Who we are
Nanih Waiya Indian Mennonite Church is a Mennonite Church in Preston, Mississippi.
We are a fellowship of believers, made in God's image and called as disciples of Christ to share the Good News with everyone through learning, listening, praying and working together actively to reach out to our communities.
We are a place to believe, belong, and become!
We are a fellowship of believers, made in God's image and called as disciples of Christ to share the Good News with everyone through learning, listening, praying and working together actively to reach out to our communities.
We are a place to believe, belong, and become!
Church Address
15 mi NE of Philadelphia MS on MS 21
Co Rd 789 / Nanih Waiya Rd
Preston,
MS
39354
Co Rd 789 / Nanih Waiya Rd
United States
Phone: 662-726-2325
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Denomination
Mennonite Church
Mennonite Churches in Preston, MS
Mennonite Churches in Mississippi
Mennonite Churches in United States
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Mennonite Church USA
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Nanih Waiya Indian Mennonite Church Preston Photos
Nanih Waiya Indian Mennonite Church - Preston, Mississippi
Nanih Waiya Indian Mennonite Church - Preston, Mississippi
Nanih Waiya Indian Mennonite Church - Preston, Mississippi
Nanih Waiya Mennonite Church Cemetery Neshoba County, Mississippi - photo courtesy of Mimosa
https://www.findagrave.com/user/profile/46875181
https://www.findagrave.com/user/profile/46875181
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Nanih Waiya Indian Mennonite Church History
The Nanih Waiya Indian Mennonite Church, Preston, Mississippi, USA, began as a mission outreach by the Mashulaville Mennonite Church to the Choctaw People in the summer of 1961. John Garber of the Burton Mennonite Church in Ohio led a Bible school in the area. Nevin Bender led the early work at Nanih Waiya with the help of David Weaver of Mashulaville. Because of the connections to the Burton Mennonite Church, the congregation became part of the Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference of the Mennonite Church (MC).
A church building at Nanih Waiya was completed in early 1963, with the first service held on 10 February 1963. The building suffered the first of three bombings on 18 September 1964, the same night a nearby African-American church was bombed. With the help of the Mennonite Disaster Service, the chapel was rebuilt in 21 days. An addition of Sunday school rooms was completed in April 1965. On 19 February 1966, the church was bombed a second time. Local volunteers helped in the second rebuilding as the church avoided using Northern "outsiders" for the reconstruction. A third bombing took place on 23 December 1966. Nanih Waiya youth who had been Christmas caroling, discovered the bombing that destroyed the chapel part of the building. Cleanup and repairs took place immediately, and the congregation was able to use the unfinished chapel space by mid-January 1967. A later incident occurred in November 2012 when a burglar stole a heater that resulted in fire damage to the building.
The Mennonite Board of Missions established a Voluntary Service (VS) unit in nearby Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1972. Many of these volunteers attended the Nanih Waiya church. The VS unit closed at the end of 1987.
In 1973, Nanih Waiya helped to launch the Pearl River Mennonite Church, about 20 miles away, near a reservation that attracted many Choctaw People and served as the tribal headquarters.
When the Gulf States Mennonite Fellowship formed in 1979 to bring together geographically adjacent Mennonite churches in the South, Nanih Waiya joined that conference.
In 2015 the Nanih Waiya congregation left the Gulf States Mennonite Conference. This move was part of a larger withdrawal of Mennonite congregations in the 2010s that were formerly part of Mennonite Church USA. These congregations were unhappy with Mennonite Church USA's failure to take stronger disciplinary actions against area conferences and congregations that expressed openness to the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. Nanih Waiya continued as a Mennonite congregation associated with the Good News Fellowship.
Pastoral Leaders at Nanih Waiya Indian Mennonite Church
Name Years of Service Nevin V. Bender (1892-1975) 1962-1973 David Glenn "Glenn" Myers (1937-2023) 1966-1973 Rudy J. Detweiler (1924-2010) 1974-1977? Ethan J. Good (1929-2021) 1977-2014 Mark R. Roth 1996-2010 W. Harvey Yoder 2002?-?
From: https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Nanih_Waiya_Indian_Mennonite_Church_(Preston,_Mississippi,_USA)
A church building at Nanih Waiya was completed in early 1963, with the first service held on 10 February 1963. The building suffered the first of three bombings on 18 September 1964, the same night a nearby African-American church was bombed. With the help of the Mennonite Disaster Service, the chapel was rebuilt in 21 days. An addition of Sunday school rooms was completed in April 1965. On 19 February 1966, the church was bombed a second time. Local volunteers helped in the second rebuilding as the church avoided using Northern "outsiders" for the reconstruction. A third bombing took place on 23 December 1966. Nanih Waiya youth who had been Christmas caroling, discovered the bombing that destroyed the chapel part of the building. Cleanup and repairs took place immediately, and the congregation was able to use the unfinished chapel space by mid-January 1967. A later incident occurred in November 2012 when a burglar stole a heater that resulted in fire damage to the building.
In 1973, Nanih Waiya helped to launch the Pearl River Mennonite Church, about 20 miles away, near a reservation that attracted many Choctaw People and served as the tribal headquarters.
When the Gulf States Mennonite Fellowship formed in 1979 to bring together geographically adjacent Mennonite churches in the South, Nanih Waiya joined that conference.
In 2015 the Nanih Waiya congregation left the Gulf States Mennonite Conference. This move was part of a larger withdrawal of Mennonite congregations in the 2010s that were formerly part of Mennonite Church USA. These congregations were unhappy with Mennonite Church USA's failure to take stronger disciplinary actions against area conferences and congregations that expressed openness to the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. Nanih Waiya continued as a Mennonite congregation associated with the Good News Fellowship.
Pastoral Leaders at Nanih Waiya Indian Mennonite Church
Name Years of Service Nevin V. Bender (1892-1975) 1962-1973 David Glenn "Glenn" Myers (1937-2023) 1966-1973 Rudy J. Detweiler (1924-2010) 1974-1977? Ethan J. Good (1929-2021) 1977-2014 Mark R. Roth 1996-2010 W. Harvey Yoder 2002?-?
Nanih Waiya Indian Mennonite Church Historical Photos
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"Wishing will never be a substitute for prayer". Ed Cole
Nanih Waiya Indian Mennonite Church listing was last updated on the 10th of March, 2025
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