A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

r many years by the Sunday School Committee. In 1950 a youth committee was elected by the conference. This committee, in addition to organizing youth rallies and youth workers' conferences, sponsored the publication of This Way in 1958. This pamphlet, written by J. J. Toews, contains specific directives and words of counsel for young Christians. Two years earlier, a "Study Course Outline for Local Youth Groups" had been distributed in all the churches of the Ontario Conference. For a number of years, the Ontario M.B. churches sponsored six radio broadcasts in which many of the young people participated. 5 * This involvement of young people in a radio ministry also occurred in several other provinces. The Canada-wide youth rally held at the Banff School of Fine Arts on December 28 to 31, 1971, near Banff, Alberta, constitutes a milestone in the youth work of the Canadian M.B. Conference. Organized by the Board of Christian Education through its executive secretary, Wilmer Kornelson, this rally attracted young people from every province in which Mennonite Brethren live and work. From Nova Scotia in the east 3 had come, Quebec sent 1, Ontario 85, Manitoba 225, Saskatchewan 125, Alberta 65, and British Columbia 250. Seventeen came from the United States, including a small group of young people who were there to study the feasibility of a similar rally in their country and to consider the possibility of a North American rally of this kind some time in the future. The mornings were devoted to study, interaction, and training sessions and the afternoons to recreation and various special events. The addresses on "Commitment" by F. C. Peters in the evening sessions were regarded by many participants as the highlights of the Banff rally. The response of hundreds of young people to the spiritual challenge of these meetings, according to one reporter, will make "Banff the most momentous spiritual event for our brotherhood in 1971. " 60 It should also be noted that some Mennonite Brethren young people in both Canada and the United States have been involved in such inter-denominational or non-denominational youth movements as Youth 236 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH for Christ and Young Life. On university and college campuses M.B. students have often assumed a leading role in promoting Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) and Campus Crusade. III. Christian Camps in the Mennonite Brethren Constituency The history of Christian camping in the Mennonite Brethren Conference (like that of the Sunday school) still waits to be written. The spiritual impact of Christian camps on the children and young people in Mennonite Brethren communities can hardly be overestimated. Quite often when congregations listen to the testimonies of baptismal candidates, they hear accounts from young people who experienced conversion or renewal of commitment to Christ while attending a Christian camp. 1. Christi