View source for Stobbe, Abraham J. (1905-1981)

[[File:Stobbe-NP149-1-8456.jpg|300px|thumb|right|''Abraham J. &amp; Mary Stobbe '']]
Abraham (Abe) J. Stobbe: churchman, carpenter, and farmer; born 1 November 1905 in [[Suvorovka Mennonite Settlement (Stavropol, Russia)|Suvorovka Mennonite Settlement]], [[Russia|Russia]] to John Peter and Margaretha (Friesen) Stobbe. He was the fifth child in a family of ten sons and two daughters. In 1929 he married Mary Kornelson. They had six daughters and three sons. Abe died 14 June 1981 in [[Abbotsford (British Columbia, Canada)|Abbotsford]], British Columbia (BC), Canada.

In 1911 Abe moved to [[Canada|Canada]] with his parents and siblings, settling near Laird, Saskatchewan. He committed his life to Christ in 1918 and two years later was baptized by John A. Harder in the [[Riverbend Fellowship (Borden, Saskatchewan, Canada)|Borden Mennonite Brethren Church]]. In 1929 Abe joined his parents and most of his siblings in moving to Agassiz, BC. It was here that he and Mary married. In 1933 they moved to [[Abbotsford (British Columbia, Canada)|Abbotsford]], [[British Columbia (Canada)|British Columbia]] where they started farming and were also involved in the building of the[[South Abbotsford Church (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada)| South Abbotsford Mennonite Brethren Church]].

Abe appreciated the need to take formal studies to prepare him for work in the church. His studies at [[Bethel Bible Institute (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada)|Bethany Bible School]] connected him with several early leaders in the [[Western Children's Mission|Western Children’s Mission]]. Later he attended the [[Mennonite Brethren Bible College (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)|Mennonite Brethren Bible College]] in Winnipeg for two years.

Stobbe had a passion for church outreach. After graduating from Bethany Bible School in the spring of 1939, Abe joined Peter F. Ewert, John I. Wiebe, [[Enns, Klaas (1880-1955)|Klaas Enns]] and Henry Krahn in developing a missions work in Bradner, BC. This was the beginning of the Western Children’s Mission in British Columbia (later the [[West Coast Children’s Mission of British Columbia|West Coast Children’s Mission]]). For two years Abe J. Stobbe and John I. Wiebe traveled throughout the [[Fraser Valley (British Columbia, Canada)|Fraser Valley]] to establish contact with Mennonite and German speaking people who had moved to small isolated communities. This work was instrumental in establishing permanent churches in Surrey ([[Kennedy Heights Mennonite Brethren Church (Delta, British Columbia, Canada)|Strawberry Hill]]), New Westminister ([[Queensboro Mennonite Brethren Church (New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada)|Queensborough]]), Aldergrove ([[County Line Gospel Chapel (Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada)|County Line]]), and Langley ([[South Otter Mennonite Brethren Church (Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada)|Otter Road]]).

Abe was also involved in establishing outreach programs for children in Haney (Websters Corner), and in the Mission area (Ruskin, McConnell Creek and Cedar Valley). This led to the organization of daily vacation Bible schools in these areas.

Abe J. Stobbe was active in the South Abbotsford Mennonite Brethren Church. He was much appreciated as a youth choir director, Sunday school teacher and minister, and was ordained as a minister in 1956. Abe was also active in local community agencies with the [[Mennonite Central Committee (International)|Mennonite Central Committee]] and in person-to-person prison ministries. He was an early pioneer in the Fraser Valley in bringing the Christian message to communities beyond Mennonite circles.
= Bibliography =
Stobbe, Abraham John. "Autobiography of Abraham John Stobbe." 19 May 1976.

<em class="gameo_bibliography"> Mennonite Brethren Herald</em><span class="gameo_bibliography"> (9 October 1981). </span>

<span class="gameo_bibliography">Penner, Peter. </span><em class="gameo_bibliography"><em class="gameo_bibliography">Reaching the Otherwise Unreached: An Historical Account of the West Coast Children’s Mission of B.C. </em></em><span class="gameo_bibliography"><span class="gameo_bibliography">Clearbrook: West Coast Children’s Mission of British Columbia, 1959. </span></span>

<em class="gameo_bibliography"></em><span class="gameo_bibliography"><span class="gameo_bibliography">Stobbe, Abe J. </span></span><em class="gameo_bibliography"><em class="gameo_bibliography"><em class="gameo_bibliography">South<em class="gameo_bibliography"> Abbotsford Mennonite Brethren Church<em class="gameo_bibliography"> – A History from 1932-1982. </em></em></em></em></em><span class="gameo_bibliography"><span class="gameo_bibliography"><span class="gameo_bibliography"><span class="gameo_bibliography"><span class="gameo_bibliography">Abbotsford: South Abbotsford Mennonite Brethren Church, 1982. </span></span></span></span></span>
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