A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

led Elder Schellenberg to assist young churches with organizational problems and at ordination services. N. N. Hiebert, returned missionary from India, was sponsored by the Home Missions Committee as "traveling missionary" for the whole conference.' John F. Harms was commissioned to work among the Russian people in North Dakota and Saskatchewan." Others who served for shorter or longer periods under the Home Missions Committee were David Dyck, H. S. Voth, P. C. Hiebert, and J. J. Regier. The crucial role of this itinerant ministry for the early M.B. Church in America cannot be overemphasized. It promoted unity in faith and practice, and was the most important avenue for church extension. In 1909 the whole area of home missions was delegated to the district conferences. 9 ORGANIZATION FOR UNITED ACTION 197 Foreign Missions As mentioned earlier, the Mennonite Brethren Church was born in a missionary atmosphere in 1860. When fourteen years later the Mennonite Brethren came to the United States, they brought with them a missionary vision and concern. Although many spiritual needs of the local church and community were pressing during the pioneer era, an understanding developed in the brotherhood that missions is incomplete unless it reaches people in darkness at the ends of the earth. As early as 1879 this conviction was voiced on the conference floor. 10 Through almost one hundred years of General Conference life and activity in North America no other issue has aroused as much popular interest and received as much sustained moral and financial support as foreign missions [Aeussere Mission). It is this major concern that has welded together a brotherhood that is quite diverse in social, educational, economic and cultural interests and backgrounds. Before the Mennonite Brethren had a mission field of their own, their interest found expression in missionary giving. In 1881 action was taken to apply one-half of the conference love-offering ($26.36) to foreign missions. A year later the conference decided to send the foreign mission offering ($56.13) to the Baptist Mission in India." In 1885 a "foreign missions" committee was elected — not to supervise a mission field, which the conference did not have, but to administer mission funds. In 1889 funds were designated not only for India, but also for Africa. In 1893 a larger amount was allotted for mission work in the Cameroon field, since P. H. Wedel had volunteered for service in that country. The conference was not quite satisfied, however, with an arrangement which called for investment without supervision and control. The committee on missions began to look for a field in 1893, and discovered that there were also "heathen" closer to home who were in spiritual darkness. In 1894 a work was started among the Comanche Indians of Oklahoma, to which the Henry Kohfelds felt called. Although the support of missionaries on Baptist mission fields met w