Winkler Bible Institute (Winkler, Manitoba, Canada)

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Winkler Bible School, Winkler, MB.
Source: Peel's Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta
.
First instructors Reimer, Unruh and Wiens

The Winkler Bible School began in the autumn of 1925. It was the continuation of an effort of three Russian Mennonite Brethren teachers who had taught in the Tschongraw Bible School in the Crimea until the spring of 1924, namely Abraham H. Unruh (1878-1961), Gerhard J. Reimer (1885-1970), and Johann G. Wiens (1874-1951). Thus it was the Russian Mennonite immigrants to Canada in the 1920s who began this institution with the leadership and guidance of Mennonites who were descendants of the Russian Mennonites coming to Manitoba in the 1870s. Prominent were the Kroeker family, with brothers Jacob and Abram and brother-in-law John B. Dyck. A. H. Unruh was the leader of this group and of the school until 1944.

During these first nineteen years the school was a private institution. Its leaders were mostly these teachers and a few local churchmen. In the autumn of 1944 the institution came under the jurisdiction of the Manitoba Mennonite Brethren Conference and remained so until its closing in the spring of 1997.

The educational focus of the Bible school remained the Bible throughout its history. It prepared students for local congregational work and mission work in North America and abroad. During the first private era it was a four-year program with a fifth year for those students wishing to specialize. This fifth year was dropped when it became a conference institution and Mennonite Brethren Bible College was started in Winnipeg. It became a three-year program in 1961 and a two-year program in 1968 with emphasis on the Bible, Christian education, and music.

Its graduates became leaders in many facets of the Mennonite Brethren world - in missions, congregational ministries, and other ministries such as camp work. Winkler Bible Camp was begun in 1949 by the school's faculty. The Africa Mission Society was formed by former students to support other of their fellow students in mission work in Africa. Direct student involvement in the life of the community throughout the study terms each year was fostered. They conducted educational services, visitation services to hospitals and senior citizens' homes, among others. Out-of-province tours as well as Manitoba tours were undertaken by students and staff to promote the school. The school published various periodicals over the years under the editorship of faculty members.

The impact of the school in the twentieth century was felt by many individuals as well as the community. Individuals were educated with Biblical knowledge and practical application skills. The community, mainly the Mennonite Brethren community in Canada, benefited from these skills as well as the commitment of these individuals to be of service. This service was rendered worldwide as well as across Canada.

In the 1990s the school experienced declining enrollments. The factors for this were varied. The school closed in 1997 after 72 years of providing an educational experience for many youth, mostly Canadians, and in the end mostly Manitobans.

Bibliography

Pries, G. D. A Place Called Peniel: Winkler Bible Institute, 1925-1975. Winkler, MB: Winkler Bible Institute, 1975.

Additional Information

Winkler Bible Institute Teaching Personnel: 1925-1975

Name Term Years Principal
Abraham H. Unruh 1925-1944 19 1925-1944
Gerhard J. Reimer 1925-1936; 1945-1949 15
Johann G. Wiens 1926-1948; 1949-1950 23 1944-1948
Abram A. Kroeker 1929-1944 15
Abram A. Unruh 1935-1936 1
G. D. Pries 1936-1938; 1939-1953; 1962-1965; 1973-1975 21
A. H. Redekop 1936-1945 9
Nettie L. Kroeker 1938-1940 2
H. H. Redekop 1938-1939; 1941-1956 16 1948-1956
Ben Horch 1943-1945; 1948-1950 4
Dick Friesen 1946-1948 2
G. B. Dyck 1947-1950 3
G. H. Enns 1948-1950 2
Bernhard B. Boldt 1950-1957 7
John Boldt 1950-1959 9
R. C. Seibel 1950-1952 2
John H. Goossen 1952-1975 23 1959-1969
Gerhard D. Huebert 1953-1959 6 1956-1959
David K. Duerksen 1956-1959 3
W. G. Baerg 1957-1958 1
Jacob H. Quiring 1957-1958; 1959-1962 4
Jerry Hildebrand 1958-1960 2
Rudy Baerg 1959-1961 2
Herman Lenzmann 1959-1967 8
Len Doerksen 1960-1962; 1963-1969 8
Allen Andres 1961-1965 4
John Froese 1962-1969 7
Howard Dyck 1965-1967 2
John Unger 1965-1967 2
Don Wiebe 1967-1969 2
Harold Wiens 1967-1969 2
Henry R. Baerg 1969-1979 10 1969-1979
Eldon DeFehr 1969- 6
Jake Klassen 1969-1970 1
Erwin Penner 1969- 6
Peter Koslowsky 1970-1972 2
Albert Friesen 1972-1975 3
Herb Wiens 1974- 1

