A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

gh correspondence." From this report it is obvious that the conference had become actively involved in youth work. The first documentary evidence, however, for organizational involvement in youth work is found some twelve years earlier in the conference minutes of 1933. In that year, William J. Bestvater, secretary of the committee of a "Young People's Union" (Jugendbund) presented a recommendation to the conference which provided for the preparation and publication of quarterly leaflets of study helps for young people's organizations in the churches. P. R. 230 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH Lange, H. D. Wiebe and W. J. Bestvater were made responsible for the production of these study materials. 4 ' 1 The Youth Committee of the M. B. General Conference came into being at the Reedley convention in 1936. In 1937 this committee began to publish the Christian Leader, the first conference periodical in the English language dedicated to the interests of young people. P. H. Berg was appointed editor. It is rather interesting to note that this paper continued under the jurisdiction of the Youth Committee until 1951, when it became the official English organ of the conference. The 1951 General Conference Yearbook contains the earliest statistics on youth work for all districts in North America. Of special significance is the fact that in Canada the Jugenduerein was still the main youth organization, whereas in the United States the "Youth Fellowship" groups were showing substantial numerical increase. No. of churches which have a ./unciidrprcin No. of churches which do not have a Jugendverein No. of churches having an M. H. Youth Fellowship No. of churches having no M. B. Fellowship No. of churches with other youth organizations TABLE V Youth Organizations' 9 Canadian Central Southern Pacific Total District District District District 66 10 0 75 66 1 1 2 7 6 3 25 .'! 13 lft 2 15 3 12 1 17 18 32 102 75 Although youth work officially became an area conference responsibility only in 1954, youth organizations of the district conferences began to function more or less independently some ten to fifteen years earlier, and thus the youth activities of this later period are best described in terms of developments in the United States and Canada respectively. 3. Youth Work in the United States The Youth Committee of the General Conference continued to play an important role in the promotion of youth work in the M. B. churches in the United States. The major concern of this committee in the late 1930's was the strengthening and promotion of the Christian Leader as an effective youth organ. The committee also encouraged the establishment of a "Christian Fellowship" for young people in every TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE 231 congregation. 10 Two booklets were published by the Youth Committee: Your Church and You, by F. C. Peters, and Wh