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Abbotsford, B.C.
MBBS-BC joins ACTS


The official ceremonies establishing Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary-British Columbia as a member of the Associated Canadian Theological Schools consortium of Trinity Western University took place Sept. 26 and 27.

The ceremonies at Central Heights MB Church, Abbotsford, and on the TWU campus in Langley, B.C., were in many ways like a commencement – both the culmination of hard work and the anticipation of success in the future.

MB Biblical Seminary, established in 1955 in Fresno, Calif., first began in British Columbia in 1995 with the opening of the B.C. Centre. Courses were primarily offered at Columbia Bible College, Abbotsford, and in churches in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver areas. However, the church-based program never attracted enough students, so negotiations began in earnest about two years ago for a change of direction. Leaders from the B.C. MB Conference, MBBS and TWU concluded that joining ACTS would be mutually beneficial, leading to the formal signing of documents at ACTS Sept. 27.

The celebration Sept. 26 drew about 700 people. MBBS President Henry Schmidt thanked TWU professor John Redekop for his leadership in negotiations with TWU, as well as for planning the ceremony.

“Partnership in ministry” was the common theme in the remarks from Schmidt; Neil Snider, president of TWU; Guy Saffold, ACTS coordinator and TWU executive vice-president; and Robert Friesen, moderator of the B.C. MB Conference.

Neil Snider, president of Trinity Western University, welcomes Henry J. Schmidt, president of MBBS, into the ACTS Seminaries consortium of TWU.

Jim Holm, MBBS dean of students and director of constituency relations, expanded on this theme: “As I searched for a word to describe this ceremony, it seemed more like a wedding than anything else – this linking of seminary partners from Canada and the United States. There are many similarities between this event and a marriage. First, there was a period of courtship during which the parties learned to know each other and began to understand how each partner thought and functioned. Then there was the formal engagement period, which culminates today in this celebration and tomorrow in the signing of the official documents.”

Holm pointed out that the partnership signals a new era in preparing church leaders for the twenty-first century. “That we are meeting in a church today is no accident. It is symbolic of the partnership between the seminary and the church to call men and women for ministry, to train them in the context of the church, and to send them to the church for leadership, to build the Kingdom of God. A seminary must be anchored in the church, and it is our intention to be so anchored.”

Using the biblical story of Ruth as the backdrop for his sermon, he explained that when Naomi and Ruth began their relationship, they didn’t know how things would work out, but throughout they experienced God’s grace.

“This is a story of grace, from one end to the other. Because of this partnership, lives were transformed. Ruth, Boaz, Naomi were each touched in absolutely unforgettable ways by the circumstances of their experiences. When they stepped out in faith, working as partners, God did things that no one could have anticipated.

“Beyond that, the Kingdom of God was further established by their faithfulness. Boaz and Ruth had a child; they named him Obed. Obed named his son Jesse, and Jesse had David, who became the greatest ruler the Hebrews ever knew. And from David’s lineage came the greatest of all kings – the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus Ruth, this foreign-born woman, who crossed cultures to live in another land and worship God, became an ancestor of Jesus, who announced, ‘The Kingdom of God is among you’.”

Similarly, MBBS-BC and ACTS begin a new partnership unsure of what course it will take, he said.

“When the partners in our story began their journey, and as they moved along together, they had no idea of the eternal significance of what they were doing. Perhaps the Kingdom of God will grow in ways we, the seminary partners in this consortium . . . cannot even imagine. We do not see the future, but we go forward in hope. And hope in Christ has never made people ashamed. Hope in God has often produced results far beyond anyone’s greatest dreams. May it be so here.”

Also at the celebration were the Concordia String Quartet, the Valley Festival Singers, and the Abbotsford Three Tenors. A covenanting ceremony took place among the three current partners of ACTS (Trinity Western Seminary, Northwest Baptist Seminary and Canadian Baptist Seminary) and the two new partners, MBBS-BC and Canadian Theological Seminary.

Schmidt; Ike Bergen, B.C. MB Conference minister; and Friesen also participated in a commissioning ceremony for the three initial staff members of MBBS-BC at ACTS: Bruce Guenther, assistant professor of history/theology; Peter Enns, associate dean; and Lynn Martens, office manager.

David and Lena Ewert with John Redekop and Henry Schmidt.

Ewert honoured

A significant portion of the celebration was the awarding of an honourary doctorate to David Ewert, long-time Mennonite Brethren educator at several institutions, including two stints at MBBS.

James Pankratz, academic dean of MBBS-California, Redekop and Schmidt presented him with the degree.

Ewert was born in 1922 in Alexanderhof, Ukraine. In 1926, he and his family immigrated to Canada, settling in southern Alberta. Ewert’s higher education took place at eight institutions, with degrees from the University of British Columbia (B.A.), Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto (B.D.), Wheaton (Ill.) College (M.A.), Luther Seminary (M.Th.) and McGill University (Ph.D.).

He taught at Coaldale (Alta.) Bible School, MB Bible College in Winnipeg for 25 years, including six as president; Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Harrisonburg, Va., and MBBS in Fresno, where he taught a total of nine years. He has also been a visiting professor at 13 seminaries and graduate schools on five continents.

He has preached in congregations throughout the US and Canada and in Brazil, Paraguay, Zambia, Kenya, Somalia, India, Switzerland, France, Germany, Latvia, Russia and Ukraine.

He is also a prolific writer. Since 1967, he has produced 17 books, 90 scholarly articles, chapters in 12 books by others and about 200 articles.

At the age of 76, he has no plans to slow down, with 60 lectures, plus several preaching engagements, scheduled in Europe before the end of 1999.  – MBBS news release

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Last modified December 6, 1999.

© 1999 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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