On June 24, 1930 Amelia Wilcox (presumably a relative of Anna Long who arranged the gift) deeded

to the Baptist Church in Christ Lot 4, Block 5, in downtown Pinckney, Michigan. The deed, officially

filed on October 1, 1930, included the restriction that the property was to be used for “study of the

Bible, the Word of God, and preaching of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The Baptist

Church congregation worshipped in the cement block basement (no upper level existed). Irene

Bokros from Pinckney remembered kneeling in prayer there as a child, and that the floor was cold!

In 1941 the Baptist Church deeded Lot 4 to the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Mission Board.

Neighboring Lot 3 was added in 1942, and the Gospel Mission was formed under the leadership of

Pastor Ezra Beachy, to support Mennonite men who had come to the area to do alternative service

(instead of military service) during World War II. In 1948 the Mission congregation had grown from

10 to 25 members and the Mennonites expanded the basement slightly to accommodate the

construction of the upper level sanctuary, built in barn-raising style. The first service was the

wedding of Walter Esch and Mary Bezzeg on November 6, 1948. Walter and Mary were both from

area farm families and knew Pastor Beachy as a schoolteacher as well as attending his church youth

group. Irene Bokros helped serve the reception for the wedding.

The new church was named “Calvary Mennonite Church.” Pastor Beachy led the congregation of

about 40 through 1959, including the final two years when he drove from Goshen, Indiana to

Pinckney each week (142 miles). Melvin Stauffer served as pastor from 1960 to 1964, followed by

Daniel Slabaugh from 1964 to 1967, and Irvin Yoder from 1967 to 1974. Walter and Mary Esch and

their ten children were among the congregation, as well as several other families, and several single

women including Helen Bezzeg (Mary’s sister), Isetta VanSkiver, Shirley Wakefield, the Gardner

sisters and Irene Bokros.

Walter and Mary Esch moved to Ann Arbor in 1949 but continued to be faithful leading members of

the church. Pastor Yoder officiated at the wedding of their son David to Janice Gilman in 1974. Dave

and Jan met at college, were married in Jan’s church in Saugatuck near Lake Michigan, and settled in

Ann Arbor where Dave worked with his father. Later in 1974 Pastor Yoder, his brother Orvan, and

their families followed their employer, Blue Fin Boat Works, in moving to Indiana. Dave and Jan Esch

joined Walter Esch as lay leaders of the somewhat smaller congregation from 1975-1979. Dave and

Jan took turns preparing Sunday morning sermons, but Dave presented them all since women in the

pulpit were not yet supported by the Mennonite Conference.

In 1979 Verl Hochstetler and his family answered the call to the pastorate, moving from Goshen,

Indiana to their home on Angels Pass in Hell, Michigan (just south of Pinckney). To lessen the

confusion about Mennonites (do you drive a horse and buggy to church?) the name of the church was

changed to Good News Community Chapel. The congregation again grew to 30-35. In 1983 the

Hochstetlers returned to Goshen. Besides the discomfort of having a mailing address in Hell, the

family had a challenging time in their first pastorate, including their two adopted younger children

being the only persons of color in the large rural school system, being far away from family, and a

split when a sizable portion of the congregation left to form a new church under the leadership of the

Hochstetler’s next-door neighbor.

Dave and Jan resumed lay leadership (when it was now acceptable for Jan to present the sermon). A

new family began attending church in 1985 after learning about it from the same childbirth

preparation teacher who helped Dave and Jan during the loss of their first child in 1981. Peter Elliot

asked if he could begin “practicing” for the pastorate in 1986, became licensed and then left in 1989

to become ordained in his foundational Brethren denomination and become pastor of a church in

northern Michigan.

Dave and Jan had been active in the Ann Arbor Youth For Christ organization since their marriage, so

in their return to lay leadership contacted the YFC Director Herbert Wilson Jr. to ask if there were any

YFC staff who would be willing to give their testimony on a Sunday morning in Pinckney. In replying

that there were some young folks willing to do so, Herb noted that he was an ordained minister and

asked if he could also speak some Sunday. Thus, from 1989 to 1998 Reverend Wilson became the

“temporary” pastor of the church. Attendance again grew, especially with younger families. Dave

and Jan resumed lay leadership when Reverend Wilson left to become pastor of a larger church just

to the north in Howell, Michigan. Irene Bokros chose to attend a church closer to her home.

Through the early 2000s membership dropped to 15-20. The Mennonite Conference offered

assistance in finding a new pastor but had limited candidates available for such a small congregation.

For much of the year 2000 Bill Nixon and his wife came from the Battle Creek Mennonite Church to

preach most Sundays, and in 2002-2003 Rick Pierson and his wife came once a month from the same

congregation. In the fall of 2005, Reverend Dr. Duane Cuthbertson began coming once a month to

preach. “Dr. C” was the original founder of the Ann Arbor Youth For Christ ministry who later began a

Christian counseling agency (among other activities) and taught at area colleges. This relationship

continued through mid-2024, and Dr. C, now well into his 80’s, still joins for worship at Good News

Community Chapel every few weeks.

In more recent years there have been several groups using the church during the week for prayer and

praise gatherings, including a local teacher and his wife who were concerned about the number of

suicides and accidents among the students, a youth ministry led by a pastor from a Brighton church

with a heart for youth in Pinckney, a teen starting his journey to follow the Lord’s call to ministry, and

an Orthodox priest organizing a new church. Currently a new group is being formed by a pastor who

just moved to Hell and has a heart for inviting people who have never been to church or who have

left the church, to come for prayer and music on Thursday evenings, with a worship service on

Saturday evenings.

Throughout the history of the church, a recurring pattern has been evident. The Lord has been

faithful to provide, and the church has been faithful to the original purpose that the Gospel of Jesus

Christ would be preached and the Bible studied as the Word of God. Many people have come for a

season, often in need of rest and time to listen to the Lord’s calling for their next steps of faith. Every

time there was a gap in leadership, the Lord met that need, often in surprising ways. Even now, as

the regular membership has been shrinking through the homegoing of dear saints and the moving on

of younger folks, those who remain have been generously supported and nourished by the Lord. This

is the Lord’s church and He is directing each moment according to His perfect plan. We continue to

trust and worship our awesome God!