Open Bible Mennonite Brethren Church, Wichita, Kansas, began in connection with the weekly child evangelism Bible classes for children conducted in some of the public schools and homes of Wichita in 1946 under the sponsorship of the Board of Home Missions of the Mennonite Brethren Southern District Conference and the Wichita Mennonite Brethren Church. The Supreme Court ruling of 1948 changed the work more to home and release-time classes. In 1957 the Conference discontinued this work as its project. The work was then continued under the support of several Mennonite Brethren churches of the area. The Open Bible Mennonite Brethren Church is an outgrowth of the child evangelism classes in the Orienta section of Wichita. In 1957 the membership was 26, with Paul Kliewer as pastor.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 71. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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