Emmanuel Baptist Church - Marion

Emmanuel Baptist Church traces its history back to the arrival of Mennonites in Marion County in 1873. The group that established Emmanuel Baptist was not historically Mennonite, but came in 1876 from the Volga German colonies around Yagodnaya Polyana. This group worshiped originally in a little stone school house on the Jacob Ehrlich farm, one and one-half miles northwest of Marion.

In 1884, Elder Ehrlich organized this group as an affiliate of the neighboring Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church, and called it Marion Mennonite Brethren Church. In 1889, the congregation left the Mennonite Brethren Conference, and became known as the German Baptis Church. In 1890, they built a stone church on the west edge of Marion. In November, 1900, the little congregation became officially affiliated with the German Baptist Churches of American, and Elder Ehrlich became the full-time pastor.

In 1917, a new brick church was built on Walnut Street. Stone from the original building was used for the foundation. It was dedicated on 18 November 1917. This building was used exclusively until 1988 when new facilites were added, including a fellowship hall, kitchen, classrooms, a nursery, and offices. In 1945, the congregation changed its name to Emmanuel Baptist Church.

The congregation celebrated the centennial of its affiliation with the German Baptist Conference in 2000.

Early Volga German families known to have been affiliated with Emmanuel Baptist include: