday to hang ceiling tiles and the next day, Saturday, was a work bee to finish preparing. They set up chairs for the first service.
They held a deacon ordination that fall and Albert Gingerich was ordained.
October of 1965, a month later than planned, the school started in the church basement.
The first church sign said it was “Beachy Amish”
Kathryn Byler said that she remembers that “We some time later gave a couple thousand to Mahlons because we didn’t feel quite right not giving anything for the land.”
Mahlon also then gave the use of his pasture for the ball diamond.
At the time, Mary Byler (later Bontrager) lived on the east side of the church house. That home was built by her parents as a retirement home. This would also have been the parents of Kathryn Byler, the wife of William C. Byler.
In 2023, Zion purchased the Mahlon Byler property from his estate.