Toledo Ohio Apostolic Christian Church of America.
Branches:	ACCA
Date Founded:	1880
Attendance 2024:	78
Address:	3730 Herr Rd, Sylvania
Website:	N/A

History

Apostolic Christian Church services in Toledo were first held in the home of David and Ursala Meister Frautschi in 1880. They were immigrants who came from Switzerland and lived on 13th Street. A number of families frequently met here for worship.

Ursala Meister came from a family of believers who settled in an area near Archbold, Ohio. She came to Toledo for employment and worked in the home of a doctor. After meeting her husband, they attended the Methodist Church where they were married. In this faith, they sought their souls' saivation. With the passing of time, they concluded that the Methodist faith did not meet their spiritual needs, and they began to assemble with members and friends of the Evangelical Baptist Church (later known as Apostolic Christian). This church was located in the country near Archbold which is approximately fifty miles west of Toledo. They became members of the church in about 1876. At this time, there was no Apostolic Christian Church in Toledo.

The decision of David and Ursala Meister Frautschi to become followers of the Lord in the Apostolic Christian faith demonstrates the personal significance of one's commitment to serve God. Had they rejected the call of God and neglected their subsequent repentance and conversion, a church of this faith in Toledo might not have been forthcoming. As a result of their God-inspired decision, however, many people in Toledo were subsequently touched by the gospel and acquired the priceless pearl of salvation.

Toledo is situated on Maumee Bay at the southwest end of Lake Erie which is at the mouth of the Maumee River. In 1833, it united two smaller towns, Port Lawrence and Vistula. This city offered work in the industria] field to its population. Several families who earlier settled around Archbold and attended the Apostolic Christian Church later came to Toledo for employment.

In 1888, Andrew J. Braun and family came to Toledo from Wauseon, Ohio. They resided on John Street. He was an energetic and faithful confessor of the faith who came to America in 1854 on the advice of Samuel Froehlich. He first settled in Peoria. While in Europe, he endured many unpleasant experiences at the hands of governmental authorities who were not inclined toward approving his unauthorized church services. At that time, the church and state were one entity, and freedom of conscience was not necessarily guaranteed. Andrew J. Braun and his followers, moved by deep conviction that they worship the true and living God, defied the state and suffered the consequences.

Records reveal that, as a young boy, Braun was raised in the Lutheran faith. His parents, being of different religious faiths, could not reach an accord concerning religion. Consequently, the boys in the family were raised in the Lutheran faith (that of their mother) and the girls in the Catholic faith. This arrangement never satisfied the father who thought the boys were doomed so far as their souls were concerned. It was out of these circumstances that young Andrew fortunately encountered the Froehlich movement. Andrew J. Braun served as an Elder in Germany. He was very active in evangelistic endeavors in America, but served in the capacity of an Elder for only a short time in America. Here he was given duties similar to those of a deacon. He was likely a mid-Elder or in the German language, a Miteldister.

While living on John Street in Toledo, Andrew J. Braun held Sunday church services and Tuesday evening Bible classes in his home. Those who attended regularly were Fred Guth and members of the Schlatter, Frautschi, and Meister families. He impressed his Bible students with comments and sermons pertaining to the "beast" and the "false prophet." He also stressed the need for repentance. In 1893, Sunday church services were held in a hall on the second floor of a building at 1666 Dorr Street. It was owned by Samuel Braun, son of Andrew J. Braun. The front part of the hall, which was used as a sanctuary, was filled with chairs, and the rear was used for serving lunch. Services were held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an intermission for a noon lunch. Among those who attended the services at this time were Henry Baer, Victor Stavenik, and Sigmund Sorg. The ministers were Andrew J. Braun and his son Samuel. The latter, some years later, wrote a treatise entitled "My Father's Conversion." This was distributed by the Apostolic Christian Church (Nazarene). Andrew J. Braun remained with the church in Toledo until his death. He and his wife are buried in Forrest Cemetery in Toledo.

In 1904, Samuel Braun took an active part in the construction of a new church at Woodland and Brown Avenues in Toledo. This church was heated by several wood-burning stoves, and gas was used to light the interior. Wooden chairs were used to seat the parishioners. Samuel Braun and family moved to Syracuse, New York, in about 1905, a year after the new church was built. As a manufacturer of "Paradise Soap," he moved his plant to this area because of the abundance of raw materials. His moving to Syracuse was not related to the subsequent church schism that resulted in 1906-1907. At Syracuse, he aligned himself with the group known as the Apostolic Christian Church (Nazarene).

