Mennonite Church British Columbia

On 27-29 November 1936 representatives from seven organized congregations of General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM) affinity (Greendale, Vancouver, West Abbotsford, Coghlan, Black Creek, Agassiz, and Yarrow) met in the First Mennonite Church of Sardis (later known as First Mennonite Church Greendale) to establish the Konferenz der Vereinigten Mennonitengemeinden in Britisch Columbien (Conference of United Mennonite Churches of British Columbia). The conference's stated threefold purpose was to be a united force in the cause of Christ, to serve as guardian of the faith in the Anabaptist tradition, and to be a beacon to attract and draw together the many lost and straying members of the family of faith. The provincial conference was incorporated on 22 July 1940 with the following congregations officially listed as members: Oliver, Black Creek, West Abbotsford, Mission, Coghlan, Yarrow, Sardis (Greendale), and Vancouver, with a total membership of 405.

The following have been or still are major programs and institutions of the conference. Mary Martha Girls' Home, for women working in the city of Vancouver, was established in 1935. A Bible school, started in the Coghlan area of what is now known as Aldergrove in 1939, later moved to Abbotsford as Bethel Bible Institute and amalgamated with the Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute to become Columbia Bible Institute in 1970 (Columbia Bible College since 1985). Menno High School operated at Sardis, 1947-1951. Camp Squeah, nestled in the coastal mountains, has served the churches as a year-round retreat center. The conference has emphasized Sunday School teacher training throughout the years. Mission endeavors have included church planting and cross-cultural ministries with Hispanic, South-East Asian, and Indo-Canadian ethnic groups. Peace and justice issues and care for underprivileged people have largely been relegated to Mennonite Central Committee (B.C.) of which the conference continues to be an integral part. The youth organization, Women in Mission, and the Ministers and Deacons conference have played a vital role in the life of the Conference. In 1976 the conference opened an office in Clearbrook (now Abbotsford) with a full-time conference coordinator, later referred to as the conference minister. At the February 1977 annual conference sessions, a new constitution and by-laws were accepted, replacing the 1940 constitution and by-laws, and the name of the conference was changed to Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia.

The conference continued to maintain close ties with the Conference of Mennonites in Canada, which it had joined in 1937, and the General Conference Mennonite Church of North America until the transformation of the General Conference Mennonite Church and Mennonite Church into Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada. At that time the conference's denominational ties transferred to the new Mennonite Church Canada. In 2001 the Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia changed its name to Mennonite Church British Columbia as a symbol of the new Mennonite Church denominational structure in Canada, and its relationship to the new Mennonite Church Canada.

On 27 May 2007 a renewal covenant was signed by 30 of the 34 member congregations. The covenant dealt with the local congregations’ mutual relationship within MCBC and covered six areas of commitment to: essential doctrine and practice; meaningful worship and fellowship; shared ministries; discernment; mutual accountability; and service. Of the four congregations that did not sign, two signed later in 2008, while another two, First Mennonite Church Greendale (Chilliwack) and Olivet Church (Abbotsford) voted to leave the conference in the fall of 2007.

In the fall of 2011 the conference had 32 congregations with a total membership of 3,537.

Congregation	Location	Members in 2015
Bethel Mennonite Church	Langley	177
Cedar Valley Mennonite Church	Mission	138
Chinese Grace Mennonite Church	Vancouver	71
Church of the Way	Granisle	19
Crossroads Community Church	Chilliwack	265
Eben-Ezer Mennonite Church	Abbotsford	293
Eden Mennonite Church	Chilliwack	231
Emmanuel Mennonite Church	Abbotsford	289
First Mennonite Church, Burns Lake	Burns Lake	27
First Mennonite Church, Kelowna	Kelowna	74
First United Mennonite Church	Vancouver	219
First United Spanish Mennonite Church	Vancouver	57
Langley Mennonite Fellowship	Langley	147
Lao Christian Church	Abbotsford	42
Level Ground Mennonite Church	Abbotsford	174
Living Hope Christian Fellowship	Surrey	181
Living Stones Christian Fellowship		30
Mennonite Japanese Christian Fellowship	Surrey	20
North Shore Japanese Christian Church	West Vancouver	12
Peace Mennonite Church	Richmond	193
Point Grey Inter-Mennonite Fellowship	Vancouver	53
Richmond Peace Chinese Mennonite Church	Richmond	71
Sherbrooke Mennonite Church	Vancouver	183
United Mennonite Church, Black Creek	Black Creek	69
Vancouver Chinese Mennonite Church	Vancouver	80
Vancouver Vietnamese Mennonite Church	Vancouver	32
Western Hmong Mennonite Church	Maple Ridge	83
White Rock Mennonite Christian Fellowship	White Rock	57
Yarrow United Mennonite Church	Chilliwack	55
Total		3,355

