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1955 Article

Author(s)	G. H. Suckau
	Herbert J. Brandt
	Richard D. Thiessen
Date Published	May 2012

The British Columbia Provincial Mennonite Brethren Conference was organized on 31 October 1931 with three local churches, Agassiz, Sardis, and Yarrow, having an approximate total membership of 170. Attracted by the mild climate and large farm incomes, the Mennonite Brethren membership of this area increased until 1948, after which a recession occurred, due to economic difficulties and floods. In 1949 there were 13 churches in the conference with a total membership of 3,077. The churches were located in the southwest part of British Columbia, with eleven in the Fraser Valley, one in the Okanagan Valley, and one on Vancouver Island, in an area stretching about 200 miles eastward from the Pacific coast along the United States border.

Activities in the conference at that time included Bible conferences, youth conferences, tract mission work, radio broadcasts, a city mission in Vancouver, and widespread daily vacation Bible school work. The institutions of the conference included a girls' home in Vancouver, the West Coast Children's Mission, three Bible schools in Yarrow, South Abbotsford, and East Chilliwack, and a high school in North Abbotsford. The conference was active in the resettling of European refugees and in the support of the relief program of the Mennonite Central Committee. C. C. Peters, secretary of the conference after 1948, contributed much to the establishment of the conference. -- G. H. Suckau

1990 Article

The British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches was organized in 1931. Johannes A. Harder, Peter D. Loewen and Cornelius C. Peters significantly shaped the Conference in its formative years.

From its inception, the conference emphasized evangelism and Christian education. The earliest outreach activities included establishing a city mission in Vancouver, and by 1945, support of the West Coast Children's Mission. Simultaneously, much emphasis was placed on Bible conferences, Sunday School conventions, and music festivals.

During the 1970s and 1980s, priority was given to church planting, including congregations among non-English ethnic groups. The conference also supports Stillwood Camp and Conference Centre, and together with the Mennonite Church British Columbia, co-sponsors Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford.

2010 Update

In 2010 the British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches had 104 congregations and 19,698 members. The following congregations were members of the conference:

