A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

of operation every three or four weeks. The revivals of 1924-25 are related to these renewed efforts to study the Word of God and constitute the next important phase of this "second awakening." 2. Cooperative Evangelism in Mennonite Colonies The suffering and persecution which had been the common lot of ministers and members of all churches had lowered denominational barriers sufficiently for joint endeavors in building God's kingdom. Bible conferences [Bibelbesprechungen) on an inter-church basis prepared the way for united efforts in evangelism. The fraternal spirit among ministers is reflected in the following report: Thus we spent the week together under the blessings (of God): the spirit of unity and brotherliness prevailed in our meetings, and love, the bond of perfection, united the brethren. How and through whom the various churches iRichtungen) were represented could only be ascertained from the statistical records. We had gathered under the motto of "Jesus only". . . . and we left with the consciousness "and Jesus was also there." 1 The personnel for this cooperative venture in evangelism was made available in a strange way by divine providence. In 1923 all ministers and "teachers of religion" were barred from teaching in public schools by the Communist government." It so happened that a relatively large number of Mennonite Brethren were engaged in the teaching profession. IS 'I HK SH AI1DW OF lli:AI'H 115 This was also true of the ministers in the Allianz Gemeinde and perhaps to a lesser extent, of the ministers in the Mennonite Church. With partial financial support from the congregations these men were now commissioned for evangelism. They were usually sent out "two by two" representing different churches. Aron A. Dueck, minister of the Margenau Mennonite Church and J. A. Toews, minister of the Alexandertal M.B. Church (both from the Molotschna) conducted a series of successful evangelistic campaigns together.'" These meetings were often held in public schools or halls, since not nearly all villages had a church building. (In the Molotschna there were twenty-three church buildings in a colony of fifty-eight villages in 1925). Beginning in the Molotschna colony, the revival spread to Chortitza, Zagradowka and other settlements in the Ukraine. Evangelistic teams also visited the churches in Siberia and kindled revival fires on this "eastern frontier" of Mennonitism. The ministers of the Allianz Gemeinde, because their church maintained cordial relations with both older Mennonite conferences, played a key role in this revival movement. Hundreds made public commitments to Christ in these meetings, but an even greater number, perhaps, experienced God*s forgiveness and grace as the result of personal evangelism.' 1 The revivals of 1924-25 are significant from a historical perspective since they coincided with the mass emigration to Canada (1923-26). The immigrants who came to the n