Bibliography

Lehn, Cornelia. Frontier Challenge: A Story of the Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia. Clearbrook, BC: Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia, 1990.

Mennonite Church British Columbia. Mennonite Church British Columbia Fall 2011 Directory/Addresses. Abbotsford, BC: Mennonite Church British Columbia, 2011.

Additional Information

Address: 305 - 32025 George Ferguson Way, Abbotsford BC V2T 2K7

Phone: 604-850-6658

Website: Mennonite Church British Columbia

Mennonite Church British Columbia Executive

Session Number	Convention Served	Place of Convention	Chairman/Moderator	Assistant Chair/Assistant Moderator	Secretary	Treasurer/Finance Chair
01	27-29 November 1936	Sardis	Jacob H. Janzen	David A. Hausknecht	Franz P. Thiessen	P. P. Thiessen
02	13-14 January 1937	Sardis	Jacob H. Janzen		Johann Goertz
03	4 January 1938	Sardis	Nicolai Bahnmann	David A. Hausknecht	Franz P. Thiessen
04	10-11 January 1939	Sardis	Nicolai Bahnmann	Jacob B. Wiens	Franz P. Thiessen	P. P. Thiessen
05	15-17 January 1940	Abbotsford	David A. Hausknecht	Jacob B. Wiens	Franz P. Thiessen	P. P. Thiessen
06	22-24 January 1941	Coghlan	David A. Hausknecht	Jacob B. Wiens	Franz P. Thiessen	P. P. Thiessen
07	27-28 January 1942	Yarrow	David A. Hausknecht	John Julius Klassen	Abram Warkentin	P. P. Thiessen
08	27-28 January 1943	Sardis	David A. Hausknecht	Jacob B. Wiens	Abram Warkentin	P. P. Thiessen
09	5-6 February 1944	Abbotsford	David A. Hausknecht	Johann Goertz	Abram Warkentin	P. P. Thiessen
10	3-4 February 1945	Abbotsford	Johann Goertz	P. Thiessen	Abram Warkentin	P. P. Thiessen
11	13-14 January 1946	Sardis	Johann Goertz	Aron Jantzen	George G. Schmidt	J. H. Brucks
12	18-19 January 1947	Vancouver	Johann Goertz	Aron Jantzen	George G. Schmidt	J. H. Brucks
13	24-25 January 1948	Abbotsford	Wilhelm Martens	Johann Goertz	George G. Schmidt	J. H. Brucks
14	15-16 January 1949	Aldergrove	Heinrich M. Epp	Wilhelm Martens	Peter J. Froese	J. H. Brucks
15	18-19 February 1950	East Chilliwack	Heinrich M. Epp	Wilhelm Martens	Peter J. Froese	J. H. Brucks
16	13-14 January 1951	Sardis	Heinrich M. Epp	Aron Jantzen	Peter J. Froese	J. H. Brucks
17	1952	Abbotsford	Heinrich M. Epp
18	1953	Yarrow	George G. Schmidt
19	1954	Mission	Peter Froese
20	1955	Clearbrook	Peter Froese
21	1956	Vancouver First	Peter Froese
22	1957	Greendale	Gerhard I. Peters
23	1958	Aldergrove	Gerhard I. Peters
24	1959	Clearbrook	Nicolai N. Friesen			Gilbert E. Epp
25	1960	Yarrow	Nicolai N. Friesen			Gilbert E. Epp
26	1961	Vancouver First	Peter Froese			Gilbert E. Epp
27	1962	Greendale	Peter Froese			Gilbert E. Epp
28	1963	Chilliwack	Nicolai N. Friesen			Gilbert E. Epp
	Date Elected					Gilbert E. Epp
28	1963 February 15-16	Eden Mennonite	Jake Tilitzky	Henry H. Neufeld	George Nachtigal	Gilbert E. Epp
29	1964 February 14-16	Bethel Mennonite	Jake Tilitzky	Henry H. Neufeld	George Nachtigal	Gilbert E. Epp