After Samuel Braun moved to Syracuse, the ministers who served the congregation at Toledo were John Snyder and William Erkert, Sr. Their tenure was short-lived, however, as they no longer associated with the church following the division of 1906-07. The new ministers, who were installed in 1906, were Godfrey Schlatter, David Frautschi, and Jacob Frautschi. At that time, church services were conducted in both the Gennan and English languages.

In 1929, when the nation was enjoying a period of soon-to-end prosperity, the church building was remodeled. Electricity was used for lighting, and the old wooden chairs were replaced with benches.

A basement was added for a Sunday School and a dining room. In 1956, a modern new church was built at 3011 Marvin Avenue. It was dedicated in November, 1956. A brochure marking the occasion stated, "It is the sincere hope of the congregation of the Apostolic Christian Church that this new edifice will long serve as a house of worship in which the Name of God will be praised and glorified and where all can unitedly worship, and thus every heart become a temple of the Living God."

Godfrey Schlatter died in 1961. He served the church as a minister for more than fifty years and was instrumental in the building of the new church.

Elders who have served the Toledo congregation were Adam Imthum, Archbold, Ohio; Henry Souder, Leo, Indiana; Eli Dotterer, Junction, Ohio; and Rudolph Graf, Akron, Ohio. Ben C. Maibach, Jr., Detroit, Michigan, began as Elder in 1971.

On April 25, 1991, William Schlatter, Junction, Ohio, took the oversight of the Toledo congregation.

Taken from Marching to Zion

Ministers

Ministers
Name	Born	Baptized	Minister	Deacon	Elder	Retired	Wife
Johann A. Braun	11/9/1825	1/17/1905	1/1/1888		Germany	1/1/1907	Anna Schmidt
William Eckert	10/8/1859		1/1/1905				Dorothea Friz
Jacob Frautschi	8/11/1877		1/1/1906			1/1/1950	Emma Conrad
John Snyder			1905?			1/1/1906
Samuel Braun	12/1/1856					1/1/1905	Sophie Imthurn
William Erkert	10/8/1859					1/11/1942	Dorothea Fritz
David Frautschi	1/16/1905		1/1/1906			1/1/1933	Ursla Meister
Godfrey Schlatter	7/6/1872	3/4/1905	1/1/1906			1/1/1961	Frances Schrenk
Walter Rehklau	8/23/1911	4/12/1932	5/1/1945			1/1/1985	Freda Rager
Homer Reineck	10/12/1918	5/1/1939	10/1/1950			1/1/1991	Dorothy Knochel[161]
Walter R. Rager	8/31/1942	7/31/1961	1/31/1968	11/1/1987		9/27/2014	Sharon Laidig
Eugene Fetter	2/27/1922	10/1/1961	2/1/1968			1/1/1994	Marilyn Dotterer
Ray Schlatter	2/25/1955	10/28/1973	8/4/1985			1/1/1987	Corrine Wieland
Doug Harmon	8/7/1958	2/18/1979	5/15/1988			10/29/2020	Lanna Stoller
Matt Manz	1/30/1981	2/4/2001	5/15/2011	12/10/2017	3/22/2020		Deanna Masters
Chet Manz	8/14/1985	3/15/2009	5/22/2016				Jennifer Raifsnider

Attendance

Attendance
Year	Total	Members	Sunday School	Year	Total	Members	Sunday School
1953	-	39	24	1996	81	42	15
1956	-	37	27	1998	70	42	12
1959	-	37	30	2000	78	42	10
1962	-	36	35	2002	72	36	8
1965	-	38	30	2004	46	28	7
1968	-	40	34	2006	53	29	7
1971	-	38	23	2008	62	31	9
1974	-	42	14	2010	63	31	7
1977	-	52	22	2012	65	42	9
1980	-	46	30	2014	65	38	15
1983	-	52	30	2016	80	42	16
1986	-	52	30	2018	81	43	15
1989	-	47	27	2020	78	40	15
1992	91	42	22	2022	69	34	18
1994	87	40	17	2024	78	35	22