A Mennonite Congregation on the West Side of Goshen
Silverwood Mennonite Church gathers on West Lincoln Avenue in Goshen, Indiana, a short drive from Goshen College and the town's west-side neighborhoods. The congregation began as Silver Street Mennonite Church in 1892 and took the name Silverwood after relocating from its rural roots to be closer to where people live and work. Today it is known as a multi-generational Mennonite community that explicitly welcomes LGBTQ+ persons into every part of congregational life and that pours significant energy into partnerships serving neighbors in Elkhart County and beyond.
From Silver Street to Silverwood
Silverwood's story opens in 1892, when fifty charter members organized the Silver Street Mennonite Church. By the turn of the century the congregation had grown to roughly two hundred members, and by 1913 it had planted two daughter congregations: Topeka Mennonite and Eighth Street Mennonite in Goshen. The church was long known for supporting Mennonite mission work overseas and for serving as a home base for missionaries, a connection to the Mennonite church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that is still active today.
By the 1980s, attendance at the original rural location was declining. Facing the question of what came next, the members chose to renew their vision for growth and to create a sense of family and belonging for more people. They changed the name to Silverwood Mennonite Church, purchased land on the west side of Goshen, and built a new facility closer to where people live, work, and study. The relocation brought rapid growth, particularly among young adults connected to the local college community.
Silverwood is a member congregation of Central District Conference and Mennonite Church USA. Conversations about planting another congregation are again on the table as members seek to share the good news they have experienced with still more people.
Sunday Morning Worship
Worship is the weekly anchor of life at Silverwood. Sunday services begin at 10:30 a.m. and run about an hour, with the option to attend in person or join the livestream on YouTube. A typical service includes singing, prayer, a message, and time for reflection. Music draws from a mix of more traditional hymns and modern worship songs, and the church deliberately uses the gifts of many people rather than relying on a small group of professionals. Visitors will see a variety of voices, instruments, and stories bringing the service to life.
Dress runs the full spectrum, from very casual to suit and tie. Children over age 4 join parents and caregivers in the sanctuary, where a children's story often connects to the scripture or theme of the day. For children under 4, a safe and clean childcare room next to the sanctuary is provided during worship.
The community makes a point of acknowledging a diversity of perspectives and biblical understandings among its members, a posture spelled out in a written Statement of Invitation. The statement proclaims Jesus as Lord, affirms the authority of the Bible, commits to peacemaking across barriers, and names that persons of every age, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, education, ability, economic status, and immigration status are created in the image of God and welcome to full participation - including membership, baptism, marriage, leadership, and pastoral ministry.
A Pastoral Team Built for the Whole Congregation
Silverwood's ministry is shared across a team of pastors and a spiritual director. Clayton Gladish serves as Pastor of Administration and Outreach. Trained as a biblical scholar, Clayton focuses on bringing the Bible into conversation with the twenty-first century and helping followers of Jesus live out just and compassionate ways in everyday life. He also sits on the board of the Brethren Mennonite Council for LGBT Interests and works locally with advocates for LGBTQIA+ inclusion.
Jon and Aimee Weishaupt share the role of Pastors of Youth and Discipling. Jon, who also serves bi-vocationally with the Goshen Fire Department, creates safe spaces for community, learning, and service among teens. Aimee develops places of learning and growing from the youngest members of the congregation to the oldest. The couple lives on a hobby farm with their three children and enjoys hosting meals and game nights.
Janice Troyer serves as Pastor of Community Life with an emphasis on Young Adults. She forms and equips the Dinner Groups that knit the congregation together and walks alongside people between the ages of 18 and 35. Dennis Miller stepped into the role of Pastor of Visitation and Pastoral Care in May 2025 after years in construction and pastoral training through Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary's Journey Program, during which he also served as a volunteer chaplain at Goshen Health. Deb Handrich serves as the congregation's trained Spiritual Director, companioning souls in monthly hour-long sessions in Silverwood's prayer room.
