A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

n such work as Sunday School instruction, Daily Vacation Bible School, Young People's and choir work, as well as extended Mission work at home and abroad. 1,1 Through the years, over 1000 students have attended the institution. A relatively large number of the graduates have gone into foreign mission work. Outstanding teachers of this school in the thirties and forties were H. Regehr, J. F. Redekop, H. Voth and others. From 1952 to 1957 C. Braun served as principal. As a result of decreasing enrollment, the Herbert Bible School was closed in 1957 and its program was amalgamated with that of the Bethany Bible Institute at Hepburn under the jurisdiction of the Saskatchewan M. B. Conference. The Winkler Bible School The second Mennonite Brethren Bible school in Canada was established in 1925. Among the newly arrived immigrants from Russia was A. H. Unruh, a former teacher of the Bible school in the Crimea. His vision and personal commitment led to the founding of the Pniel Bible School at Winkler, Manitoba . Within two years, J. G. Wiens and J. G. Reimer, former associates of Unruh in the Crimea, likewise came to Canada and joined the staff of the new school. From the start the Winkler Bible School showed slow 260 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH but steady progress. Attendance increased each successive year and even held its own during the trying depression years. Already in 1926 staff and students moved into their own school building. Since then the school has undergone a series of expansions to accommodate an increasing student body. Attendance reached its peak in 1951-52, with an enrollment of 138. 17 A comparison between the Herbert and Winkler Bible schools reveals certain differences in perspective and emphasis. The curriculum in Winkler, especially during the early years, was patterned largely after that in Tschongraw which in turn was patterned after the curriculum of the German Baptist Seminary in Hamburg. This was inevitable given the educational and cultural background of its teachers. The emphasis on the training of ministers was a natural corollary of such a program. In Herbert, however, the pattern of the American Bible institutes found expression in curriculum and objectives. Here the emphasis was placed on missions and the preparation of Christian workers for a wider range of ministries. With the addition of the American-trained A. A. Kroeker to the staff of the Winkler Bible School, the program made greater provision for intensive training of Sunday school teachers. In later years, partly as a result of Bible school teachers' conferences, the curricula of the various Bible schools became more coordinated and uniform. For a short period (1934-35), Unruh also published a theological periodical called Die Antwort (The Answer). It was intended to stimulate the study of ethical and theological questions and to promote inter-Bible school cooperation." In the thirties