30	1965 February 12-14	Mission United Mennonite	Jake Tilitzky	Henry H. Neufeld	George Nachtigal	Gilbert E. Epp
31	1966 February 11-13	Cedar Hills Mennonite	Henry A. Wiens	M. H. Epp	George Nachtigal	Gilbert E. Epp
32	1967 February 10-12	West Abbotsford Mennonite	Henry A. Wiens	M. H. Epp	George Nachtigal	Victor Loewen
33	1968 February 9-11	First United Mennonite Vancouver	Henry A. Wiens	Abe Buhler	George Nachtigal	Victor Loewen
34	1969 February 7-8	Olivet Mennonite	Jake Tilitzky	Abe Buhler	George Nachtigal	Victor Loewen
35	1970 February 6-7	Yarrow United Mennonite	Jake Tilitzky	Abe Buhler	George Nachtigal	Victor Loewen
36	1971 February 12-13	Greendale First Mennonite	Jake Tilitzky	David J. Nickel	George Nachtigal	Edward Becker
37	1972 February 4-5	Eden Mennonite	George Nachtigal	David J. Nickel	John H. Derksen	Edward Becker
38	1973 February 9-10	First United Mennonite Vancouver	George Nachtigal	Dietrich "Dick" Rempel	John H. Derksen	Edward Becker
39	1974 February 8-9	Eben Ezer Mennonite	George Nachtigal	Dietrich "Dick" Rempel	John H. Derksen	Helmut Penner
40	1975 February 7-8	Eden Mennonite	George Groening	Dietrich "Dick" Rempel	John H. Derksen	Victor Dyck
41	1976 February 6-7	First United Mennonite Vancouver	George Groening	Dietrich "Dick" Rempel	Dick Hildebrandt	Victor Dyck
42	1977 February 11-12	West Abbotsford Mennonite	George Groening	John Sawatzky	Jurgen Schonwetter	Victor Dyck
43	1978 February 10-11	Eden Mennonite	George Groening	John Sawatzky	Siegfried Toews	Victor Dyck
44	1979 February 16-17	First United Mennonite Vancouver	George Groening	John Sawatzky	Siegfried Toews	Victor Dyck
45	1980 February 15-16	Cedar Valley	Dietrich "Dick" Rempel	John Sawatzky	Siegfried Toews	Victor Dyck
46	1981 February 14-15	Kelowna Gospel Fellowship	Dietrich "Dick" Rempel John Sawatzky (appointed in interim)	John Sawatzky	David P. Neufeld	Lena Unger
47	1982 February 12-13	Peace Mennonite	Peter Retzlaff	Wilmer Tessman	Les Klassen	Lena Unger
48	1983 February 11-13	Olivet Mennonite	Peter Retzlaff	Wilmer Tessman	Les Klassen	Lena Unger
49	1984 February 10-12	Eden Mennonite	Peter Retzlaff	Wilmer Tessman	MaryAnne Boschman	Rudy Nickel
50	1985 February 22-23	First United Mennonite Vancouver	Peter Retzlaff Wilmer Tessman (appointed in interim)	Wilmer Tessman	MaryAnne Boschman	Rudy Nickel
51	1986 February 21-23	Eben Ezer Mennonite	Dietrich "Dick" Rempel	Wilmer Tessman	MaryAnne Boschman	Rudy Nickel
52	1987 February 20-22	Eden Mennonite	Dietrich "Dick" Rempel	Wilmer Tessman	MaryAnne Boschman	Rudy Nickel
53	1988 February 19-21	Cedar Valley	Dietrich "Dick" Rempel	Walter Paetkau	MaryAnne Boschman	Rudy Nickel
54	1989 February 17-19	Peace Mennonite	Jake Tilitzky	Walter Paetkau	MaryAnne Boschman	Rudy Nickel
55	1990 February 16-18	Kelowna Gospel Fellowship	Jake Tilitzky	Walter Paetkau	George Nachtigal	Mel Penner
56	1991 February 15-17	Bethel Mennonite	Jake Tilitzky	Walter Paetkau	George Nachtigal	Mel Penner
