A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

to Siberia or else condemned to serve in corrective penal institutions."-" The risks of imprisonment or exile, how- ever, did not stop the Brethren from moving again and again into this ' vast and "whitened" harvest field. G. W. Peters records several in- stances of such outreach in his survey of this period."' As indicated earlier, Johann Wieler. evangelist and itinerant minister, considered the evangelization of the Russians the most important mission of the Mennonite Brethren Church. Personally he became deeply involved in work with the Baptists. In 1884 he called a conference of Russian Baptists at Novovasilewka to organize the "Union of the Russian Baptists." In 1886 Wider was clcitcil first chairman, a position he held until his flight to Rumania. The impact, anil influence of the Mennonite Brethren on the origin and development of Russian Stundism'" and the Baptist movement is generally admitted. C. D. Bondar states that "in common with the German Baptists the new Mennonites have played a prominent role in the development of the South Russian Baptism. . . Z' 21 The late A. V. Karev prominent leader and historian of the Russian Baptists after World War II, strongly emphasizes the significance of the Mennonite Brethren in the origin of the Baptist movement in Russia." In 1906 the Mennonite Brethren Conference formed a committee for evangelism among the Russian people. By 1908 nine brethren were supported by them — most of them Russians. New Testaments and tracts were distributed, often by owners of factories and flour mills to their workers and customers. Despite several imprisonments of Mennonite organizers, the work continued to grow, but it reached its greatest scope and effectiveness only after the Revolution of 1917. The missionary efforts of the Brethren, however, did not lead to the establishment of Mennonite Brethren churches among the Russians. This would have been an infringement of the law which prohibited Russians from becoming Mennonites, and would in all probability have endangered the privileges the Mennonite Brethren enjoyed with the other Mennonites. "Thus the new converts of non-Mennonite back- ground were advised to join the Baptist Church." " The missionary concern of the Brethren during the last decades of the nineteenth century was not restricted to the field of home missions. KR A OK PROSI'KRITY AND PRCKiRKSS ( 1 88. r >- I 9 ] 4 I 99 Through the reading of missionary literature their interest in the "regions beyond" was kindled and found expression in regular contributions to various mission societies, primarily German Baptist. Involvement in missions through financial support, however, did not completely satisfy the Brethren. With increased frequency they expressed the desire to send out a missionary of their own. 1 ' This aspiration was fulfilled in 1885, when a young couple, Abraham and Maria Friesen, volunteered for foreign missionary service. With the b