City	Congregation	Members
Abbotsford	Abbotsford Arabic Church	25
Abbotsford	Alderbrook Community Church	35
Abbotsford	Arnold Community Church	109
Abbotsford	Bakerview Mennonite Brethren Church	716
Abbotsford	Central Heights Church	1,005
Abbotsford	Clearbrook Mennonite Brethren Church	307
Abbotsford	East Abbotsford Community Church	79
Abbotsford	Highland Community Church	83
Abbotsford	Iglesia Hispana Bakerview	20
Abbotsford	King Road Mennonite Brethren Church	635
Abbotsford	Mountain Park Community Church	233
Abbotsford	Northview Community Church	1,100
Abbotsford	Ross Road Community Church	390
Abbotsford	South Abbotsford Mennonite Brethren Church	809
Abbotsford	The Life Centre	68
Armstrong	Armstrong Bible Chapel	37
Black Creek	Black Creek Mennonite Brethren Church	248
Blind Bay	River of Life Community Church	98
Burnaby	Burnaby Pacific Grace Church	206
Burnaby	Deaf Community Christian Church	53
Burnaby	Esperanza Multicultural Church	55
Burnaby	Grace Ethiopian Evangelical Church	50
Burnaby	House for All Nations	330
Burnaby	Pacific Grace Mandarin Church	130
Burnaby	Willingdon Church	2,504
Campbell River	Discovery Community Church	41
Chilliwack	Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church	349
Chilliwack	Central Community Church	340
Chilliwack	Greendale Mennonite Brethren Church	268
Chilliwack	Ministerio Cristiano Broadway	30
Chilliwack	Promontory Community Church	253
Chilliwack	Sardis Community Church	201
Chilliwack	Yarrow Mennonite Brethren Church	202
Coquitlam	Eagle Ridge Bible Fellowship	153
Delta	Cedar Park Church	163
Delta	New Hope Christian Church	167
Fort St. John	North Peace Mennonite Brethren Church	182
Grand Forks	Gospel Chapel	130
Harrison Hot Springs	Harrison Gospel Chapel	61
Kamloops	Valleyview Bible Church	111
Kelowna	Kelowna Gospel Fellowship	231
Kelowna	Sunridge Community Church	60
Kelowna	Willow Park Church	1,030
Keremeos	Similkameen Christian Fellowship	80
Lake Errock	North Fraser Community Church	27
Langley	Jericho Ridge Church	82
Langley	North Langley Community Church	444
Langley	South Langley Mennonite Brethren Church	214
Maple Ridge	Discovery Church of Ridge Meadows	60
Maple Ridge	East Ridge Community Fellowship	50
Maple Ridge	Maple Ridge Community Church	121
Maple Ridge	Silver Valley Community Church	22
Midway	Boundary Community Church	46
Mission	Northside Community Church	169
Nanaimo	Neighbourhood Church	98
New Hazelton	Community Gospel Chapel	30
North Vancouver	North Shore Bethel Christian Mennonite Brethren Church	58
North Vancouver	North Shore Pacific Grace Mandarin Church	37
North Vancouver	North Shore Pacific Grace Mennonite Brethren Church	92
Pemberton	Pemberton Christian Fellowship	90
Penticton	Grace Mennonite Brethren Church	61
Port Alberni	Gateway Community Church	27
Port Coquitlam	Hyde Creek Community Church	81
Port Moody	Heritage Mountain Community Church	40
Port Moody	Port Moody Pacific Grace Mennonite Brethren Church	402
Port Moody	Tri-City Chinese Christian Church	50
Prince George	Westwood Mennonite Brethren Church	318
Prince Rupert	Cornerstone Mennonite Brethren Church	16
Richmond	Fraserview Mennonite Brethren Church	202
Richmond	Richmond Bethel Church	130
Richmond	Richmond Chinese Mennonite Brethren Church	206
Richmond	Richmond Pacific Grace Mennonite Brethren Church	168
Sayward	Sayward Christian Fellowship	19
Surrey	Arabic Evangelical Church	35
Surrey	Coast Hills Community Church	64
Surrey	Emmaus	0
Surrey	Gracepoint Community Church	468
Surrey	Hindi Punjabi Fraserview Gospel Chapel	56
Surrey	Lao Christian Mennonite Brethren Church	28
Surrey	Real Life Community Church	21
Vancouver	Bethel Chinese Christian Mennonite Brethren Church	249
Vancouver	Culloden Mennonite Brethren Church	188
Vancouver	Artisan	0
Vancouver	Imago Dei Christian Community Church	40
Vancouver	Killarney Park Mennonite Brethren Church	101
Vancouver	Pacific Church	0
Vancouver	Pacific Grace Mennonite Brethren Church	298
Vancouver	Point Grey Inter-Mennonite Fellowship	54
Vancouver	Reality Vancouver	24
Vancouver	South Hill Church	88
Vancouver	South Vancouver Pacific Grace Mennonite Brethren Church	307
Vancouver	Urban Journey	40
Vancouver	Vancouver Chinese Mennonite Brethren	161
Vancouver	Vancouver Christian Logos Church	70
Vancouver	Vancouver Vietnamese Mennonite Brethren Church	32
Vancouver	Westside Church	303
Vanderhoof	Nechako Community Church	74
Victoria	City on a Hill	9
Victoria	Saanich Community Church	67
Whistler	Whistler Community Church	60
Williams Lake	Cariboo Bethel Church	101
Total		19,698

Bibliography

Minutes of the Annual Meetings (1931-1996). Clearbrook [Abbotsford], B.C.: B.C. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, published annually.

Klassen, Agatha E. Yarrow: A Portrait in Mosaic. Yarrow: A.E. Klassen, 1976.

