A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

of C. Neufeld, Neukirch, ordained Huebert as the first elder of the Mennonite Brethren Church. Later Huebert ordained Abraham Schellenberg as his successor in the Molotschna (1876), and Daniel Fast as elder of the Kuban Mennonite Brethren Church (1877). This office was abandoned in later years, both in Russia and America, for reasons that will be considered later. The interest in missions was revived during this period. As mentioned previously, the early Brethren were attracted to the missions festivals which were held regularly in the Gnadenfeld Mennonite Church. The inspiring messages of Pfarrer Wuest and others produced a widespread interest in missions. This interest, however, was dampened and pushed into the background by the struggle for recognition and survival that followed the secession. In the spring of 1867 a new day for missions dawned for the Mennonite Brethren with the observance of their first missions festival in the spacious warehouse of Johann Fast, who operated a large lumber business in Neuhalbstadt. The guest speaker on this occasion was Abraham Unger of the Einlage Mennonite Brethren Church (Chortitza) whose message on missions was deeply appreciated by church members and visitors. From this day on the missionary vision of the Brethren expanded and deepened until it found practical expression in the commissioning of their first missionaries to India during the last decade of the nineteenth century. Another progressive step in the growth of the Molotschna Mennonite Brethren Church was the acquisition of a "meeting house" 6 in the village of Rueckenau. Rueckenau was chosen for its central location after a costly venture in the village of Ladekopp had failed. To the great relief of the pious village mayor, the Mennonite Brethren purchased the village saloon (Schenke) and transformed it into a church in 1874. Since this building was used primarily for the monthly assemblies of the entire church, as well as for inter-church Bible Conferences (Bibelbesprechungen) it soon proved to be too small. In 1883 a fine new church edifice (84'x42') was erected. An ingenious method of financing this project was accepted: since most of the members were farmers, they agreed to donate the proceeds of either one, two or three acres (depending on their landholdings) to the common church building fund. Professional people made cash contributions according to their income. This method of fund-raising proved so popular that it was retained even after the church was paid for in order to finance the erection of church buildings in new settlements. 6 Since Rueckenau became the center of Mennonite Brethren activities and 72 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH meetings, the Molotschna Church came to be known as the Rueckenau Mennonite Brethren Church. 2. Developments in Chortitza The Mennonite Brethren Church in Chortitza experienced rapid growth, right from its inception, and in early years