A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

age increase during the next seven years was only twenty-two. The socioeconomic tensions in the Molotschna colony, as well as the struggle for the inner stability in the Mennonite Brethren Church, may have influenced and retarded the rate of growth during this latter period. 1 Although approximately 465 members had been accepted into the Mennonite Brethren Church in the Molotschna from 1860 to 1872, the church had a membership of only about 200 by the time of the first General Conference (Bundeskonferenz) . There are several reasons for this anomaly. During 1865-66, a group of about twenty members withdrew from the Mennonite Brethren Church under the leadership of a man by the name of Hermann Peters. This group belonged to the faction of the Froehliche Richtung and would not accept the guidelines set forth in the June Reform. This group, which came to be known as the "Hermann Peters Congregation" developed various idiosyncrasies based on a hyper-literalism of Scripture interpretation. For instance, they believed that the bread for communion should not be cut, but only broken, and hence they were popularly nicknamed the "Breadbreakers" (Brotbrecher) . The pilgrim path of this group led first to the Crimea, around the turn of the century to Western Siberia, and from there prior to World War I to Oklahoma, U.S.A. 2 Another more important reason for the small membership in the Mennonite Brethren Church in 1872 was the relatively heavy migration of Mennonite Brethren families to the new settlements of the Kuban, Friedensfeld, Crimea, and other areas. 3 The worship services of the Mennonite Brethren underwent a marked change during this period. The earlier pietistic emphasis on informal sharing and devotional talks gave way to an emphasis on more systematic teaching and preaching. The members of the congregations seemed to be "hungry for order! order! and for lectures!"' 1 This change was accompanied by a change in language (although not without struggle) from the Low German dialect to High German in the public worship service. In the midweek Bible study hours (Bibelstunden) and smaller fellowship meetings, the Low German remained the preferred medium of communication. One of the most popular and powerful preachers of this new era was Christian Schmidt, whom the Brethren affectionately called "our Wuest" or "our Spurgeon." The development of church music in Mennonite Brethren circles will be treated later. In their church polity the Brethren moved closer to the organizational structure of the "old" church — at least in one area: the office of "elder." Although Heinrich Huebert had been ordained as "first CONSOLIDATION AND EXPANSION (1865-1885) 71 minister" in June, 1861, and had often been referred to as "elder," he was not officially designated as such until after his second ordination seven years later. In late summer, 1868, the "associate elder," Johann Fast, in a solemn ceremony, at the home