Penner, Peter. Reaching the Otherwise Unreached. Clearbrook: West Coast Children's Mission 1959.

Toews, John A. History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, ed. A.J. Klassen. Fresno, Calif.: Mennonite Brethren Board of Literature and Publication, 1975, index, esp. 167-71.

Additional Information

Address: 101-32310 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC V2T 1X1

Telephone: 604-853-6959

Website: BC Conference of MB Churches

British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches Executive

Date of Election	Moderator	Assistant Moderator	Secretary
1931 June 21	Johannes A. Harder		Jacob B. Harder Peter D. Loewen
1931 October 25	Heinrich G. Dueck		Petrus Martens Peter D. Loewen
1932 June 19	K. A. Klassen		Cornelius C. Peters Petrus Martens
1932 November 17	K. A. Klassen		Cornelius C. Peters Petrus Martens
1933 June 11	K. A. Klassen	Johannes A. Harder	Alexander Baumann Peter D. Loewen
1933 November 26	K. A. Klassen	Heinrich G. Dueck	Jacob B. Harder Cornelius C. Peters
1934 May 27	Heinrich G. Dueck
1934 August 12	K. A. Klassen		Johannes A. Harder Cornelius C. Peters
1934 November 25	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Peter D. Loewen Jacob B. Harder
1935 November 10	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Peter D. Loewen Jacob B. Harder
1936 November 8	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Peter D. Loewen Jacob B. Harder
1937 November 21	Johannes A. Harder	Heinrich G. Dueck	Cornelius C. Peters Peter D. Loewen
1938 November 27	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters Peter D. Loewen
1939 November 11	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1940 November 10	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1941 November 2	Johannes A. Harder	Heinrich G. Dueck	Cornelius C. Peters Peter D. Loewen
1942 November 15	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1943 November 21	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1944 November 25	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1945 November 3	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1946 November 16	Jacob F. Redekop	Johann P. Braun	Cornelius C. Peters
1947 November 8	Jacob F. Redekop	Heinrich G. Dueck	Cornelius C. Peters
1948 August 14	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	David A. Friesen
1949 June 11	Jacob F. Redekop	Aron A. Toews	David A. Friesen
1950 October 28	Jacob F. Redekop	Heinrich G. Dueck	David A. Friesen
1951 June 9	Heinrich G. Dueck	Jacob F. Redekop	David A. Friesen
1952 June 7	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	David A. Friesen
1953 June 6	Johannes A. Harder	Jacob F. Redekop	David A. Friesen
1954 June 12	Heinrich G. Dueck	Herman Lenzmann	David A. Friesen
1955 June 18	Herman Lenzmann	Gerhard Thielmann	David A. Friesen
1956 June 9	Herman Lenzmann	Gerhard Thielmann	David A. Friesen
1957 June 9	Peter R. Toews	Gerhard Thielmann	David A. Friesen
1958 June 7	Peter R. Toews	Herman Lenzmann	David A. Friesen
1959 June 6	Herman Voth	Peter R. Toews	Johannes A. Harder
1960 June 10	Herman Voth	Peter R. Toews	Abram Goerz
1961 June 9	Peter R. Toews	Isaac H. Tiessen	George Konrad
1962 June 8	Peter R. Toews	Herman Voth	David A. Friesen
1963 June 7	Henry Brucks	Herbert J. Brandt	Henry J. Unger
1964 June 5	Henry Brucks	Nick Willems	Henry J. Unger
1965 June 11	Herbert J. Brandt	Nick Willems	Henry J. Unger
1966 June 10	Herbert J. Brandt	David H. Neumann	Henry J. Unger
1967 June 2	Jacob H. Quiring	David H. Neumann	Hugo W. Jantz
