Our Story
In 1902 a prayer meeting was started in an old fire station on Mishawaka Ave. Sometime between 1910 and 1918 the Indiana-Ohio Association of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church built a humble building for the group on the corner of Locust and Battell Streets in Mishawaka. This structure still stands today, thought it no longer serves as a church.
In 1948 a basement church was built on the corner of Liberty Drive and Colfax Avenue across the street from the newly formed Bethel College. It was dedicated as the Liberty Missionary Church. The church would always be closely connected with the college becoming a church home for countless students and serving as a first assignment for many ministry graduates. The church continued to grow spiritually and numerically until 1953 when the pastor, Rev Jake Hostetler, and his wife left for the Dominican Republic as missionaries.
An upper level was added to the basement in the 60′s and, although they struggled for some time they were able to call Rev. Carlyle Wise to serve as a full time pastor. He continued in this ministry until 1970 and gave spiritual direction to a growing church which had a strong outreach ministry in the community as well as an active overseas missions emphasis.
During the 80′s the Liberty Drive Missionary Church again saw a time of financial difficulty and they merged with the University Park Church. In 1992 this merger and new church dedication were completed and the name was changed to College Park Missionary Church. Since then College Park has continued to be a unique blend of student and community based ministry and strong international missions focus. Throughout the many changes at College Park what has never changed is our dedication to personal spiritual growth and vibrant participation in God’s mission around the globe.