Small Groups Across Goshen
For Silverwood, Sunday worship is only one entry point. A growing network of Small Groups meets throughout the Goshen area on various weeknights and is where many members describe church actually happening. Two main shapes of group recur. Dinner Groups share a meal, talk through the ups and downs of life, and pray for one another. Life Groups form around a shared interest, activity, location, or age group. Most groups are intergenerational, and most run from September through May, with newcomers welcome to join at any point in the year.
Young adults between roughly 18 and 40 have their own pathway as well, with Janice Troyer focused on connecting them with one another, building authentic community, and talking honestly about faith.
Discipleship from Toddlers to Retirees
Christian Education at Silverwood runs the full age range, from age 2 through adult, and is described by the church as anything but boring. Adult Sunday School classes aim to talk about real-life matters, including hard topics, in ways that help participants grow in relationship with God and with each other. The Sunday School hour resumes each fall.
Middle and high schoolers (grades 6 through 12) meet during the school year on the second and last Sundays of the month from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. The Junior Youth Squad gathers on the last Sunday of each month during that same window. Youth also meet during the Christian Education hour on Sundays for conversation tailored to teens, and all young people in the community are welcome.
Mennonite Women keeps Silverwood's women connected through sewing and project days in the fellowship hall from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Projects include piecing and quilting quilts, tying comforters, stringing MCC school kit and hygiene kit bags, and other crafts that benefit local and worldwide missions. No sewing experience is required; beginners are taught, and there is always non-sewing work to be done. Women can arrive at any time and stay as long as they like.
A dedicated Prayer Room on site serves as the meeting place for Spiritual Direction and, when not in use for that purpose, opens by reservation for individual and group prayer. Visitors can settle onto a blanket under soft floor lighting, pray over requests on the prayer wall, journal, or color a page from the room's Book of Psalms coloring book.
Neighbors Near and Far
Silverwood pairs its in-house ministries with an unusually broad list of partner organizations, both in Elkhart County and on other continents. Locally the church lends financial and sometimes volunteer support to the Anabaptist Disabilities Network, the Center for Community Justice, the Center for Healing & Hope, Elkhart County Jail Ministry, First Light Mission, LaCasa's Help-A-House program, the Milford Food Bank, the National Immigrant Justice Center, Oaklawn, Walnut Hill Early Childhood Center, and The Window. The Help-A-House workday takes place on the second Saturday in May each year.
Internationally, Silverwood maintains long-standing ties to the Mennonite church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Member Charles Buller currently leads a network of Mennonite pastors in the Congo who are working intentionally on leadership development. The church also partners with Toni and Matthew, who serve in Accra, Ghana, supporting theological institutions throughout Sub-Saharan Africa - including The Sanneh Institute's work in Christian-Muslim relations and peacebuilding in West Africa, and the Center for Justice and Peace at the Université de l'Alliance Chrétienne d'Abidjan in Ivory Coast, which offers an online Master's in Conflict Transformation serving French-speaking Africa and Europe.
Generosity That Funds the Work
Gifts to Silverwood are directed through a few clearly named funds. The Silverwood Ministry Fund undergirds the congregation's overall mission and vision, supporting staff, volunteers, facilities, and outreach. The Good Samaritan Fund extends financial and material help to those outside the church community, especially with groceries, utilities, and rent. The Benevolence Fund serves individuals within the church who need financial or material assistance. A newer Legal Aid Fund partners with individuals and families navigating the immigration system. The congregation is convened twice a year to review the budget and hear stories of how giving is shaping ministry.
Cash and checks can be given during Sunday worship or mailed to the church. Donors can also set up the church as a payee through their bank's online bill pay, or give through PayPal at paypal.me/silverwoodmc. Gifts to the church are kept confidential and are tax-receipted when eligible.
Silverwood Mennonite Church sits today at the same intersection it has chosen since its founding: rooted in the Anabaptist Mennonite tradition, attentive to its neighbors on the west side of Goshen, and open to anyone seeking to follow Jesus together.