Tofield Gospel Church (Tofield, Alberta, Canada)

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Lindbrook Mennonite Brethren Church, 1950
Creator: Henry J. Wiens (1885-1975)
Digitized by Hiebert Library. Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies

Tofield Gospel Church was started by Russian Mennonite immigrants that immigrated to Canada in the 1920s and settled at Trent Ranch, northeast of Tofield, Alberta. The group began services and formally organized in 1928 with 14 members. They met in family homes and, because transportation was difficult, not very frequently. In 1936 the Trent Ranch dissolved, and so many families moved to the Lindbrook area. In 1937–1938 many families from Crowfoot also moved the Lindbrook area. In 1939 they had outgrown family homes and so rented facilities were used for meeting places. In 1940 they decided to build their own meeting house between Tofield and Lindbrook, called the Lindbrook Mennonite Brethren Church.

In the mid-1940s the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren congregation at nearby Ryley joined the church.

In 1963 a larger meeting house was completed south of Tofield and the name of the congregation was changed to Tofield Mennonite Brethren Church. In 1971 the congregation adopted the pastor system. In 1977 the congregation again changed its name to the Tofield Gospel Church. In 1982 the congregation again built a larger meeting house north to Tofield.

By 2005 the church was struggling. Grace Road Church, which had been formed by former members of Tofield Gospel Church, had closed by 2005. In 2006 the congregation was released from membership in the Alberta Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.

Bibliography

Mennonite Brethren Herald (27 May 1988): 8.

MB Herald (29 August 1997); (22 June 2001); (11 January 2002); (21 March 2003); (11 June 2004); (29 April 2005); (28 April 2006).

Toews, John A. A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church: Pilgrims and Pioneers. Fresno, CA, 1975: 166. Available in full electronic text at: https://archive.org/details/AHistoryOfTheMennoniteBrethrenChurch.


Penner, Peter. No Longer at Arms Length: Mennonite Brethren Church Planting in Canada. Winnipeg: Kindred Press, 1987, 178 pp. Available in full electronic text at: https://archive.org/stream/NoLongerAtArmsLengthMBChurchPlantingInCanadaOCRopt?ref=ol#mode/2up.

Archival Records

Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies, Winnipeg, MB: Volume 340, Reel 54.

Additional Information

Address: Box 444, Tofield, AB T0B 4J0

Location: 5826 - 51st Street, Tofield, AB

Phone: 780-662-3415

Denominational Affiliations:

Alberta Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

Tofield Gospel Church Leading Ministers

Minister Years
Abram Froese 1928–1935
Peter J. Warkentin 1936–1959
H. Huebert 1960–1961
J. J. Dueck 1962–1965
George Quiring 1966–1970
Henry H. Epp 1971–1976
John M. Schmidt 1977–1980
P. H. Warkentin 1980–1981
Randy Benson 1981–1986
Calvin Buehler 1987–1993
Tom Peachey 1993–1997
Carl Ibbotson 1997
Wilfred Richert 1998–2001
Henry Wiebe (interim) 2001-2002
Ramon Noble 2004-

Tofield Gospel Church Membership

Year Members
1985 130
1995 118
2000 134


Author(s) Richard D Thiessen
Date Published March 2014

Cite This Article

MLA style

Thiessen, Richard D. "Tofield Gospel Church (Tofield, Alberta, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2014. Web. 12 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Tofield_Gospel_Church_(Tofield,_Alberta,_Canada)&oldid=163581.

APA style

Thiessen, Richard D. (March 2014). Tofield Gospel Church (Tofield, Alberta, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 12 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Tofield_Gospel_Church_(Tofield,_Alberta,_Canada)&oldid=163581.




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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 349. All rights reserved.


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