West Clearbrook Community Church (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada)

The West Clearbrook Community Church in Abbotsford, British Columbia originated through a projected outreach of the Board of Church Extension of the British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches in an area which was supposed to be called West Clearbrook but is now known as Townline Hill. The church was founded in 1989 under the leadership of Bert and Heather Kamphuis.  During the first year the church was governed by a steering committee, and they set up the operating structures and policies of the congregation. They met in the chapel of Columbia Bible College and held their charter membership meeting in September 1989. In 1990 the church became a member of the British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches with 36 charter members.

The church's philosophy was a mixture of the traditional and the contemporary. Tradition was evident in the commitment to a covenantal form of church membership. Multiple ministry was practiced in preaching, teaching and service; at one point, it was a policy that preaching would be shared 50/50 by pastor and laity. This provided the pastor freedom to pursue evangelism and allowed church members to practice or test their gifts. The church was committed to evangelical Anabaptism, the Confession of Faith and the authority of Scripture. The church was also committed to contemporary worship in order to reach the modern generation. An effort was made to reach out cross-culturally and to use the gifts of everyone. The church passed a policy to open all church positions to women.

The church was keen on outreach activities in the community, participating in missionary ventures and prison fellowship programs. By 1995 there were 108 members and there had already been discussions about finding larger facilities. Some changes in pastoral leadership took place and various people left for other locations and on mission assignments without additional persons coming in. Consequently the church decided that it was no longer viable and so the decision was made to close the church on 31 May 1998.

Bibliography

Mennonite Brethren Herald (27 October 1989): 19; (26 June 1998).

Additional Information

Location: Columbia Bible College, 2940 Clearbrook Rd., Abbotsford, BC

Denominational Affiliations:

British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1990-1998)

Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1990-1998)

General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches of North America (1990-1998)

West Clearbrook Community Church Leading Ministers

Minister	Years
Bert Kamphuis	1989-1994
Bill McGladdery	1994-1997
Ron Braun (interim)	1997-1998

West Clearbrook Community Church Membership

Year	Members
1990	36
1994	110

Author(s)	Sam Steiner
	Andrew Klager
Date Published	December 2009

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Sam and Andrew Klager. "West Clearbrook Community Church (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2009. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=West_Clearbrook_Community_Church_(Abbotsford,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=136739.

APA style

Steiner, Sam and Andrew Klager. (December 2009). West Clearbrook Community Church (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=West_Clearbrook_Community_Church_(Abbotsford,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=136739.

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