1861: A New Church FamilyThe early congregation was overseen by Joseph Bates, rented the home of John D. Person (for $.75 per meeting), and had an annual budget of just $100.
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1862: Joining the ConferenceDuring meetings held October 4-6, 1862 in Monterey, Michigan, the Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists voted to admit several of the early churches (including Otsego) to their fellowship.
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1863: Ellen White's VisionWhile staying with the Hilliard family on June 6, 1863, Ellen White had a 45-minute vision that showed her the importance of having a healthy diet & lifestyle. For more about her vision, click here.
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Electric Lights 1907 |
More Hitching Posts for Horses 1908(To resolve issues with their "parking lot".)
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New Pews 1914 |
Coal furnace (to replace the wood stove) 1942 |
Electricity throughout the Building 1947 |
Gas Furnace 1957Installed on October 10 for $980.
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Sound System 1966 |
New Pews and Lights 1974 |
Air Conditioning 1981 |
Baptistery 1982Voted on March 2, and installed in April. It cost $1700 to install.
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ClergyWhile the church voted on Dec. 20, 1908 to formally request a pastor, the request wasn't granted until 1927. Since then, we've had multiple full-time pastors, and countless guest speakers.
20th Century
1927 - Hankins 1944 - William-Buck 1948 - Shaw 1950 - Lohn 1951-1959 - Crandall 1960 - Johnston 1961-1963 - Mills 1964 - Miller 1965 - Glas 1966 - Zull 1967 - Tessner 1968 - Cox 1969-1970 - Harrison 1971-1972 - Greene 1973 - Yancy 1975-1976 - Pomeroy (We're still looking for the records from 1977-1986.) 1987-1990 - Snyman (We're still looking for the records from 1991-1997.) 1998 - Korter 1999-2004 - Toms 21st Century
1999-2004 - Toms 2005-2007 - Fleck 2008-2013 - Orion 2013-Present - Taylor |
MembershipExact records are limited, but the church family has typically had around 30 official members on the books. We experienced a high of around 90 in the early part of the 20th century, but have faced eras where membership was so low that the church stopped "officially meeting" for a time.
Our 2017 membership is around 40 members. |
Dudley CanrightThe most infamous member of the church is undoubtedly Dudley Marvin Canright. Canright went from a leader in the denomination in the mid-19th century, and a member of the Otsego church starting in 1882, to outright apostasy and leaving the Adventist church on February 17, 1887. He continued to preach, but his focus changed to attacking the Adventist Church and Ellen White.
Read more about D.M. Canright by clicking here. |
The West Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists was headquartered in Otsego from 1902 until 1914, when it moved to Lansing. The conference covered the territory west of Lansing, and included notable communities such as: Allegan, Battle Creek, Cedar Lake, Grand Rapids, and Grand Ledge. The Conference Headquarters (above) was the basis for Otsego's "Conference Street", located 2 blocks over from the church.
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There were high hopes for establishing an Adventist school in the community, leading to the construction of the Otsego Academy in 1909. The 1st year boasted 60 students, but enrollment dropped significantly the following year. The school closed in either 1911 or 1912, and the schoolhouse, administration building, and dorms were sold. The schoolhouse (above) is still serving as an apartment building on Hammond Street.
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W.W. Shepard, a member of the church since 1881, bought the land adjacent to the church and built a home in 1886. The family moved out of town in 1912 and sold the house, but in 1976 it was purchased for $16,000 by 3 families and then sold to the church. Initially used for extra classrooms, a Community Services ministry began in early 1981 under the leadership of Alice Hoenes.
Learn more about our Community Services program by clicking here. |
otsegosda@gmail.com
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Telephone269-694-4775
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HOURSBible Study Sat., 9:30am
Worship Sat., 11:00am GET REAL 4 Kids Tues., 5:30pm Topical Bible Studies Wed., 6:30pm Prayer Meeting Thurs., 6:00pm Community Services Tues., 10am-4pm Thurs., 1-4pm |
LOCATION
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