A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

ith general approval, "it was not considered the answer to the American Mennonite Brethren missionary responsibility, dynamic, and potential." 12 To meet this challenge the conference passed a resolution of principle in 1898 that neither our mission nor our missionaries should be subject to or controlled by other mission societies or boards, and that other societies accepting our young people for mission service should be responsible for their financial support. 13 The same year the N. N. Hieberts were accepted for mission work in India. In 1901 Brother and Sister J. H. Pankratz and Brother and Sister D. F. Bergthold followed the Hieberts to expand the work begun among the Telegus in the state of Hyderabad in southern India. The first and only foreign mission field 198 HISTORY OF THR MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH of the conference for twenty years (1899-1919), India has continued to remain a major part of the total missionary program of the Mennonite Brethren Church. A Church Paper In the far-flung constituency of the Mennonite Brethren in North America it would have been impossible to "maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace" without a church periodical. As early as 1884, at the sixth annual conference held in Kansas, several leading brethren emphasized the need for such a denominational paper in order to keep the constituency informed and united. A committee consisting of Abraham Schellenberg, Dietrich Claassen, and John F. Harms was elected to promote publication interests, including the writing of a history of the M.B. Church. During the course of the next year "there originated within the publication committee the concept and the implementation of publishing an M.B. periodical and naming it Zionsbote."" John F. Harms, the conference secretary, was asked to serve as editor of this new "messenger" to M.B. families. Here again, as in home and foreign missions, organization and united action made such an important ministry through the printed page possible. City Missions City missions constitute the fourth general area of conference concern during this early period. Although Mennonite Brethren did not live in cities, they had occasion to become acquainted, especially through reports of evangelists, with the physical, moral, and spiritual needs of the "inner city" in several areas, especially in Hurley, Wisconsin, and in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As in most conference enterprises, only a few brethren initially felt a spiritual burden for city mission work. Among these were N. N. Hiebert (Minnesota) and J. J. Kliewer (Nebraska) who shared their concern with the brotherhood at the conference in 1907. The conference took immediate action in electing a committee of three brethren. In keeping with what seems to be a Mennonite tradition, the brethren who had expressed their convictions were elected to this committee. In addition, Jacob C. Dick was elected to serve as treasurer. Alth