The Metzler Congregation began when Swiss-German Mennonite settlers moved into the Conestoga Creek area in what is now north-central Lancaster County. Christian Wenger, a Mennonite leader, moved into the area in 1728 while a few years later in 1732, the Ephrata Cloister was founded by the dissident Dunkard minister, Conrad Beissel. Both Mennonites and Dunkards were becoming established in the area and people from both groups helped establish the German Monastic olony at Ephrata.