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In 1944, my father, Jacob F. Redekop, accepted an invitation to teach at the fledgling Mennonite Brethren Bible School in Abbotsford, B.C. He taught there for 13 years, serving as principal 1946-1955. When I attended in 1951-52, the five teachers were my father, my brother~-in-law Abraham H. Wieler, my future father-in-law Henry H. Nikkel, Herman Voth and H.P. Neufeldt, who taught music.
The school was heavily "ethnocentric". To the best of my knowledge, every student came from a Mennonite Brethren home. Moreover, the ethnocentricity had rather narrow boundaries. I believe that in 1951-52 every student came from British Columbia. Our "foreign" students came from Kelowna and Black Creek.
The school was strongly evangelical and, in part, fundamentalist. The evangelical emphasis permeated all the courses and also shone through in the street meetings we conducted, the tracts we handed out and the songs we sang. The fundamentalist emphasis came through in courses such as False Cults, Prophecy, and Dispensational Study. Clarence Larkin's Dispensational Truth may not have been a required text (perhaps because of the high cost), but it was certainly a standard reference work. Fundamentalist perspectives were also central in the heavy discussions about several controversial questions, most notably whether the recently published Revised Standard Version of the Bible could be trusted.
The school was not challenging academically. I found the third year significantly easier than grade 13. No course demanded extensive reading or essay writing. In many courses, the main text was the Bible, which we studied with considerable diligence and success.
No teacher had an academic degree beyond a bachelor's. None were involved in any sustained research or writing--their extremely heavy teaching loads made such pursuits almost impossible. They were, however, all very enthusiastic and effective teachers. All, except perhaps our music teacher, preached a great deal.
The teachers seemed to be exceptionally charitable in their marking. Almost all marks ranged between 85 and 100.
The school was not particularly Anabaptist. This theology and lifestyle was not presented as an option, let alone as the preferred option. We studied Mennonite history, but not in terms of it being a relevant, contemporary Christian emphasis. The closest we got to any substantial Anabaptist input was a guest presentation by Cornelius Krahn of Bethel College in Kansas. The 10-point doctrinal statement published in the school's annual catalogue contained no reference to anything distinctly Anabaptist or Mennonite.
The school had no lending library. There was a small reference library of a concordance and 22 sets of reference books (works such as the Matthew Henry Commentary and the Pulpit Commentary). During the fall of 1951, however, my father decided that it was time to establish a lending library. There was not a dollar of available funding. Nevertheless, a library of perhaps 500 volumes soon appeared on some makeshift wooden shelving. I think the books came mainly as donations from the teachers.
The school had no support staff. There was no secretary, no registrar, no counsellor, no financial officer and no receptionist. Indeed, there was no office. I cannot recall if there was a telephone. If you wanted a transcript or other document, you went to the teachers' room (a ~small room shared by all five teachers), stated your request and waited until one of the teachers had time to write out whatever you wanted.
One of the standard Bible-teaching techniques was that students were told to read as widely as they could about a chapter in the Bible and then write out the chapter in their own words. This exercise was pursued at the rate of two or three chapters a week.
Much emphasis was placed on evangelism and missions. An impressive percentage of the students initiated evangelistic activity ranging from tract distribution in the neighbouring towns to weekly radio broadcasts to visits to hospitals, prisons, etc. It is also not surprising that many students later became career missionaries. Many others became pastors and Bible school teachers.
The curriculum emphasized faith formation long before that term was coined. We were constantly challenged to nurture the soul.
Some courses which then were mandatory, probably strike us now as rather odd in a Bible school curriculum. Alongside Church History, Christian Evidences, Life of Christ, Homiletics and Apologetics were courses on Sunday School Administration, Public Speaking, German Grammar and Composition, English Grammar and Composition, German Spelling, English Spelling, Department Specialization ("working with various age groups") and Christian Psychology.
Much emphasis was placed on music. This music was generally of high quality. The entire student body, aside from the odd monotone, participated in the school choir. In addition, H.P. Neufeldt organized numerous quartets, trios and other small groups, which undertook an extensive ministry in churches and other locales.
In retrospect, I would give the school a generally high mark for the curriculum which it offered at that time. For an immigrant and largely pioneer community still struggling with language transition and identity generally, it offered what the churches and individuals probably needed. During the early 1950s, however, the school was already approaching the end of the time when such a curriculum was satisfactory.
