Central District of Mennonite Brethren Churches (United States Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches)

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1953 Article

The Central District of Mennonite Brethren Churches had its beginning as a result of a provision made by the Mennonite Brethren (MB) General Conference in 1909. This conference arranged to divide its constituency into three distinct conferences -- Northern, Central, and Southern.

According to this provision the Mennonite Brethren congregations in the states of Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Michigan, Colorado, and Oregon and those of the province Manitoba, Canada, constituted the Central District Conference. This conference convened for its first annual meeting 17 and 18 October 1910, in the MB Church at Bingham Lake, Minnesota, and organized itself. Sixteen local churches were represented by 48 delegates. These churches at that time had a total membership of 1,359.

In 1913 the churches of Manitoba withdrew and joined the Northern or Canadian District Conference, and the Central District Conference became composed solely of churches in the United States.

1987 Article

In 1987 the Central District Conference (Mennonite Brethren) consisted of 28 churches in the states of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, and Illinois. In 1960, when the Krimmer Mennonite Brethren and Mennonite Brethren churches merged, the Central District received 800 new members in South Dakota and from missions in Chicago and Omaha; the merger thus affected the Central District more than any other Mennonite Brethren conference. In 1987 the total membership was 2,350.

The conference was organized into six committees coordinated through an executive committee and a district minister. The first district minister was Waldo Wiebe (1978-86). He was succeeded by J. J. Toews. The other committees were: Reference and Counsel, Pulpit, Home Missions Board, Youth, Board of Trustees, and Women's Missionary Service. The Central District, together with the Southern, Latin American, and North Carolina districts, operated Tabor College through the Tabor College Senate. The college makes annual reports to the Central District.

The Central District is known for its deep commitment to foreign missions, home missions, and youth work. Work with Native American peoples (Indian ministries) began in 1948 at the Pineridge Indian Reservation of South Dakota. In 1987 home mission churches were located in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, South Dakota; Bismark, North Dakota; and Millard, Nebraska.

2010 Update

In 2010 the following congregations were members of the Central District Conference:

City State Congregation
Council Bluffs Iowa Iglesia Vino Nuevo
Eagan Minnesota Grace Church of Minneapolis
Mountain Lake Minnesota Community Bible Church
Shakopee Minnesota Russian Evangelical Baptist Church
Lustre Montana Lustre Mennonite Brethren Church
Wolf Point Montana Gospel Fellowship Church MB
Grant Nebraska New Life Fellowship Church
Henderson Nebraska Henderson Mennonite Brethren Church
Harvey North Dakota Harvey Mennonite Brethren Church
Minot North Dakota Bible Fellowship Church
Bridgewater South Dakota Salem Mennonite Brethren Church
Gettysburg South Dakota Grace Bible Mennonite Brethren Church
Huron South Dakota Bethesda Church
Onida South Dakota Emmanuel Mennonite Brethren Church
Porcupine South Dakota Lakota Gospel Church
Rapid City South Dakota Bible Fellowship Church
Sioux Falls South Dakota Christ Community Church of Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls South Dakota Ethiopian Christian Fellowship
Sioux Falls South Dakota Lincoln Hills Bible Church
Yale South Dakota Bethel Mennonite Brethren Church

Bibliography

Lohrenz, J. H. The Mennonite Brethren Church. Hillsboro, KS: The Mennonite Brethren Publishing House, 1950.

Mennonite Brethren General Conference Yearbook (1981): 172, 187-189.

Year Books of the Central District Conference of the MB Church, 1910-

Additional Information

Website: http://usmb.publishpath.com/central


Author(s) J. H. Lohrenz
Wesley Prieb
Date Published June 2010

Cite This Article

MLA style

Lohrenz, J. H. and Wesley Prieb. "Central District of Mennonite Brethren Churches (United States Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2010. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Central_District_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches_(United_States_Conference_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches)&oldid=115978.

APA style

Lohrenz, J. H. and Wesley Prieb. (June 2010). Central District of Mennonite Brethren Churches (United States Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Central_District_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches_(United_States_Conference_of_Mennonite_Brethren_Churches)&oldid=115978.



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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp. 541-542; vol. 5, p. 131. All rights reserved.


©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.

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