1953 Article
2005 Update

The British Columbia Provincial Mennonite Brethren Conference was organized on 31 October 1931 with three local churches, Agassiz, Sardis, and Yarrow, having an approximate total membership of 170. Attracted by the mild climate and large farm incomes, the Mennonite Brethren membership of this area increased until 1948, after which a recession occurred, due to economic difficulties and floods. In 1949 there were 13 churches in the conference with a total membership of 3,077. The churches were located in the southwest part of British Columbia, with eleven in the Fraser Valley, one in the Okanagan Valley, and one on Vancouver Island, in an area stretching about 200 miles eastward from the Pacific coast along the United States border.

Activities in the conference at that time included Bible conferences, youth conferences, tract mission work, radio broadcasts, a city mission in Vancouver, and widespread daily vacation Bible school work. The institutions of the conference included a girls' home in Vancouver, the West Coast Children's Mission, three Bible schools in Yarrow, South Abbotsford, and East Chilliwack, and a high school in North Abbotsford. The conference was active in the resettling of European refugees and in the support of the relief program of the Mennonite Central Committee. C. C. Peters, secretary of the conference after 1948, contributed much to the establishment of the conference. -- GHS

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2005 Update

The British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches was organized in 1931. Johannes A. Harder, Peter D. Loewen and Cornelius C. Peters significantly shaped the Conference in its formative years. In 2005 the Mennonite Brethren conference was one of the largest evangelical denominations in British Columbia, with 107 congregations, 5 emerging congregations, a membership of 18,319, and a total average attendance of 27,859.

From its inception, the conference emphasized evangelism and Christian education. The earliest outreach activities included establishing a city mission in Vancouver, and by 1945, support of the West Coast Children's Mission. Simultaneously, much emphasis was placed on Bible conferences, Sunday School conventions, and music festivals.

During the 1970s and 1980s, priority was given to church planting, including congregations among non-English ethnic groups. The conference also supports Stillwood Camp and Conference Centre, and together with the Mennonite Church British Columbia, co-sponsors Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford.

Bibliography

Additional Information

Table 1: British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches Executive
(To sort the table click on a heading)

