Pacific District Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (United States Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches)
1959 Article
The Pacific District Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Church, created in 1913, included 22 congregations with a total membership in 1957 of 5,070 distributed as follows: Washington one congregation with 187 members; Oregon two, 507; and California nineteen, 4,376. Most of the congregations were located in the San Joaquin Valley of California, with the center in Reedley. The Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary was established in Fresno in 1955 alongside the previously (1944) established Pacific Bible Institute, a junior college and Bible institute (now Fresno Pacific University). The first congregations in the conference were established in 1905 at Reedley. In 1942 an Old People's Home was established at Reedley. The Pacific District Mennonite Brethren Youth Fellowship was set up in 1948. In 1957 the conference organization included among others the Executive Committee, the Home Missions Committee, and the Sunday School Committee. -- Harold S. Bender
1987 Update
The Pacific District Conference, established in 1912 at Reedley, California, consisted of 43 congregations with an approximate membership in 1986 of 7,350. Two congregations were located in Washington, three in Oregon, thirty-seven in California, and one in Arizona. Nineteen other congregations have existed at various times but had closed by 1987. During its first few decades, the Pacific District received new members primarily through migration from mid-western Mennonite Brethren congregations, especially during 1915-1920 and 1935-1940, when the conference experienced its most significant growth. In 1987 the conference supported Fresno Pacific College (now Fresno Pacific University), a liberal arts college founded in 1944 as Pacific Bible Institute. A high school and five retirement homes were supported by various congregations within the conference, although they were not formally affiliated with the conference as a whole. Since the mid-1950s the conference has engaged in significant ministry among Hispanics in California's San Joaquin Valley; eight Pacific District congregations were primarily Hispanic in membership (1986). A Bible school, Instituto Biblico del Pacifico (Bible Institute of the Pacific) was founded in 1984. The archives of the Pacific District Conference were housed in the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies at Fresno, CA. -- Kevin Enns-Rempel
2010 Update
At the beginning of 2010 the following congregations were members of the Pacific District Conference:
City | State | Congregation |
---|---|---|
Glendale | Arizona | Copper Hills Community Church |
Phoenix | Arizona | The Bridge on Glendale |
Scottsdale | Arizona | Iglesia Getsemani |
Arleta | California | Iglesia Cristo es La Respuesta |
Bakersfield | California | Heritage Bible Church |
Bakersfield | California | Iglesia Aposento Alto |
Bakersfield | California | Iglesia Christiana Vida Nueva |
Bakersfield | California | Laurelglen Bible Church |
Bakersfield | California | Rosedale Bible Church |
Bakersfield | California | The Bridge |
Bonita | California | Bonita Japanese Bible Church |
Buena Park | California | Okhab |
Capitola | California | Shorelife Community Church |
Clovis | California | College Community Church |
Clovis | California | Eagles Harbor Community Church |
Clovis | California | New Hope Church |
Coarsegold | California | Mountain Bible Church |
Dinuba | California | Templo Calvario MB Church |
Dinuba | California | Dinuba Mennonite Brethren Church |
Downey | California | Abundant Hope Christian Center |
Fresno | California | Bethany Church |
Fresno | California | Butler Church |
Fresno | California | House of the Gospel |
Fresno | California | Iglesia Hermanos Menonita West Park |
Fresno | California | Iglesia Camino Hacia La Luz |
Fresno | California | Mountain View Community Church |
Fresno | California | North Fresno Church Japanese Chapel |
Fresno | California | North Fresno Mennonite Brethren Church |
Fresno | California | The Grove Community Church |
Fresno | California | United Faith Christian Fellowshipo |
Gardena | California | Iglesia Betania |
Hanford | California | Iglesia La Gran Comision |
Hollister | California | Iglesia Cristiana Hermanos Menonitas |
Kingsburg | California | Iglesia Agua Viva |
Kingsburg | California | Kingsburg Mennonite Brethren Church |
Lancaster | California | Le Senda Antigua de Lancaster |
Lodi | California | Vinewood Community Church |
Los Angeles | California | Bethlehem Church |
Los Angeles | California | Chief Cornerstone Mission Church |
Los Angeles | California | City Terrace Bible Church |
Los Angeles | California | Iglesia Cristiana Esparanza Mia |
Los Angeles | California | World Blessing Mission Church |
Madera | California | Iglesia Biblica Filadelfia |
Madera | California | Madera Avenue Bible Church |
Manteca | California | Los Hechos Manteca |
Modesto | California | Torre Fuerte MB Church |
North Highlands | California | Evangelical Church Immanuel of Christian Faith |
