West Bank Bible Camp (Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada)

West Bank Bible Camp in southern Saskatchewan was part of the camping program of the Western Children’s Mission (WCM). The camping program began in 1944, and two years later Eugene Martens donated a permanent site of about six hectares. It is located five km south of Seventeen Mile Bridge and about 25 km northwest of Swift Current on the west bank of Swift Current Creek. The camp has sometimes been known locally as the Seventeen Mile Bridge Camp. Rudolph Wirscke from the Flowing Wells Mennonite Brethren Church was its first camp manager and served for six years. At the beginning E. J. Laudermilch directed the program while his wife and Emma Buller did the cooking. After Wirscke, Eugene Martens held the position of camp manger for the next 18 years. In 2010 Jerry Dennill was director.

Over the years the camp improved its facilities to include a kitchen, dining hall, chapel, trailer and recreational vehicle sites, a creation center, and 12 cabins. It enriched its program with activities such as horseback riding, swimming pool, paintball, zip-line, canoeing, and archery.

During the early years, financial support came from the Saskatchewan Mennonite Brethren Mission, with headquarters in Hepburn, Saskatchewan. Later a committee was set up in the Southern District, and West Bank Bible Camp became the property of the Southern District of the Saskatchewan Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.

Bibliography

Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies. "West Bank Bible Camp. Web. http://www.mbconf.ca/home/products_and_services/resources/published_genealogies/mb_provincial_conferences_and_church_congregation_records/saskatchewan_archives/west_bank_bible_camp__swift_current_sk/ (accessed 12 February 2013).

Penner, Peter. No Longer at Arms Length: Mennonite Brethren Church Planting in Canada. (Winnipeg, Manitoba: Kindred Press, 1987): 51. Available in full electronic text at: https://archive.org/stream/NoLongerAtArmsLengthMBChurchPlantingInCanadaOCRopt?ref=ol#mode/2up.

Additional Information

Location: 50.4809°N 107.6554°W

Address: Box 1841, Swift Current Sask. Canada, S9H 4M6  

Phone: 306-773-6815 

Website: http://www.westbankbiblecamp.com/

Affiliation: Saskatchewan Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

Maps

Map:West Bank Bible Camp (Swift Current, Saskatchewan)

Author(s)	Victor G Wiebe
Date Published	February 2013

Cite This Article

MLA style

Wiebe, Victor G. "West Bank Bible Camp (Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2013. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=West_Bank_Bible_Camp_(Swift_Current,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=163589.

APA style

Wiebe, Victor G. (February 2013). West Bank Bible Camp (Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=West_Bank_Bible_Camp_(Swift_Current,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=163589.

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