Revision as of 07:07, 27 October 2017

Armstrong Bible Chapel
Source: D. Giesbrecht

The Armstrong Bible Chapel began in 1976 when Hank and Alice Wiebe purchased a vacant church building. In August of that year, four families began holding Sunday school classes, and shortly after, Sunday morning services. They brought in guest speakers and had local men provide pulpit ministry as well until Jake Balzer was appointed to be their first pastor. The Balzer family began their ministry at the church in August 1977. The church became affiliated with the BC Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches in June 1979.

Around this time, the Chapel’s sanctuary seated approximately 100 people, but it was not long before church leaders recognized the need for expansion. In spring of 1978, with the help of the British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, the Chapel purchased additional land and began plans for construction. The new building did not come soon enough. In February of 1980, the original church building was so crowded that the group moved into a local school gym, which was used until construction of the new building was complete. By around 1985, the congregation consisted of 30 family units with Sunday morning attendance ranging from 95 to 110 people.

In 2015 the congregation had an average attendance of 43, down from 60 in 2010.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Richard D Thiessen
Date Published	November 2010

Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies. "Armstrong Bible Chapel." Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches: Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies. http://www.mbconf.ca/home/products_and_services/resources/published_genealogies/mb_provincial_conferences_and_church_congregation_records/british_columbia_archives/armstrong_bible_chapel_archives/ (accessed 15 March 2009).

Mennonite Brethren Herald (27 May 1988): 31.

Additional Information

Address: 2145 Rosedale Avenue, Armstrong, BC V0E 1B1

Phone: 250- 546-9696

Website: Armstrong Bible Chapel

Denominational Affiliations:

British Columbia Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches (1979-present)

Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1979-present)

General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1979-2002)

Armstrong Bible Chapel Leading Ministers

Minister	Years
Hank Wiebe	1976-1977
Jake Balzer	1977-1982
Neil Klassen	1983-1986
P. R. Toews (interim)	1987
Ted Horton	1987-1990
John Balzer	1991-1997
Greg Schmidt	1998-2006
Ken Dueck	2007-present

Armstrong Bible Chapel Membership

Year	Members
1985	83
1993	44
2000	68
2005	122
2010	37
2015	26

Maps

Map:Armstrong Bible Chapel, Armstrong, BC

Cite This Article

MLA style

Thiessen, Richard D. "Armstrong Bible Chapel (Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. November 2010. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Armstrong_Bible_Chapel_(Armstrong,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=155516.

