Columbia Bible College, a British Columbia (BC) inter-Mennonite (British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches and Mennonite Church British Columbia) institution, is the inheritor of a well-entrenched Bible training tradition which at various times included at least nine Mennonite Bible schools in BC. However, the beginnings were modest. On 26 September 1936 the South Abbotsford Mennonite Brethren Church opened an evening Bible training program with Cornelius C. Peters (1889-1973) as teacher. The South Abbotsford Bible School functioned intermittently for several years, served by several local teachers.

In 1943 the school was renamed Bethel Bible School. Following the appointment of Franz C. Thiessen (1881-1950) as principal and William Reincke as instructor, Bethel was given a more permanent basis. With the introduction of a day program there followed a decade of steady growth. In 1944 Jacob F. Redekop (1895-1959) was appointed principal, continuing in that position for nine years. Under his leadership a four-year course of studies was introduced and then further enhanced by a "post-graduate" fifth-year program. In the process of expansion Bethel gained the support of six Abbotsford area congregations and was renamed Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute. In 1960 the BC Mennonite Brethren (MB) Conference assumed responsibility for the school, assuring its viability for the next decade as the only MB Bible training institution in BC. Prominent teachers of these years included John B. Epp (1926-    ), Henry H. Nikkel (1896-1985), Abram H. Wieler (1920-1990), George Konrad (1929-1998) and Henry C. Born (1920-2002).

Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute.  Photo from The Torch, 1950

By 1970 a further consolidation was negotiated in which the BC Conference of Mennonites and the Mennonite Brethren Conference agreed to merge their two schools, Bethel Bible Institute and Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute. The new training centre was called Columbia Bible Institute. CBI was to foster an evangelical Anabaptist emphasis with a strong loyalty towards local church ministries and a mission-oriented teaching program. During the administration of two presidents Peter R. Toews (1916-2005) and Walter Unger (1936-    ), CBI continued to expand, reaching an enrollment of 266 by 1975.

Roy Just (1921-1994)

By the end of the decade the working agreement of the two Conferences was under considerable stress. Consequently, the historic joint meeting of the COM and MB Conferences in 1982 resulted in a full partnership whereby the ownership and development of CBI would be jointly managed. Thus during the presidency of Roy Just (1921-1994) the first fully fledged inter-Mennonite Bible institute in North America was established.

Further significant institutional development was to follow shortly. Under the presidency of Walter Unger, CBI developed college status with the passing of the Columbia Bible College Act on 26 June 1987 in the B.C. Legislature. During the early 1990s CBC also gained full accreditation with the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges. The growth of CBC has resulted in a significant expansion of the curriculum (as of 1999 CBC offered eight majors), and of energetic campus development to include a new residence and a modern, automated library. Consistent with long-range planning goals of the College, student enrollment reached reached 500 in 2000 with one-half of the student body representing non-Mennonite traditions.

In its seventy-year history the school has lost much of its earlier ethnocentric flavor, although it retains a strong evangelical-Anabaptist emphasis. Maintaining close relationship with BC Mennonite churches remains a priority for the College. All regular teaching faculty have at least one masters degree and four have doctorates. CBC graduates now serve around the globe in a great variety of church and mission ministries.

Bibliography

Additional Information

Columbia Bible College website

Table 1: Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute Instructors, 1943/44-1969/70

Year	Principal / President	Other Instructors
1943-1944	Franz C. Thiessen (principal)	Wilfred Reimche
1944-1945	Jacob F. Redekop (principal)	Abram H. Wieler
1945-1946	Jacob F. Redekop (principal)	Abram H. Wieler
1946-1947	Jacob F. Redekop (principal)	Abram H. Wieler
1947-1948	Jacob F. Redekop (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, Abram H. Wieler Abraham J. Stobbe
1948-1949	Jacob F. Redekop (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, Abram H. Wieler John K. Brandt
1949-1950	Jacob F. Redekop (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, Abram H. Wieler John K. Brandt
1950-1951	Jacob F. Redekop (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, Abram H. Wieler, Herman Voth, Cornelius D. Toews
1951-1952	Jacob F. Redekop (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, Abram H. Wieler, Herman Voth, Henry P. Neufeldt
1952-1953	Jacob F. Redekop (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, Abram H. Wieler, Herman Voth, Henry P. Neufeldt
1953-1954	Jacob F. Redekop (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, Abram H. Wieler, Herman Voth, Henry P. Neufeldt
1954-1955	Jacob F. Redekop (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, Abram H. Wieler, Herman Voth, Henry P. Neufeldt
1955-1956	Abram H. Wieler (principal)	Jacob F. Redekop, Henry H. Nikkel, Herman Voth, Henry P. Neufeldt
1956-1957	Abram H. Wieler (principal)	Jacob F. Redekop, Henry H. Nikkel, Herman Voth, Henry P. Neufeldt
1957-1958	Abram H. Wieler (principal)	Jacob F. Redekop, Henry H. Nikkel, George Konrad, Henry P. Neufeldt
1958-1959	Abram H. Wieler (principal)	Jacob F. Redekop, Henry H. Nikkel, George Konrad, Henry P. Neufeldt
1959-1960	George Konrad (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, John B. Epp, Nick Willems, Henry P. Neufeldt
1960-1961	George Konrad (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, John B. Epp, Nick Willems, Henry P. Neufeldt
1961-1962	George Konrad (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, John B. Epp, Nick Willems, Helmut Janzen
1962-1963	John B. Epp (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, Nick Willems, Abram J. Klassen, Helmut Janzen
1963-1964	John B. Epp (principal)	Henry H. Nikkel, Abram J. Klassen, Henry C. Born, Helmut Janzen, Clara Thiessen
1964-1965	Henry C. Born (president)	Henry H. Nikkel, John B. Epp, Abram J. Klassen, Helmut Janzen, Clara Thiessen, Alva Humphreys
1965-1966	Henry C. Born (president)	Henry H. Nikkel, Jacob Thielmann, Victor H. Neufeld, Helmut Janzen
1966-1967	Henry C. Born (president)	Henry H. Nikkel, Jacob Thielmann, Victor H. Neufeld, Hugo Jantz, Helmut Janzen, Linda Stobbe, Alva Humphreys
1967-1968	Henry C. Born (president)	Henry H. Nikkel, Jacob Thielmann, Victor H. Neufeld, Hugo Jantz, Peter R. Toews, Helmut Janzen, Linda Stobbe, Alva Humphreys
1968-1969	Henry C. Born (president)	Henry H. Nikkel, Jacob Thielmann, Victor H. Neufeld, Hugo Jantz, Peter R. Toews, Rudy Baerg, Linda Stobbe, Alva Humphreys
1969-1970	Peter R. Toews (president)	Henry H. Nikkel, Jacob Thielmann, Hugo Jantz, Leonard N. Doerksen, Walter Unger, Rudy Baerg, Linda Stobbe, Alva Humphreys

 

 

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MLA style: Giesbrecht, David. "Columbia Bible College (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. January 2000. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 09 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/C6526.html>

APA style: Giesbrecht, David. (January 2000). "Columbia Bible College (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 09 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/C6526.html>