Winkler Bible Institute Board Members: 1925-1975

Member Term Years Chairman
J. B. Dyck 1925-1937 12
A. A. Kroeker 1925-1944 19
J. A. Kroeker 1925-1944 19
G. J. Reimer 1925-1936 11
A. H. Unruh 1925-1944 19 1925-1944
J. G. Wiens 1926-1944 18
A. A. Unruh 1935-1936 1
C. D. Pries 1936-1938; 1939-1944 7
A. H. Redekop 1936-1944 8
Nettie L Kroeker 1938-1940 2
H. H. Redekop 1938-1939; 1941-1944 4
Ben Horch 1943-1944 1
D. D. Derksen 1944-1959 15
J. P. Epp 1944-1948 4
B. B. Fast 1944-1945; 1959-1960 2
F. H. Friesen 1944-1967 23 1958-1967
H. H. Goossen 1944-1945 1
H. P. Harder 1944-1964 20 1950-1958
C. A. Konrad 1944-1946 2
H. P. Toews 1944-1945 1
H. S. Voth 1944-1953 9 1944-1950
W. W. Dyck 1944-1945; 1948-1963 16
P. Kornelsen 1944-1945 1
D. D. Durksen 1945-1948 3
D. K. Duerksen 1945-1946; 1950-1957 8
H. H. Enns 1945-1951 6
J. P. Neufeld 1946-1948 2
J. T. Voth 1946-1952 6
A. A. Dyck 1948-1951; 1952-1961 12
J. G. Wiens 1948-1951 3
P. H. C. Penner 1949-1956 7
F. E. Peters 1949-1953; 1954-1962 13
J. J. Neufeld 1951-1953 12
J. J. Krueger 1953-1962 9
J. A. Konrad 1957-1963 6
D. D. Duerksen 1959-1960 1
D. J. Reimer 1959-1961 2
B. D. Enns 1961-1968 7
D. A. Froese 1961-1964 3
J. J. Funk 1962-1964 2
Victor Toews 1962-1964 2
Henry Dick 1963-1964 1
G. P. Dyck 1957-1968; 1969-1970; 1971-1972 13
David Ewert 1963-1964 1
J. J. Peters 1963-1964 1
Don Kroeker 1964-1969 5 1967-1969
A. A. Hyde 1965-1968 3
John Wiebe 1965-1966 1
J. W. Kroeker 1967-1971 4 1969-1971
C. J. Unrau 1967-1969 2
Otto Funk 1968-1969 1
Nick Poetker 1968-1972 4 1971-1972
Henry Funk 1969-1972 3
J. Albert Reimer 1969-1970 1
Victor Dick 1970-1971 1
Peter Nickel 1970-1972 2
Dietmar Goerz 1971-1974 3 1972-1974
P. J. Doerksen 1972- 3 1974
Jake Falk 1972-1973 1
H. Martens 1972-1973 1
Jake Reimer 1972-1973; 1974- 2
J. A. Krahn 1973- 2
J. W. Kuhl 1973- 2
Ted Martens 1973- 2


Author(s) Bert Friesen
Date Published March 2015

Cite This Article

MLA style

Friesen, Bert. "Winkler Bible Institute (Winkler, Manitoba, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2015. Web. 10 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Winkler_Bible_Institute_(Winkler,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=173523.

APA style

Friesen, Bert. (March 2015). Winkler Bible Institute (Winkler, Manitoba, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 10 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Winkler_Bible_Institute_(Winkler,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=173523.




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