View source for Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute of Ontario (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)

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[[File:MBBI Kitchener (NP149-01-5773).jpg|400px|thumb|right|''Students and teachers for the first year that the school operated in Kitchener. Teachers (l-r) J.J. Toews, I.T. Ewert, principal, J. Hamm, and A.J. Block are standing in the back row. <br>Photo: Centre for MB Studies (NP149-1-5773)''.]]
Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute of Ontario (commonly referred to as the Ontario MB Conference Bible School) traces its beginnings to the Niagara Peninsula, where it became known as the [[Virgil Bible School (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada)|Virgil Bible School]], which functioned under that name 1938-1955, when the school was moved to Kitchener.  The school met in [[Kitchener Mennonite Brethren Church (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)|Kitchener Mennonite Brethren Church’s]] new education wing, beginning in October 1955. In 1957 $1,000 rent was paid to the church for the use of the facilities including all utilities. Meals were cooked in the new Education wing’s kitchen, and served in the adjoining auditorium. Students lived in the homes of members of the Kitchener church.

The school offered a two year program that was geared to Bible study and the practical application of that study. Courses included music theory, history and conducting, missions, Christian education, youth work, practical theology, doctrine, history, homiletics and language.

Activities of the students included visits to the churches by groups, choirs and special speakers; and service in institutions.
 
The Bible School Board of the [[Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches|Ontario MB Conference]] oversaw the finances and made the major decisions, the most difficult one being the decision to discontinue the school in 1964, due to the decline in enrollment. Beginning in 1965 the Ontario MB Conference advised its students to attend one of the Mennonite Brethren Bible institutes in western Canada, choosing either the one in [[Columbia Bible College (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada)|Clearbrook]], [[Bethany College (Hepburn, Saskatchewan, Canada)|Hepburn]] or [[Winkler Bible Institute (Winkler, Manitoba, Canada)|Winkler]], and paid these institutions a subsidy on a per student basis. During the restructuring of the Ontario MB Conference in 1968, the Bible School Board was renamed a Committee and placed under the administration of the Board of Education. The Bible School Committee continued to exist in the 1980s.

= Bibliography =
Boldt, Edward. <em class="gameo_bibliography">A history of the Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches 1957-1982.</em> Ontario Conference of M.B. Churches, 1982.

=== Archival Records ===
[https://cmbs.mennonitebrethren.ca/inst_records/mennonite-brethren-bible-institute-of-ontario-kitchener-on/ Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute of Ontario fonds]. 1955-1964. Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies (Winnipeg).

= Additional Information =
=== Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute of Ontario staff and faculty: 1955-1964 ===
{| class="wikitable"
! School year
! Staff & faculty
|- 
| 1955-1956
|  | Isaac T. Ewert (principal), [[Block, Abram J. (1905-1982)|Abram J. Block]], [[Toews, Jacob John "J. J." (1914-1995)|J. J. Toews]], Jacob Hamm (until Feb.10), [[Goerzen, Henry (1931-2012)|Henry Goerzen]] (after Feb. 10), P. Siemens (part-time); cooks: [[Thielman, Henry G. (1904-1985)|Mrs. Lydia Thielman]] and Miss Clara Reimer
|- 
| 1956-1957
|  | Isaac T. Ewert (principal),Abram J. Block, [[Wall, John (1923-2014)|John Wall]] (choir director); cooks: Mrs. Lydia Thielman and Miss E. Musselman
|- 
| 1957-1958
|  | [[Kornelson, Wilmer (1928-2017)|Wilmer Kornelson]] (principal), [[Warkentin, Henry (1923-2017)|Henry Warkentin]], Corny Braun, Katie Epp, John Goertz (choir director); cook: Mrs. Anna Loewen
|-
|1958-1959
|Wilmer Kornelson (principal), Henry Warkentin, John B. Epp, Katie Epp, Henry Esau ; cook: Miss Hulda Neumann
|-
|1959-1960
|Wilmer Kornelson (principal), Walter Wiebe, Henry Esau, Elizabeth Esau. Cooks: Miss Hilda Neuman, Mrs. Margarete Neufeld
|-
|1960-1961
|Wilmer Kornelson (principal), Walter Wiebe, [[Boldt, Edward (1929-2017)|Edward Boldt]], Mrs. William Baerg (music theory). Cooks: Mrs. S. Corban, Mrs. Margarete Neufeld
|-
|1961-1962
|Wilmer Kornelson (principal), [[Boldt, John (1918-1980)|John Boldt]], Paul Unger. Cooks: Mrs. S. Corban, Mrs. Margarete Neufeld
|-
|1962-1963
|Wilmer Kornelson (principal), John Boldt, Paul Unger. Cook: Miss Hulda Neumann
|-
|1963-1964
|Wilmer Kornelson (principal), John Boldt, Paul Unger
|}

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[[Category:Bible Schools]]