A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

cess of any religious group in North America at present. Mennonite Brethren appear to be spearheading this movement in both Canada and in the Pacific District of the United States. The table on the following page shows the increase in the number and membership of city churches in the United States and Canada from 1951 to 1971." This table shows not only the overall growth of M.B. churches in urban areas, but also the relative increase in certain districts of the constituency. In both Canada and the United States Mennonite Brethren have gravitated toward the West Coast where they have established a number of city churches during the last twenty years. In two regions, Alberta and the Central District, city churches were rather late in making their appearance, but even these most rural areas of the FACING CULTURAL CHANGE 333 Mennonite Brethren Conference are now making rapid progress in urbanization. In Alberta, for instance, all four city congregations were established within a period of 12 years (1956-1968). TABLE VII Number and Membership of City M.B. Churches'"' in 1951 and 1971 United Slates 1 Mslricl Number Membership Number 1 Q7 1 Membership ("mural District 9 490 Southern District 2 197 9 1,241 I'acil'ic District 7 1,482 18 3,153 Total 9 1,679 36 4,884 Canada 1951 1971 Province Number Membership Number Membership Ontario 2 517 7 1,500 Manitoba 3 977 10 2,580 Saskatchewan 3 195 7 877 Alberta 4 522 British Columbia _3 738 12 2,189 Total 11 2,427 39 7,637 In a number of cities Mennonite Brethren have established more than one congregation. A closer study of these metropolitan centers reveals that every one of them has a large Mennonite Brethren rural hinterland which serves as a "feeder" for the city churches. In Canada this is true of Kitchener (with three M.B. churches), of St. Catharines (with two), of Winnipeg (with eight), of Saskatoon (with three), and of Vancouver (with seven). In the United States this would be true of Fresno with six congregations, and of Wichita, which has two M.B. churches. The city of Omaha, which also has three M.B. congregations, appears to be an exception to this rule. Here the missionary strategy of the conference has resulted in establishing several small churches. Studies that have analyzed migration patterns conclude that the majority of rural migrants relocate in urban centers less than one hundred miles from their point of migration. Trends in Mennonite Brethren constituencies would substantiate these findings. In Canada the urbanization process among Mennonite Brethren has 334 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH been accelerated by the immigrants from Europe after World Wars I and II. Many of those who arrived in the 1920's took up employme