Northridge | California | Oneness in Christ Church MB |
Orange Cove | California | Iglesia El Buen Pastor |
Orland | California | Country Bible Church |
Orosi | California | La Paz Mennonite Brethren Church |
Pacoima | California | Iglesia de Restauracion La Senda Antigua |
Parlier | California | Iglesia Fuente de Vida |
Perris | California | Iglesia Comunidad Christiana Emanuel |
Raisin City | California | Iglesia de la Comunidad |
Rancho Cordova | California | Living Stones Baptist Church (MB) |
Reedley | California | El Faro Community Church |
Reedley | California | Reedley Mennonite Brethren Church |
Sacramento | California | Ethiopian Christian Fellowship |
Sacramento | California | Greenhaven Neighborhood Church |
Sacramento | California | House of Prayer |
Sacramento | California | Melchizedek MB Church |
Sacramento | California | Sacramento Bible Church - Mennonite Brethren |
Sacramento | California | Ukrainian Mission Church |
San Diego | California | Light of the World |
San Jose | California | Blossom Valley Bible Church |
San Jose | California | Ethiopian Christian Fellowship |
San Jose | California | Lincoln Glen Church |
Sanger | California | Grace Community Church |
Sanger | California | Iglesia La Roca |
Santa Clara | California | El Camino Bible Church |
Santa Clara | California | Indian Community Church |
Shafter | California | Iglesia Companerismo Cristiano |
Shafter | California | Shafter Mennonite Brethren Church |
Sun Valley | California | Iglesia Cristiana Sinai |
Traver | California | Templo de Oracion |
Upland | California | Grace Chinese MB Church |
Visalia | California | Neighborhood Community Church |
Watsonville | California | Los Hechos de Watsonville |
Eugene | Oregon | North Park Community Church |
Fairview | Oregon | Slavic Evangelical Church "Sulamita" |
Fairview | Oregon | Ukrainian Bible Church |
Grants Pass | Oregon | New Hope Bible Church |
Hillsboro | Oregon | Iglesia Cristiana Hermanos Menonitas |
Milwaukie | Oregon | Ukrainian Bible Church - Pathway to God |
Portland | Oregon | New Life Missionary Church |
Portland | Oregon | Primera Iglesia Hispana Ebenezer |
Portland | Oregon | The Love of God International Ministries |
Salem | Oregon | First Slavic Baptist Church |
Salem | Oregon | Kingwood Bible Church |
Salem | Oregon | Slavic Christian Church |
Draper | Utah | South Mountain Community Church |
South Jordan | Utah | SMCC at Daybreak |
St. George | Utah | SMCC at The Springs |
West Jordan | Utah | Shadow Mountain Community Church |
Battle Ground | Washington | Smirna Christian Church |
Battle Ground | Washington | Word of Grace Bible Church |
Bellevue | Washington | Victory Christian Center |
Blaine | Washington | Birch Bay Community Church |
Bothell | Washington | Church of the Living God |
Edgewood | Washington | Salvation Slavic Baptist Church |
Everett | Washington | Full Gospel Mission Church |
Everett | Washington | Harvest Christian Center International |
Ferndale | Washington | Good News Fellowship |
Lakewood | Washington | Grace Slavic Baptist Church |
Lynden | Washington | Slavic Gospel Chapel |
Mukilteo | Washington | Sulamita Slavic Church |
Seattle | Washington | Medhane-Alem Evangelical Church |
South Auburn | Washington | Zion Castle Church |
Spokane | Washington | Light of the Gospel |
Spokane | Washington | Pilgrim Slavic Baptist MB Church |
Tacoma | Washington | Slavic Christian Center |
Vancouver | Washington | Calvary Slavic Christian |
Vancouver | Washington | Grace Slavic Church |
Vancouver | Washington | Slavic Evangelical Church |
Bibliography
Lohrenz, J. H. The Mennonite Brethren Church. Hillsboro, KS, 1950: 159-176.
Toews, John A. History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, ed. A. J. Klassen. Fresno, CA: Mennonite Brethren Board of Literature and Education, 1975: 146-149, 202, 205, 209.
Year book of the Pacific District Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1912 and following).
Additional Information
Website: http://www.pdcmbc.org/
Author(s) | Harold S. Bender |
---|---|
Kevin Enns-Rempel | |
Date Published | June 2010 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Bender, Harold S. and Kevin Enns-Rempel. "Pacific District Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (United States Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2010. Web. 27 Aug 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pacific_District_Conference_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches_(United_States_Conference_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches)&oldid=76795.
APA style
Bender, Harold S. and Kevin Enns-Rempel. (June 2010). Pacific District Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (United States Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 27 August 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pacific_District_Conference_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches_(United_States_Conference_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches)&oldid=76795.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 104; vol. 5, p. 666. All rights reserved.
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