Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada)
Creator: Henry J. Wiens (1885-1975)
Digitized by Hiebert Library. Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies
Broadway Mennonite Brethren (MB) Church, located in Chilliwack, British Columbia, began as a daughter church of the East Chilliwack Mennonite Brethren Church. In the mid-1940s, the recently established East Chilliwack congregation was quickly experiencing overcrowding due to the large numbers of Mennonites moving to the Fraser Valley from the Canadian prairies. To relieve this situation, a group of urban members from East Chilliwack MB Church began holding their own services in the St. Thomas Anglican Hall near downtown Chilliwack. After meeting together for seven months, the new group decided to construct a new church building on the corner of Broadway and Maple. The building, measuring 72 by 44 feet, was completed and dedicated in 1947 and in the same year became a member of the British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. The congregation was referred to as the Chilliwack Mennonite Brethren Church, a name that changed to Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church in 1970.
In 1969, the Broadway congregation decided to build a new structure on the same site. The congregation met at Little Mountain Elementary School until the new building was dedicated in early December of 1969. It had a seating capacity of 450 people. A new stage area, an enlarged foyer, a reconstructed balcony, and several other aesthetic changes were completed with volunteer labor in 1990.
For several years, the Broadway church assisted in a church plant effort in the Sardis area. In 1975, nine families left the church to form the core of the work in Sardis Community Church.
Jacob I. Bergen is considered the founding leader of the group, serving the church as lead minister from 1947 to 1958. Isaac H. Tiessen (1959–1963) was the first salaried minister. Lay ministers have included Peter S. Thiessen, Bernard Epp, Herman Lenzmann and Gerhard G. Thielmann.
In 2020 the congregation's membership was 192 with an average attendance of 230.
Bibliography
Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches: Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies. "Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church." (accessed 3 June 2006). http://www.mbconf.ca/mbstudies/holdings/bc/broadway.en.html.
Canadian Mennonite (31 December 1969): 6.
Mennonite Brethren Herald (27 May 1988): 26; (12 October 1990): 18.
Additional Information
Address: 46611 Maple Ave., Chilliwack, BC, V2P 2K3
Phone: 604-792-9147
Website: Broadway Church, Mennonite Brethren
Denominational Affiliations:
British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1947-present)
Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1947-present)
General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches of North America (1947-2002)
Broadway Church Leading Ministers
| Pastor | Year |
|---|---|
| Jacob I. Bergen | 1947-1958 |
| Isaac H. Tiessen | 1959-1963 |
| Henry Warkentin | 1964-1974 |
| John E. Friesen | 1975-1978 |
| David Neumann (interim) | 1979-1981 |
| Robert J. Friesen | 1981-2000 |
| Wilf Richert (interim) | 2002-2003 |
| Gary Simpson | 2004-present |
Broadway Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1947 | 111 |
| 1950 | 182 |
| 1955 | 246 |
| 1960 | 293 |
| 1965 | 227 |
| 1971 | 276 |
| 1975 | 338 |
| 1980 | 290 |
| 1985 | 261 |
| 1990 | 238 |
| 1995 | 243 |
| 2000 | 286 |
| 2005 | 295 |
| 2010 | 333 |
| 2015 | 254 |
| 2020 | 192 |
Maps
Map:Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia)
| Author(s) | Hugo Friesen |
|---|---|
| Richard D. Thiessen | |
| Date Published | May 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Friesen, Hugo and Richard D. Thiessen. "Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2023. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Broadway_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Chilliwack,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=175626.
APA style
Friesen, Hugo and Richard D. Thiessen. (May 2023). Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Broadway_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Chilliwack,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=175626.
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