Winkler Bible Institute (Winkler, Manitoba, Canada)

Winkler Bible School, Winkler, MB.
Source: Peel's Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta.

First instructors Reimer, Unruh and Wiens

The Winkler Bible School began in the autumn of 1925. It was the continuation of an effort of three Russian Mennonite Brethren teachers who had taught in the Tschongraw Bible School in the Crimea until the spring of 1924, namely Abraham H. Unruh (1878-1961), Gerhard J. Reimer (1885-1970), and Johann G. Wiens (1874-1951). Thus it was the Russian Mennonite immigrants to Canada in the 1920s who began this institution with the leadership and guidance of Mennonites who were descendants of the Russian Mennonites coming to Manitoba in the 1870s. Prominent were the Kroeker family, with brothers Jacob and Abram and brother-in-law John B. Dyck. A. H. Unruh was the leader of this group and of the school until 1944.

During these first nineteen years the school was a private institution. Its leaders were mostly these teachers and a few local churchmen. In the autumn of 1944 the institution came under the jurisdiction of the Manitoba Mennonite Brethren Conference and remained so until its closing in the spring of 1997.

The educational focus of the Bible school remained the Bible throughout its history. It prepared students for local congregational work and mission work in North America and abroad. During the first private era it was a four-year program with a fifth year for those students wishing to specialize. This fifth year was dropped when it became a conference institution and Mennonite Brethren Bible College was started in Winnipeg. It became a three-year program in 1961 and a two-year program in 1968 with emphasis on the Bible, Christian education, and music.

Its graduates became leaders in many facets of the Mennonite Brethren world - in missions, congregational ministries, and other ministries such as camp work. Winkler Bible Camp was begun in 1949 by the school's faculty. The Africa Mission Society was formed by former students to support other of their fellow students in mission work in Africa. Direct student involvement in the life of the community throughout the study terms each year was fostered. They conducted educational services, visitation services to hospitals and senior citizens' homes, among others. Out-of-province tours as well as Manitoba tours were undertaken by students and staff to promote the school. The school published various periodicals over the years under the editorship of faculty members.

The impact of the school in the twentieth century was felt by many individuals as well as the community. Individuals were educated with Biblical knowledge and practical application skills. The community, mainly the Mennonite Brethren community in Canada, benefited from these skills as well as the commitment of these individuals to be of service. This service was rendered worldwide as well as across Canada.

In the 1990s the school experienced declining enrollments. The factors for this were varied. The school closed in 1997 after 72 years of providing an educational experience for many youth, mostly Canadians, and in the end mostly Manitobans.

Bibliography

Pries, G. D. A Place Called Peniel: Winkler Bible Institute, 1925-1975. Winkler, MB: Winkler Bible Institute, 1975.

Additional Information

Winkler Bible Institute Teaching Personnel: 1925-1975

Name	Term	Years	Principal
Abraham H. Unruh	1925-1944	19	1925-1944
Gerhard J. Reimer	1925-1936; 1945-1949	15
Johann G. Wiens	1926-1948; 1949-1950	23	1944-1948
Abram A. Kroeker	1929-1944	15
Abram A. Unruh	1935-1936	1
G. D. Pries	1936-1938; 1939-1953; 1962-1965; 1973-1975	21
A. H. Redekop	1936-1945	9
Nettie L. Kroeker	1938-1940	2
H. H. Redekop	1938-1939; 1941-1956	16	1948-1956
Ben Horch	1943-1945; 1948-1950	4
Dick Friesen	1946-1948	2
G. B. Dyck	1947-1950	3
G. H. Enns	1948-1950	2
Bernhard B. Boldt	1950-1957	7
John Boldt	1950-1959	9
R. C. Seibel	1950-1952	2
John H. Goossen	1952-1975	23	1959-1969
Gerhard D. Huebert	1953-1959	6	1956-1959
David K. Duerksen	1956-1959	3
W. G. Baerg	1957-1958	1
Jacob H. Quiring	1957-1958; 1959-1962	4
Jerry Hildebrand	1958-1960	2
Rudy Baerg	1959-1961	2
Herman Lenzmann	1959-1967	8
Len Doerksen	1960-1962; 1963-1969	8
Allen Andres	1961-1965	4
John Froese	1962-1969	7
Howard Dyck	1965-1967	2
John Unger	1965-1967	2
Don Wiebe	1967-1969	2
Harold Wiens	1967-1969	2
Henry R. Baerg	1969-1979	10	1969-1979
Eldon DeFehr	1969-	6
Jake Klassen	1969-1970	1
Erwin Penner	1969-	6
Peter Koslowsky	1970-1972	2
Albert Friesen	1972-1975	3
Herb Wiens	1974-	1