57	1992 June 12-13	West Abbotsford	Walter Paetkau	John Sawatzky	George Nachtigal	Mel Penner
58	1993 June 11-12	Burns Lake First Mennonite	Walter Paetkau	Rudy Nickel	Alan Dyck	John Krause
59	1994 June 3-4	Peace Mennonite	Walter Paetkau	Larry Schram	Alan Dyck	John Krause
60	1995 June 9-10	Eden Mennonite	Walter Paetkau	Larry Schram	Alan Dyck	LaVerne Peters
61	1996 June 7-8	Eben Ezer Mennonite	Walter Paetkau	Larry Schram	Alan Dyck	LaVerne Peters
62	1997 June 6-7	First United Mennonite Vancouver	Walter Paetkau	Larry Schram	Alfred Sawatzky
63	1998 June 5-6	Kelowna Gospel Fellowship	Larry Schram	Waldo Neufeld	Alan Dyck	Leona Dyck
64	1999 May 28-29	Sardis Senior Secondary School	Gerd Bartel	Waldo Neufeld	Alan Dyck	Leona Dyck
65	2000 May 26-28	Mennonite Educational Institute	Gerd Bartel	Doug Epp	Alan Dyck	Jane Andres
66	2001 May 5	Peace Mennonite	Gerd Bartel	Doug Epp	Lorin Bergen	Jane Andres
67	2002 June 8-9	Vernon Mennonite	Doug Epp	John Sawatzky	Lorin Bergen	Jane Andres
68	2003 June 6-7	Cedar Valley Mennonite	Doug Epp	John Sawatzky	Lorin Bergen	Jane Andres
69	2004 June 5	Eden Mennonite	Doug Epp	John Sawatzky	Karen H. Thiessen	Don Teichroeb
70	2005 February 26	Peace Mennonite	Doug Epp	John Sawatzky	Karen H. Thiessen	Don Teichroeb
71	2006 February 25	Eben Ezer Mennonite	Gerd Bartel	Karen H. Thiessen	Linda Matthies	Don Teichroeb
72	2007 February 24	Eden Mennonite	Gerd Bartel	Karen H. Thiessen	Linda Matthies	Eldon Krause
73	2008 February 23	Peace Mennonite	Gerd Bartel	Dan Rempel	Linda Matthies	David Niebuhr
74	2009 February 21	Cedar Valley Mennonite	Gerd Bartel	Dan Rempel	Linda Matthies	John Redekop
75	2010 April 10	Eden Mennonite	Dan Rempel	Karen H. Thiessen	Linda Hoock	John Redekop
76	2011 February 26	Living Hope Christian Fellowship	Dan Rempel	Karen H. Thiessen	Linda Hoock	John Redekop
77	2012 March 3	Emmanuel Mennonite	Dan Rempel	Karen H. Thiessen	Linda Hoock	John Redekop
78	2013 February 23	Bethel Mennonite	Leona "Lee" Dyck	Karen H. Thiessen	Tim Froese	Alan Peters
78	2014 February 23	Eden Mennonite	Leona "Lee" Dyck	Karen H. Thiessen	Rita Ewert	Alan Peters
78	2015 February 21	Peace Mennonite	Leona "Lee" Dyck	Karen H. Thiessen	Rita Ewert	Alan Peters
78	2016 February 27	Level Ground Mennonite	Leona "Lee" Dyck	Karen H. Thiessen	Rita Ewert	Gerry Grunau

Author(s)	Jacob Tilitzky
	Richard D. Thiessen
Date Published	March 2013

Cite This Article

MLA style

Tilitzky, Jacob and Richard D. Thiessen. "Mennonite Church British Columbia." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2013. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Church_British_Columbia&oldid=143194.

APA style

Tilitzky, Jacob and Richard D. Thiessen. (March 2013). Mennonite Church British Columbia. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Church_British_Columbia&oldid=143194.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, pp. 181-182. All rights reserved.

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