Olivet Mennonite Church began in late 1959 as an offspring of Clearbrook Mennonite Church. A group of members from Clearbrook Mennonite Church wanted an English-speaking Church for themselves, their children and community. On 17 January 1960 Olivet had their first gathering with 75 attendees. Henry D. Penner led them at the Farmer’s Institute Hall on Clearbrook Streeet. For the following 17 months Olivet members worshiped at the Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute (now Columbia Bible College).  On 11 September 1960 the Olivet Mennonite Mission (the original name of the church) was officially organized as a church with 52 chartered members.

The congregation purchased property on Langdon Street, and completed their first building on 28 May 1961. The upper sanctuary was completed in 1963, and in 1972 an education wing was added. 1980 witnessed an extension to the sanctuary. Membership increased concurrently with the church building itself so that by 1985 Olivet had a total of 353 members. Olivet Mennonite Mission Church also changed its name to Olivet Mennonite Church in 1967 since it had become self-supporting and was no longer a sponsored church.

On 11 December 2004 the forty-year-old sanctuary of Olivet Mennonite Church was destroyed by fire. On 15 December of that year the congregation gathered at Garden Park Towers to worship together. The church suffered enough damage that it needed to be demolished. The congregation planned to rebuild in the same location and continue to reach out to the surrounding community. The building was torn down in August of 2005.

During this transition period, Olivet Mennonite Church held its services at Columbia Bible College just as it did when the first church building was under construction. The church offices were across town and the empty portables at the local Dormick Park Elementary school served as the location for their youth programs. Olivet completed their new building in 2007 on the same site as their previous sanctuary.

The congregation voted to discontinue their association with Mennonite Church Canada in 2006 and to leave the Mennonite Church British Columbia conference on 12 November 2007 over theological differences with both of these conferences.

Bibliography

Additional Information

Address: 2630 Langdon Street, Abbotsford BC V2T 3L2

Phone: 604-853-2139

Website: http://www3.telus.net/olivet/

Denominational Affiliations:

Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia / Mennonite Church British Columbia (1961-2007)

Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada (1961-2006)

General Conference Mennonite Church (1962-1999)

Olivet Church Leading Ministers

Minister	Years
Henry D. Penner	1960-1966
Abe Buhler	1967-1975
Henry C. Born	1975-1977
David P. Neufeld	1977-1981
Lowell Gerber (interim)	1981-1983
Art Willms	1983-1985
Lowell Gerber	1985-1987
Henry C. Born	1988-1989
Peter Penner	1990-1994
Jim Ratzlaf	1995-2004
Herb Neufeld (interim)	2005-2006
Randy Thompson	2006-present

Olivet Church Membership

Year	Members
1965	90
1975	230
1985	349
1995	281
2000	215
2005	192

 

©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.

To cite this page:

MLA style: Klix, Waylon and Andrew Klager. "Olivet Church (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2008. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/O5556.html>

APA style: Klix, Waylon and Andrew Klager. (February 2008). "Olivet Church (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/O5556.html>