Bridgeway Community Church (Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada)
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| Bridgeway Community Church, Swift Current, SK Source: Saskatchewan MB Conference website |
For reasons of lack of suitable transportation to surrounding churches and growing numbers of Mennonite Brethren in the Swift Current area a group met on 23 November 1933 to discuss the feasibility of a new church and unanimously decided to start a new church. Twenty-six charter members officially founded the Swift Current Mennonite Brethren Church on 21 June 1934. The Depression prevented the construction of a church building until 1940. Until then the members met in private houses. The first building, which seated 100, was supplanted in 1959 by a 250 seat building on 15th Ave and Winnie St. In 1977 they dedicated a new 600 seat sanctuary and the name was changed to Bridgeway Community Church.
The three leaders elected in 1934 were Gerhard A. Warkentin (moderator), Isaac K. Epp (assistant), and Frank J. Peters (secretary and treasurer). While all three were also called to be lay ministers, Peters was the foremost of the three. He officiated the first baptism on 26 July 1936.
Brad Wall, the Premier of Saskatchewan (2007- ), was a member of this congregation.
Bibliography
Canadian Mennonite (26 May 1959): 1.
Mennonite Brethren Herald (27 May 1988): 64.
Mennonite Observer (11 December 1959): 3.
Penner, Peter. No Longer at Arm's Length: Mennonite Brethren Church Planting in Canada. Winnipeg, MB: Kindred Press, 1987, 178 pp.
Toews, John A. A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church: Pilgrims and Pioneers. 1975: 164.
Additional Information
Address: 510 – 13th Avenue NE, Swift Current, Saskatchewan S9H 4K1
Phone: 306-773-8945
Website: Bridgeway Community Church
Denominational Affiliation: Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
Bridgeway Community Church Pastors
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| Frank J. Peters |
1934-1957 |
| E. J. Lautermilch (first salaried) |
1957-1962 |
| David Nickel |
1962-1966 |
| Isaac Bergen |
1967-1971 |
| Peter Nikkel |
1971-1982 |
| Peter Klassen |
1982-1991 |
| Lorne Willms |
1991-1998 |
| Cory Anderson |
1998 |
| Cliff Janzen |
1999-2009 |
Bridgeway Community Church Membership
| Year |
Membership |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 33 |
| 1965 |
136 |
| 1975 |
212 |
| 1985 |
334 |
| 1994 |
251 |
| 2000 |
264 |
| 2010 |
186 |
©1996-2013 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
MLA style: Epp, Marlene and Sam Steiner. "Bridgeway Community Church (Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2011. Web. 19 June 2013. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/B7492.html.
APA style: Epp, Marlene and Sam Steiner. (August 2011). Bridgeway Community Church (Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 June 2013, from http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/B7492.html.
