British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
1953 Article
The British Columbia Provincial Mennonite Brethren Conference was organized on 31 October 1931 with three local churches, Agassiz, Sardis, and Yarrow, having an approximate total membership of 170. Attracted by the mild climate and large farm incomes, the Mennonite Brethren membership of this area increased until 1948, after which a recession occurred, due to economic difficulties and floods. In 1949 there were 13 churches in the conference with a total membership of 3,077. The churches were located in the southwest part of British Columbia, with eleven in the Fraser Valley, one in the Okanagan Valley, and one on Vancouver Island, in an area stretching about 200 miles eastward from the Pacific coast along the United States border.
Activities in the conference at that time included Bible conferences, youth conferences, tract mission work, radio broadcasts, a city mission in Vancouver, and widespread daily vacation Bible school work. The institutions of the conference included a girls' home in Vancouver, the West Coast Children's Mission, three Bible schools in Yarrow, South Abbotsford, and East Chilliwack, and a high school in North Abbotsford. The conference was active in the resettling of European refugees and in the support of the relief program of the Mennonite Central Committee. C. C. Peters, secretary of the conference after 1948, contributed much to the establishment of the conference. -- GHS
1990 Article
The British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches was organized in 1931. Johannes A. Harder, Peter D. Loewen and Cornelius C. Peters significantly shaped the Conference in its formative years.
From its inception, the conference emphasized evangelism and Christian education. The earliest outreach activities included establishing a city mission in Vancouver, and by 1945, support of the West Coast Children's Mission. Simultaneously, much emphasis was placed on Bible conferences, Sunday School conventions, and music festivals.
During the 1970s and 1980s, priority was given to church planting, including congregations among non-English ethnic groups. The conference also supports Stillwood Camp and Conference Centre, and together with the Mennonite Church British Columbia, co-sponsors Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford.
2010 Update
In 2010 the British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches had 104 congregations and 19,698 members. The following congregations were members of the conference:
Bibliography
Minutes of the Annual Meetings (1931-1996). Clearbrook [Abbotsford], B.C.: B.C. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, published annually.
Klassen, Agatha E. Yarrow: A Portrait in Mosaic. Yarrow: A.E. Klassen, 1976.
Penner, Peter. Reaching the Otherwise Unreached. Clearbrook: West Coast Children's Mission 1959.
Toews, John A. History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, ed. A.J. Klassen. Fresno, Calif.: Mennonite Brethren Board of Literature and Publication, 1975, index, esp. 167-71.
Additional Information
Address: 101-32310 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC V2T 1X1
Telephone: 604-853-6959
Website: BC Conference of MB Churches
British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches Executive | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Election | Moderator | Assistant Moderator | Secretary |
| 1931 June 21 | | ||
| 1931 October 25 | | ||
| 1932 June 19 | K. A. Klassen | | |
| 1932 November 17 | K. A. Klassen | | |
| 1933 June 11 | K. A. Klassen | ||
| 1933 November 26 | K. A. Klassen | ||
| 1934 May 27 | | | |
| 1934 August 12 | K. A. Klassen | | |
| 1934 November 25 | |||
| 1935 November 10 | |||
| 1936 November 8 | |||
| 1937 November 21 | |||
| 1938 November 27 | |||
| 1939 November 11 | |||
| 1940 November 10 | |||
| 1941 November 2 | |||
| 1942 November 15 | |||
| 1943 November 21 | |||
| 1944 November 25 | |||
| 1945 November 3 | |||
| 1946 November 16 | |||
| 1947 November 8 | |||
| 1948 August 14 | |||