Winkler Bible Institute Board Members: 1925-1975

Member	Term	Years	Chairman
J. B. Dyck	1925-1937	12
A. A. Kroeker	1925-1944	19
J. A. Kroeker	1925-1944	19
G. J. Reimer	1925-1936	11
A. H. Unruh	1925-1944	19	1925-1944
J. G. Wiens	1926-1944	18
A. A. Unruh	1935-1936	1
C. D. Pries	1936-1938; 1939-1944	7
A. H. Redekop	1936-1944	8
Nettie L Kroeker	1938-1940	2
H. H. Redekop	1938-1939; 1941-1944	4
Ben Horch	1943-1944	1
D. D. Derksen	1944-1959	15
J. P. Epp	1944-1948	4
B. B. Fast	1944-1945; 1959-1960	2
F. H. Friesen	1944-1967	23	1958-1967
H. H. Goossen	1944-1945	1
H. P. Harder	1944-1964	20	1950-1958
C. A. Konrad	1944-1946	2
H. P. Toews	1944-1945	1
H. S. Voth	1944-1953	9	1944-1950
W. W. Dyck	1944-1945; 1948-1963	16
P. Kornelsen	1944-1945	1
D. D. Durksen	1945-1948	3
D. K. Duerksen	1945-1946; 1950-1957	8
H. H. Enns	1945-1951	6
J. P. Neufeld	1946-1948	2
J. T. Voth	1946-1952	6
A. A. Dyck	1948-1951; 1952-1961	12
J. G. Wiens	1948-1951	3
P. H. C. Penner	1949-1956	7
F. E. Peters	1949-1953; 1954-1962	13
J. J. Neufeld	1951-1953	12
J. J. Krueger	1953-1962	9
J. A. Konrad	1957-1963	6
D. D. Duerksen	1959-1960	1
D. J. Reimer	1959-1961	2
B. D. Enns	1961-1968	7
D. A. Froese	1961-1964	3
J. J. Funk	1962-1964	2
Victor Toews	1962-1964	2
Henry Dick	1963-1964	1
G. P. Dyck	1957-1968; 1969-1970; 1971-1972	13
David Ewert	1963-1964	1
J. J. Peters	1963-1964	1
Don Kroeker	1964-1969	5	1967-1969
A. A. Hyde	1965-1968	3
John Wiebe	1965-1966	1
J. W. Kroeker	1967-1971	4	1969-1971
C. J. Unrau	1967-1969	2
Otto Funk	1968-1969	1
Nick Poetker	1968-1972	4	1971-1972
Henry Funk	1969-1972	3
J. Albert Reimer	1969-1970	1
Victor Dick	1970-1971	1
Peter Nickel	1970-1972	2
Dietmar Goerz	1971-1974	3	1972-1974
P. J. Doerksen	1972-	3	1974
Jake Falk	1972-1973	1
H. Martens	1972-1973	1
Jake Reimer	1972-1973; 1974-	2
J. A. Krahn	1973-	2
J. W. Kuhl	1973-	2
Ted Martens	1973-	2

Author(s)	Bert Friesen
Date Published	March 2015

Cite This Article

MLA style

Friesen, Bert. "Winkler Bible Institute (Winkler, Manitoba, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2015. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Winkler_Bible_Institute_(Winkler,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=173523.

APA style

Friesen, Bert. (March 2015). Winkler Bible Institute (Winkler, Manitoba, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Winkler_Bible_Institute_(Winkler,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=173523.

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