Date of Election	Moderator	Assistant Moderator	Secretary
1931 June 21	Johannes A. Harder		Jacob B. Harder Peter D. Loewen
1931 October 25	Heinrich G. Dueck		Petrus Martens Peter D. Loewen
1932 June 19	K. A. Klassen		Cornelius C. Peters Petrus Martens
1932 November 17	K. A. Klassen		Cornelius C. Peters Petrus Martens
1933 June 11	K. A. Klassen	Johannes A. Harder	Alexander Baumann Peter D. Loewen
1933 November 26	K. A. Klassen	Heinrich G. Dueck	Jacob B. Harder Cornelius C. Peters
1934 May 27	Heinrich G. Dueck
1934 August 12	K. A. Klassen		Johannes A. Harder Cornelius C. Peters
1934 November 25	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Peter D. Loewen Jacob B. Harder
1935 November 10	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Peter D. Loewen Jacob B. Harder
1936 November 8	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Peter D. Loewen Jacob B. Harder
1937 November 21	Johannes A. Harder	Heinrich G. Dueck	Cornelius C. Peters Peter D. Loewen
1938 November 27	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters Peter D. Loewen
1939 November 11	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1940 November 10	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1941 November 2	Johannes A. Harder	Heinrich G. Dueck	Cornelius C. Peters Peter D. Loewen
1942 November 15	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1943 November 21	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1944 November 25	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1945 November 3	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	Cornelius C. Peters
1946 November 16	Jacob F. Redekop	John P. Braun	Cornelius C. Peters
1947 November 8	Jacob F. Redekop	Heinrich G. Dueck	Cornelius C. Peters
1948 August 14	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	D. A. Friesen
1949 June 11	Jacob F. Redekop	Aron A. Toews	D. A. Friesen
1950 October 28	Jacob F. Redekop	Heinrich G. Dueck	D. A. Friesen
1951 June 9	Heinrich G. Dueck	Jacob F. Redekop	D. A. Friesen
1952 June 7	Heinrich G. Dueck	Johannes A. Harder	D. A. Friesen
1953 June 6	Johannes A. Harder	Jacob F. Redekop	D. A. Friesen
1954 June 12	Heinrich G. Dueck	Herman Lenzmann	D. A. Friesen
1955 June 18	Herman Lenzmann	Gerhard Thielmann	D. A. Friesen
1956 June 9	Herman Lenzmann	Gerhard Thielmann	D. A. Friesen
1957 June 9	Peter R. Toews	Gerhard Thielmann	D. A. Friesen
1958 June 7	Peter R. Toews	Herman Lenzmann	D. A. Friesen
1959 June 6	Herman Voth	Peter R. Toews	Johannes A. Harder
1960 June 10	Herman Voth	Peter R. Toews	Abram Goerz
1961 June 9	Peter R. Toews	Isaac H. Tiessen	George Konrad
1962 June 8	Peter R. Toews	Herman Voth	D. A. Friesen
1963 June 7	Henry Brucks	Herbert J. Brandt	Henry J. Unger
1964 June 5	Henry Brucks	Nick Willems	Henry J. Unger
1965 June 11	Herbert J. Brandt	Nick Willems	Henry J. Unger
1966 June 10	Herbert J. Brandt	David H. Neumann	Henry J. Unger
1967 June 2	Jacob H. Quiring	David H. Neumann	Hugo W. Jantz
1968 June 7	Jacob H. Quiring	Peter R. Toews	John H. Neumann
1969 June 6	Herman Lenzmann	Jacob H. Quiring	John H. Neumann
1970 June 5	Jacob H. Quiring	Herbert J. Brandt	John H. Neumann
1971 June 11	Jacob H. Quiring	Rudie Willms	Harry E. Pankratz
1972 June 9	Herbert J. Brandt	Rudie Willms	Harry E. Pankratz
1973 June 16	Loyal A. Funk	Rudie Willms	Leonard Doerksen
1974 June 14	Loyal A. Funk	Harold Ratzlaff	Frank Peters
1975 June 13	Loyal A. Funk	Harry Heidebrecht	Frank Peters
1976 June 11	Loyal A. Funk	Harry Heidebrecht	Frank Peters
1977 June 10	Loyal A. Funk	Harry Heidebrecht	Henry J. Unger
1978 June 9	Harry Heidebrecht	Herbert D. Neufeld	Henry J. Unger
1979 June 8	Harry Heidebrecht	Herbert D. Neufeld	Henry J. Unger
1980 June 13	Harry Heidebrecht	Herbert D. Neufeld	Henry J. Unger
1981 June 12	Herbert D. Neufeld	John Schmidt	Robert J. Friesen
1982 June 12	Herbert D. Neufeld	John Schmidt	Robert J. Friesen
1983 June 10	Harry Heidebrecht	Rudy Boschman	Robert J. Friesen
1984 June 9	Harry Heidebrecht	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Enns
1985 June 14	Harry Heidebrecht	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Enns
1986 June 13	Harry Heidebrecht	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Enns
1987 June 12	Robert J. Friesen	Bill A. Wiebe	Peter Enns
1988 June 10	Robert J. Friesen	Bill A. Wiebe	Peter Enns
1989 June 9	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Nikkel	John Lenzmann
1990 June 8	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Nikkel	John Lenzmann
1991 June 14	Herbert D. Neufeld	Reuben Pauls	John Lenzmann
1992 June 12	Herbert D. Neufeld	Reuben Pauls	John Lenzmann
1993 June 11	Herbert D. Neufeld	Reuben Pauls	Mark Burch
1994 June 10	Herbert D. Neufeld	Reuben Pauls	Mark Burch
1995 April 21	Robert J. Friesen		Mark Burch
1996 May 3	Robert J. Friesen	Mark Burch	John Lenzmann
1997 May 2	Robert J. Friesen	Peter Nikkel	Peter Enns
1998 May 1	Robert J. Friesen		Peter Enns
1999 April 30	Robert J. Friesen	Herbert D. Neufeld	Peter Enns
2000	Arnie Peters	Herbert D. Neufeld	Peter Enns
2001 May 4	Arnie Peters	Reuben Pauls	Reg Toews
2002 May 3	Christopher Douglas	Reuben Pauls	Reg Toews
2003 May 2	Christopher Douglas	Ron van Akker	Reg Toews
2004	Ron van Akker	Arnie Peters	Reg Toews
2005 April 29	Ron van Akker	Arnie Peters	Ron Redekop

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 431, v. 5, p. 101. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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

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MLA style: Suckau, G. H., Herbert J. Brandt and Richard D. Thiessen. "British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 2005. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 15 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/B751ME.html>

APA style: Suckau, G. H., Herbert J. Brandt and Richard D. Thiessen. (2005). "British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 15 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/B751ME.html>