| 1949 June 11 | |||
| 1950 October 28 | |||
| 1951 June 9 | |||
| 1952 June 7 | |||
| 1953 June 6 | |||
| 1954 June 12 | |||
| 1955 June 18 | |||
| 1956 June 9 | |||
| 1957 June 9 | |||
| 1958 June 7 | |||
| 1959 June 6 | |||
| 1960 June 10 | Abram Goerz | ||
| 1961 June 9 | |||
| 1962 June 8 | |||
| 1963 June 7 | Herbert J. Brandt | Henry J. Unger | |
| 1964 June 5 | Henry J. Unger | ||
| 1965 June 11 | Herbert J. Brandt | Henry J. Unger | |
| 1966 June 10 | Herbert J. Brandt | Henry J. Unger | |
| 1967 June 2 | |||
| 1968 June 7 | |||
| 1969 June 6 | |||
| 1970 June 5 | Herbert J. Brandt | ||
| 1971 June 11 | Rudie Willms | Harry E. Pankratz | |
| 1972 June 9 | Herbert J. Brandt | Rudie Willms | Harry E. Pankratz |
| 1973 June 16 | Loyal A. Funk | Rudie Willms | Leonard Doerksen |
| 1974 June 14 | Loyal A. Funk | Harold Ratzlaff | Frank Peters |
| 1975 June 13 | Loyal A. Funk | Harry Heidebrecht | Frank Peters |
| 1976 June 11 | Loyal A. Funk | Harry Heidebrecht | Frank Peters |
| 1977 June 10 | Loyal A. Funk | Harry Heidebrecht | Henry J. Unger |
| 1978 June 9 | Harry Heidebrecht | Herbert D. Neufeld | Henry J. Unger |
| 1979 June 8 | Harry Heidebrecht | Herbert D. Neufeld | Henry J. Unger |
| 1980 June 13 | Harry Heidebrecht | Herbert D. Neufeld | Henry J. Unger |
| 1981 June 12 | Herbert D. Neufeld | Robert J. Friesen | |
| 1982 June 12 | Herbert D. Neufeld | Robert J. Friesen | |
| 1983 June 10 | Harry Heidebrecht | Rudy Boschman | Robert J. Friesen |
| 1984 June 9 | Harry Heidebrecht | Robert J. Friesen | Peter Enns |
| 1985 June 14 | Harry Heidebrecht | Robert J. Friesen | Peter Enns |
| 1986 June 13 | Harry Heidebrecht | Robert J. Friesen | Peter Enns |
| 1987 June 12 | Robert J. Friesen | Peter Enns | |
| 1988 June 10 | Robert J. Friesen | Peter Enns | |
| 1989 June 9 | Robert J. Friesen | Peter Nikkel | John Lenzmann |
| 1990 June 8 | Robert J. Friesen | Peter Nikkel | John Lenzmann |
| 1991 June 14 | Herbert D. Neufeld | Reuben Pauls | John Lenzmann |
| 1992 June 12 | Herbert D. Neufeld | Reuben Pauls | John Lenzmann |
| 1993 June 11 | Herbert D. Neufeld | Reuben Pauls | Mark Burch |
| 1994 June 10 | Herbert D. Neufeld | Reuben Pauls | Mark Burch |
| 1995 April 21 | Robert J. Friesen | | Mark Burch |
| 1996 May 3 | Robert J. Friesen | Mark Burch | John Lenzmann |
| 1997 May 2 | Robert J. Friesen | Peter Nikkel | Peter Enns |
| 1998 May 1 | Robert J. Friesen | | Peter Enns |
| 1999 April 30 | Robert J. Friesen | Herbert D. Neufeld | Peter Enns |
| 2000 | Arnie Peters | Herbert D. Neufeld | Peter Enns |
| 2001 May 4 | Arnie Peters | Reuben Pauls | Reg Toews |
| 2002 May 3 | Christopher Douglas | Reuben Pauls | Reg Toews |
| 2003 May 2 | Christopher Douglas | Ron van Akker | Reg Toews |
| 2004 | Ron van Akker | Arnie Peters | Reg Toews |
| 2005 April 29 | Ron van Akker | Arnie Peters | Ron Redekop |
| 2006 April 29 | Ron van Akker | Larry Schram | Ron Redekop |
| 2007 May 5 | Reg Toews | Tim Williams | Ron Redekop |
| 2008 May 3 | Reg Toews | Tim Williams | Ron Redekop |
| 2009 May 2 | Reg Toews | Ron van Akker | John H. Redekop |
| 2010 May 1 | Rob Thiessen | Ron van Akker | John H. Redekop |
| 2011 April 30 | Rob Thiessen | Ron van Akker | Lorraine Dick |
| 2012 May 5 | Ron van Akker | Steve Wiens | Reuben Pauls |
| Author(s) | G. H., Herbert J. Brandt Suckau |
|---|---|
| Richard D. Thiessen | |
| Date Published | May 2012 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Suckau, G. H., Herbert J. Brandt and Richard D. Thiessen. "British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2012. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=British_Columbia_Conference_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches&oldid=55109.
APA style
Suckau, G. H., Herbert J. Brandt and Richard D. Thiessen. (May 2012). British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=British_Columbia_Conference_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches&oldid=55109.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 431; vol. 5, p. 101. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.