APA style

Thiessen, Richard D. (November 2010). Armstrong Bible Chapel (Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Armstrong_Bible_Chapel_(Armstrong,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=155516.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 __FORCETOC__
 __TOC__
-[[File:ChilliwackMBChurch1950.jpg|400px|thumbnail|''Chilliwack Mennonite Brethren Church, 1949-1950 <br />
+[[File:Armstrong%20MB.jpg|400px|thumb|right|''Armstrong Bible Chapel<br />
-Creator: Henry J. Wiens (1885-1975) <br />
-Digitized by Hiebert Library. [http://callimachus.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15008coll27/id/17/rec/34 Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies]'']]
-[[File:Broadway%20MB.jpg|400px|thumb|right|''Broadway Church, Chilliwack, BC<br />
 Source: D. Giesbrecht'']]
+The Armstrong Bible Chapel began in 1976 when Hank and Alice Wiebe purchased a vacant church building. In August of that year, four families began holding Sunday school classes, and shortly after, Sunday morning services. They brought in guest speakers and had local men provide pulpit ministry as well until Jake Balzer was appointed to be their first pastor. The Balzer family began their ministry at the church in August 1977. The church became affiliated with the BC Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches in June 1979.
-Broadway [[Mennonite Brethren Church|Mennonite Brethren]] (MB) Church, located in Chilliwack, [[British Columbia (Canada)|British Columbia]], began as a daughter church of the [[Central Community Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada)|East Chilliwack Mennonite Brethren Church]]. In the mid-1940s, the recently established East Chilliwack congregation was quickly experiencing overcrowding due to the large numbers of Mennonites moving to the [[Fraser Valley (British Columbia, Canada)|Fraser Valley]] from the Canadian prairies. To relieve this situation, a group of urban members from East Chilliwack MB Church began holding their own services in the St. Thomas Anglican Hall near downtown Chilliwack. After meeting together for seven months, the new group decided to construct a new church building on the corner of Broadway and Maple. The building, measuring 72 by 44 feet, was completed and dedicated in 1947 and in the same year became a member of the [[British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches|British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches]]. The congregation was referred to as the Chilliwack Mennonite Brethren Church, a name that changed to Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church in 1970.
+Around this time, the Chapel’s sanctuary seated approximately 100 people, but it was not long before church leaders recognized the need for expansion. In spring of 1978, with the help of the [[British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches|British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches]], the Chapel purchased additional land and began plans for construction. The new building did not come soon enough. In February of 1980, the original church building was so crowded that the group moved into a local school gym, which was used until construction of the new building was complete. By around 1985, the congregation consisted of 30 family units with Sunday morning attendance ranging from 95 to 110 people.
-In 1969, the Broadway congregation decided to build a new structure on the same site. The congregation met at Little Mountain Elementary School until the new building was dedicated in early December of 1969. It had a seating capacity of 450 people. A new stage area, an enlarged foyer, a reconstructed balcony, and several other aesthetic changes were completed with volunteer labor in 1990.
+In 2015 the congregation had an average attendance of 43, down from 60 in 2010.
-For several years, the Broadway church assisted in a church plant effort in the Sardis area. In 1975, nine families left the church to form the core of the work in [[Sardis Community Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada)|Sardis Community Church]].
-[[Bergen, Jacob I. (1893-1973)|Jacob I. Bergen]] is considered the founding leader of the group, serving the church as lead minister from 1947 to 1958. [[Tiessen, Isaac Henry (1904-1999)|Isaac H. Tiessen]] (1959–1963) was the first salaried minister. Lay ministers have included Peter S. Thiessen, [[Epp, Bernard P. (1911-2006)|Bernard Epp]], [[Lenzmann, Herman (1909-2005)|Herman Lenzmann]] and [[Thielmann, Gerhard G. "George" (1909-1991)|Gerhard G. Thielmann]].
-In 2010 the congregation's membership was 333 with an average attendance of 303.
 = Bibliography =
-Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches: Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies. "Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church." (accessed 3 June 2006). [http://www.mbconf.ca/mbstudies/holdings/bc/broadway.en.html http://www.mbconf.ca/mbstudies/holdings/bc/broadway.en.html].
+<span class="gameo_bibliography">Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies. "Armstrong Bible Chapel." </span><span class="gameo_bibliography">Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches: Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies.</span><span class="gameo_bibliography"> [http://www.mbconf.ca/home/products_and_services/resources/published_genealogies/mb_provincial_conferences_and_church_congregation_records/british_columbia_archives/armstrong_bible_chapel_archives/ http://www.mbconf.ca/home/products_and_services/resources/published_genealogies/mb_provincial_conferences_and_church_congregation_records/british_columbia_archives/armstrong_bible_chapel_archives/] (accessed 15 March 2009).</span>
-''Canadian Mennonite'' (31 December 1969): 6.
-''Mennonite Brethren Herald'' (27 May 1988): 26; (12 October 1990): 18.
+''Mennonite Brethren Herald'' (27 May 1988): 31.
 = Additional Information =
-'''Address''': 46611 Maple Ave., Chilliwack, BC, V2P 2K3
+'''Address''': 2145 Rosedale Avenue, Armstrong, BC V0E 1B1
-'''Phone''': 604-792-9147
+'''Phone''': 250- 546-9696
-<strong> Website: </strong>[http://www.lifeatbroadway.com/index.html Broadway Church, Mennonite Brethren]
+'''Website''': [http://armstrongbiblechapel.community.officelive.com/ Armstrong Bible Chapel]
-'''Denominational Affiliations:'''
+'''Denominational Affiliations''':
-<span class="link-external">[http://www.bcmb.org/ British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches]</span> (1947-present)
+[http://www.bcmb.org/ British Columbia Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches] (1979-present)
-[http://www.mennonitebrethren.ca/ Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches] (1947-present)
+[http://www.mennonitebrethren.ca/ Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches] (1979-present)
-[[General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches|General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches of North America]] (1947-2002)
+[[General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches]] (1979-2002)
+=== Armstrong Bible Chapel Leading Ministers ===
-=== Broadway Church Leading Ministers ===
+{| class="wikitable"
+! Minister
-{| border="1"
+! Years
 |-
-!Pastor
+| Hank Wiebe
-!Year
+| align="right" | 1976-1977
 |-
-|[[Bergen, Jacob I. (1893-1973)|Jacob I. Bergen]]
+| Jake Balzer
-| 1947-1958
+| align="right" | 1977-1982
 |-
-|[[Tiessen, Isaac Henry (1904-1999)|Isaac H. Tiessen]]
+| Neil Klassen
-| 1959-1963
+| align="right" | 1983-1986
 |-
-|Henry Warkentin
+| [[Toews, Peter Reginald "P. R." (1916-2005)|P. R. Toews]] (interim)
-| 1964-1974
+| align="right" | 1987
 |-
-|John E. Friesen
+| Ted Horton
-| 1975-1978
+| align="right" | 1987-1990
 |-
-|[[Neumann, David (1916-2001)|David Neumann]] (interim)
+| John Balzer
-| 1979-1981
+| align="right" | 1991-1997
 |-
-|Robert J. Friesen
+| Greg Schmidt
-| 1981-2000
+| align="right" | 1998-2006
 |-
-|Wilf Richert (interim)
+| Ken Dueck
-| 2002-2003
+| align="right" | 2007-present
-|-
+|}
-|Gary Simpson
+=== Armstrong Bible Chapel Membership ===
-| 2004-present
+{| class="wikitable"
-|}
+! Year
-=== Broadway Church Membership ===
+! Members
+|-
-{| border="1"
+| 1985
-|-
+| align="right" | 83
-!Year
+|-
-!Members
+| 1993
-|-
+| align="right" | 44
-|1947
+|-
-|111
+| 2000
-|-
+| align="right" | 68
-|1950
+|-
-|182
+| 2005
-|-
+| align="right" | 122
-|1955
+|-
-|246
+| 2010
-|-
+| align="right" | 37
-|1960
+|-
-|293
+| 2015
-|-
+| align="right" | 26
-|1965
-|227
-|-
-|1971
-|276
-|-
-|1975
-|338
-|-
-|1980
-|290
-|-
-|1985
-|261
-|-
-|1990
-|238
-|-
-|1995
-|243
-|-
-|2000
-|286
-|-
-|2005
-|295
-|-
-|2010
-|333
 |}
 = Maps =
-[[Map:Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia)|Map:Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia)]]
+[[Map:Armstrong Bible Chapel, Armstrong, BC|Map:Armstrong Bible Chapel, Armstrong, BC]]
-{{GAMEO_footer|hp=|date=November 2010|a1_last=Friesen|a1_first=Hugo|a2_last=Thiessen|a2_first=Richard D.}}
+{{GAMEO_footer|hp=|date=November 2010|a1_last=Thiessen|a1_first=Richard D|a2_last= |a2_first= }}
 [[Category:Churches]]
 [[Category:British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches Congregations]]

Difference between pages "Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada)" and "Armstrong Bible Chapel (Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada)"