1968 June 7	Jacob H. Quiring	Peter R. Toews	John H. Neumann
1969 June 6	Herman Lenzmann	Jacob H. Quiring	John H. Neumann
1970 June 5	Jacob H. Quiring	Herbert J. Brandt	John H. Neumann
1971 June 11	Jacob H. Quiring	Rudie Willms	Harry E. Pankratz
1972 June 9	Herbert J. Brandt	Rudie Willms	Harry E. Pankratz
1973 June 16	Loyal A. Funk	Rudie Willms	Leonard Doerksen
1974 June 14	Loyal A. Funk	Harold Ratzlaff	Frank Peters
1975 June 13	Loyal A. Funk	Harry Heidebrecht	Frank Peters
1976 June 11	Loyal A. Funk	Harry Heidebrecht	Frank Peters
1977 June 10	Loyal A. Funk	Harry Heidebrecht	Henry J. Unger
1978 June 9	Harry Heidebrecht	Herbert D. Neufeld	Henry J. Unger
1979 June 8	Harry Heidebrecht	Herbert D. Neufeld	Henry J. Unger
1980 June 13	Harry Heidebrecht	Herbert D. Neufeld	Henry J. Unger
1981 June 12	Herbert D. Neufeld	John Schmidt	Robert J. Friesen
1982 June 12	Herbert D. Neufeld	John Schmidt	Robert J. Friesen
1983 June 10	Harry Heidebrecht	Rudy Boschman	Robert J. Friesen
1984 June 9	Harry Heidebrecht	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Enns
1985 June 14	Harry Heidebrecht	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Enns
1986 June 13	Harry Heidebrecht	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Enns
1987 June 12	Robert J. Friesen	Bill A. Wiebe	Peter Enns
1988 June 10	Robert J. Friesen	Bill A. Wiebe	Peter Enns
1989 June 9	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Nikkel	John Lenzmann
1990 June 8	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Nikkel	John Lenzmann
1991 June 14	Herbert D. Neufeld	Reuben Pauls	John Lenzmann
1992 June 12	Herbert D. Neufeld	Reuben Pauls	John Lenzmann
1993 June 11	Herbert D. Neufeld	Reuben Pauls	Mark Burch
1994 June 10	Herbert D. Neufeld	Reuben Pauls	Mark Burch
1995 April 21	Robert J. Friesen		Mark Burch
1996 May 3	Robert J. Friesen	Mark Burch	John Lenzmann
1997 May 2	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Nikkel	Peter Enns
1998 May 1	Robert J. Friesen		Peter Enns
1999 April 30	Robert J. Friesen	Herbert D. Neufeld	Peter Enns
2000	Arnie Peters	Herbert D. Neufeld	Peter Enns
2001 May 4	Arnie Peters	Reuben Pauls	Reg Toews
2002 May 3	Christopher Douglas	Reuben Pauls	Reg Toews
2003 May 2	Christopher Douglas	Ron van Akker	Reg Toews
2004	Ron van Akker	Arnie Peters	Reg Toews
2005 April 29	Ron van Akker	Arnie Peters	Ron Redekop
2006 April 29	Ron van Akker	Larry Schram	Ron Redekop
2007 May 5	Reg Toews	Tim Williams	Ron Redekop
2008 May 3	Reg Toews	Tim Williams	Ron Redekop
2009 May 2	Reg Toews	Ron van Akker	John H. Redekop
2010 May 1	Rob Thiessen	Ron van Akker	John H. Redekop
2011 April 30	Rob Thiessen	Ron van Akker	Lorraine Dick
2012 May 5	Ron van Akker	Steve Wiens	Reuben Pauls
2013 May 4	Ron van Akker	Steve Wiens	Reuben Pauls
2014 May 3	Michael Dick	Lee Francois	Reuben Pauls

Cite This Article

MLA style

Suckau, G. H., Herbert J. Brandt and Richard D. Thiessen. "British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2012. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=British_Columbia_Conference_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches&oldid=126954.

APA style

Suckau, G. H., Herbert J. Brandt and Richard D. Thiessen. (May 2012). British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=British_Columbia_Conference_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches&oldid=126954.

British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

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