Fraserview Mennonite Brethren Church (Richmond, British Columbia, Canada)

From GAMEO
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Fraserview MB Church, 1954-1979.
Source: Church website
.

Migration to Vancouver in the 1940s and 1950s caused the new Vancouver Mennonite Brethren Church building to overflow. Consequently, 238 people from that congregation took initiative and purchased land in southern Vancouver on the corner of 59th Avenue and Culloden Street for the purposes of constructing a new building and organizing another Mennonite Brethren congregation. Fraserview Mennonite Brethren Church was officially established, the dedication taking place in November 1954. The first official organizational meeting took place on 29 January 1955, and the congregation joined the British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches later that year.

David Vogt and John Neufeld were elected as the congregation's first leaders. Soon, Peter R. Toews was called as the first pastor of the church in 1955.  

Discussions with Vancouver MB Church regarding the construction of a much-needed new building did not bring about the intended results, so Fraserview decided to organize a new congregation, Killarney Park Mennonite Brethren Church, and built the latter's sanctuary in 1961 in order to accommodate Fraserview's overflow.  In 1960, still in need of space, Fraserview expanded its facilities with subsequent renovations occurring in 1967-1968.  Membership continued to increase, and some families left to form Richmond Bethel Mennonite Brethren Church in 1971. 

In 1977 construction began on a new sanctuary in Richmond, south of the Fraser River, with the completed structure dedicated in May 1979.

In 2010 the congregation's membership was 216 with an average weekly attendance of approximately 300.

Bibliography

Canadian Mennonite (8 April 1955): 5; (24 November 1961): 28.

Counting Our Blessings: Fraserview Mennonite Brethren Church 1954-1978. 1978, 12 pp. Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies.

Mennonite Brethren Herald (27 May 1988): 17; (January 2013): 29.

Mennonite Reporter (23 August 1976): 9.

Additional Information

Address: 11295 Mellis Drive, Richmond, BC, V6X 1L8

Telephone: 604-270-4211

Website: Fraserview Mennonite Brethren Church

Denominational Affiliations:

British Columbia Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches (1955-present)

Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1955-present)

General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1955-200)

Fraserview MB Church Leading Ministers

Minister Years
Peter R. Toews 1955-1962
Wilmer Kornelson 1963-1967
John A. Toews 1968-1971
Loyal Funk 1972-1981
Peter R. Toews 1982-1983
Peter W. Nikkel 1983-1990
Herbert Brandt 1990-1991
Dan Unrau 1991-2013
Jerry Giesbrecht (interim) 2013-present

Fraserview MB Church Membership

Year Members
1955 230
1960 567
1965 393
1970 382
1975 335
1981 349
1985 323
1990 467
1995 219
2000 165
2005 214
2010 216

Maps

Fraserview MB Church, Richmond, BC


Author(s) Andrew Klager
Date Published December 2012

Cite This Article

MLA style

Klager, Andrew. "Fraserview Mennonite Brethren Church (Richmond, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2012. Web. 31 Oct 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Fraserview_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Richmond,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=133658.

APA style

Klager, Andrew. (December 2012). Fraserview Mennonite Brethren Church (Richmond, British Columbia, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 31 October 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Fraserview_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Richmond,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=133658.




©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.