Bethel Bible Institute, Photo from Echoes of Bethel 1963-1964, p. 35

With the establishment of local Mennonite congregations in British Columbia came the desire to impart religious training to young people. By 1940 the Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia supported Bible schools, popularly known as "Religionsschulen" or schools of religious instruction, in Abbotsford, Coghlan, Sardis and Yarrow, with Coghlan having commenced operations in 1939. Under the gifted leadership of Nicolai W. Bahnmann (1879-1945), a graduate of the Pedagogical School in Halbstadt (Russia) and student at the Basel Bible School, the initiative in Coghlan showed considerable promise. Nevertheless, since all of these schools represented rather modest educational efforts, the needs for a more centralized school which "would be the guardian of traditional Mennonite faith," was seriously proposed at the 1937 Ministers Conference. Three years later, delegates at the annual general meeting of the Conference instructed the Bible School Committee to plan for a single, integrated school. Subsequently land was purchased next to the West Abbotsford Mennonite Church on which both a teaching center as well as a residence were erected, thereby launching Bethel Bible Institute in 1946.

Over the next two decades Bethel developed a strong school identity, although student enrollment tended to fluctuate with the highest number reaching 61 in the 1951-52 school year and the lowest 19, in 1955-56. The school produced an annual yearbook (Echoes of Bethel), a newsletter (Contact), and developed an alumni association. Bethel Bible Institute served some 500 students and was a vibrant reflection of the churches it served, namely helping "the local church equip its members for work in the various avenues of Christian service." Cornelia Lehn notes in Frontier Challenge that by 1953 every congregation in the Conference had at least one or more students at Bethel. Over the years some 31 teachers taught at Bethel.

Two developments in the early 1950s sent shock waves through the school. The withdrawal of the West Abbotsford Mennonite Church from the Conference drastically affected student enrolment. Moreover, the perceived growing diversity of theological perspectives among faculty further eroded constituency confidence in Bethel. It was felt by some constituents that the fundamentalist and dispensationalist views among teaching faculty were inconsistent with Anabaptism, leaving the school with no clear theological direction. To the surprise of many delegates at the 1970 annual Conference, the Bethel Bible Institute Committee recommended amalgamation with the Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute, thus giving birth to Columbia Bible Institute.

It would take some time before the fears of many MC constituents regarding the loss of denominational identity and the prospect of working so intimately with the MBs would be quieted. Nevertheless, as time and cooperative experience have shown, Columbia Bible Institute represented a healthy and sustaining inter-Mennonite vision, serving the needs of young people in both denominations.

Bibliography

Additional Information

Bethel Bible Institute Instructors  

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