A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

frame building was erected in 1877, the first such structure built by the 1874 immigrants in America. A novel feature of the church was a four foot high partition between the men's side and the women's side. le Elder Jacob A. Wiebe continued to provide effective leadership for the Krimmer Brethren until his resignation in 1900. In 1877 the congregation was incorporated as the "Gnadenau Mennonite Church," but in 1899 the name in the charter was changed to "Crimean Mennonite Brethren Church." Popularly, however, they remained the "Krimmer Mennonite Brethren." The Gnadenau congregation grew and spread out to other areas and thus may be regarded as the "mother church" among the K.M.B. congregations in America. The year 1954 was eventful for the Gnadenau church. The Lehigh Mennonite Brethren Church, which had never been very large, amalgamated with Gnadenau. In October the pastor of the Gnadenau congregation, D. V. Wiebe, reported to the K.M.B. Conference as follows: We believe that a union of the spiritual and material resources of our groups will strengthen our fellowship and be a more effective witness for Christ in our community. It is the desire of the groups to function as a local Mennonite Brethren Church of the Southern District. 11 Although the merger question had been "in the air" for some years, the above statement caused considerable uneasiness and concern among the delegates, especially since it came from Gnadenau, the "mother church" of the conference. With this withdrawal Gnadenau accelerated the pace of the merger-movement which was consummated six years later. The combined membership of the united church stood at 155 in 1955. When fire destroyed the old church building on Christmas IIIK KKIMMKK MENNONITE UHETHREN COME TO NORTH AMERICA 181 morning in 1956, plans were made immediately to erect a new building. Since the center of church membership had shifted to the north, it was decided to erect the new church in Hillsboro. The congregation, now known as the "Parkview Mennonite Brethren Church," has doubled its membership in the last fifteen years, and appears to have profited from both — the merger and the relocation. 3. Expansion into Other Areas In Gnadenau, as elsewhere in Mennonite settlements, rapid population growth led to the migration of younger families to new areas on the vast frontier, stretching from the plains of Kansas to the prairies of Saskatchewan. The expansion of the church cannot be simply explained, however, merely in terms of population growth. Right from the beginning the Krimmer Mennonite Brethren manifested a great zeal in evangelism, winning people for Christ and organizing local congregations. The concern of the early brethren found expression in a definite strategy. At a brotherhood meeting in January, 1883, the following two resolutions were passed: (1) For sending forth (Aussending) the gospel in McPherson County and as far as Rice County, t