A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

sion and commitment from 1930-1960. But the new evangelism also contained a strong emphasis on child evangelism. The subse- quent trend toward "child baptism" (children aged 7-14) changed the character of a believers church built on princi- ples of repentance and rigorous discipleship- Benjamin B. Janz addressed the problem: The more it moved to child baptism, even though it was 193 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH immersion, the more there were people without a true conversion experience, and the new life and discipline in the church became more difficult- The character of the M.B. Church, in spite of all light of scriptural understand- ing and all Christian and spiritual education , changed from a deeply pious and pure church to a solemn confes- sional people's church where Christian ethics became pri- vate judgement and was impotent for a renewal of life and walk, the hallmark of our fathers in the period of their spiritual health.12 William Bestvater, who for many years offered dynamic leadership in the Bible schools, Bible conferences and evan- gelism, drew heavily from the dispensational resources of the Cyrus L Scofield correspondence courses, Amo C. Gaebelein, William Evans, H.C. Dixon, William Riley and Harris Gregg.15 In 1920 the Canadian Conference invited Bestvater to conduct a two-month Bible course for ministers, which extended his understanding of the Scripture to the grassroots,14 The theological influences of this era were well reflected in the two textbooks written by Bestvater: Textbuecblein in Gtaubenslebrer an organization of material gathered from Scofield, Evans and Torrey; and Textbuecbletn in Btbelkunde, a compilation of materials from James Gray, Gaebelein and Scofield,1' A series of articles by Bestvater in the Zionsbote in the 1920s under the heading, uZeugniss der Scbrift (witness of the Word), also effectively disseminated teachings gathered from the same sources. The Bible school programs in the later 1920s and 1930s utilized texts with similar interpretations. Frequently used were Theodor Haarbeckrs Biblische Glaubemlehre, Der Dienst: am Evangelium in Predigt und Seelsorge and Das Cbristlicbe Leben nacb der Scbrift for courses in Bible doc- trine, pastoral theology and Christian ethics, Giesbert Stochmann's Ringet Recbty a text on Christian ethics, was 194 IDENTITY AMID DIVERSITY adopted in the 1930s and later.16 Mennonite Brethren efforts to avoid rigid creedal formula- tions allowed them to draw benefits from the evangelical communities of North America and Europe without becoming locked into a dogmatic theological system. The