A half-century ago, Bible school finances were handled very simply. There was no guaranteed church or conference subsidy, and indeed very little church assistance of any kind came in. As I recall it, my father consulted with some board members, then set the tuition rate. After he had collected the funds from the students, he delivered the money to the home of the board treasurer.
The school had no janitorial costs. There were always sufficient financially hard-up students eager to receive a reduction or even a waiver of tuition fees in return for keeping the furnace going, sweeping the floors, cleaning the chalkboards and doing minor repairs (such as replacing windows broken as a result of grass hockey, baseball or soccer). The two outside biffies required little more than an adequate supply of the Abbotsford newspaper or mail order catalogue and the occasional handful of lime.
The major reason the school could get by on its meagre income was that it paid the teachers at a poverty level. The basic faculty pay was $50 a month, meaning that payments to the entire faculty for the whole year amounted to only $1,500 (or $10,500 in 1995 dollars). Total student tuition income in 1951-52 would have been about $3,800. As I recall, my father always ended the school year with the accounts well in the black.
As principal of the school, my dad naturally received extra pay. His additional tasks included:
* hiring the faculty
* preparing the annual catalogue
* reporting to the monthly board meetings
* recruiting students
* organizing and presenting programs in churches
* arranging and presiding at opening and closing programs, Christmas concerts, etc.
* ordering and selling textbooks
* evaluating the other teachers
* arranging for speakers at missions and Bible conferences
* hosting speakers
* advising students.
For all of these additional responsibilities, he received an additional month's salary--$50 (about $350 in today's dollars, hardly a month's grocery money). I do not recall ever hearing Dad complain. I do, however, recall my parents wondering how to keep our household going.
Not surprisingly, we couldn't live on Dad's Bible school salary. We coaxed some additional income from Dad and Mom's rocky 7.5 acres and worked at various jobs elsewhere, In the autumn, we all went to live in pickers' cabins in the Chilliwack area to pick hops. (Dad disliked that work ~because he knew where most of the hops went.)
Not until many years later, long after my father had passed away, did I discover how truly strapped he had been financially. Times were so tough that he borrowed money from his colleague, Mr. Nikkel, to buy groceries. I understand that it was all repaid.
There were no medical benefits other than unofficial sick leave, no disability insurance, no life insurance and no pension plan. When my father died suddenly on May 23, 1959, having spent his entire adult life in service to the church, mainly in Bible school teaching, there was nothing for my widowed mother.
The school's eight rules for students included:
* "Students are expected to attend all church services and prayer meetings which concern the student body."
* "The men are asked not to visit the ladies, or vice versa, alone or in groups in boarding places during the school term." (This rule was generally respected by students since other, more suitable opportunities were found.)
* "Students are not permitted to attend, neither to participate in public amusements." (We had many discussions concerning what constituted public amusements. At times, some of us students found it logical to test our definitions by visiting certain locales.)
Christian worship and witness filled many hours. In addition to daily chapels and weekly Friday testimony meetings, we were all expected to attend local church services and to be active in some form of Christian service both in the school and in the church. The results were generally positive and beneficial.
Then, as now, the Bible school served as an arena for romance. There was no formal instruction in these matters. The school rules required engaged couples to inform the school principal of their status "at the beginning of the school term" (it was assumed that there would be no engagements during the term). I can, however, name dozens of couples who became unofficially engaged during their studies.
Although Bible school rules sought to thwart romantic pursuits, my dad followed the numerous budding romances with great interest. He seemed to take considerable delight in observing relationships develop. Assessments of compatibility, including academic and ministry potential, were fairly common topics at our dinner table. Significantly, Dad never objected to my own deepening relationship with Doris, the daughter of his teaching colleague. Indeed, he readily gave me the use of the family car to pursue the relationship.
Dad was also determined to make MBBS a fully post-high school training institution; he basically achieved that goal before he stepped down from leadership. Not all in the constituency supported him in that emphasis.
I also recall that my father was greatly frustrated that he did not have more formal theological training. There were no paid study leaves, and he could not afford to take off a year or two. The best he could do in was to enrol in correspondence courses, which were of great benefit to him and the school.
Those who nurtured our Bible schools during the early years served their constituency and their students well. MB Bible School later merged with a Conference of Mennonites school to become Columbia Bible College, an excellent school with national significance.
John Redekop now teaches part-time at Trinity Western University and Columbia Bible College. This article is adapted from a talk given at Columbia Bible College's 60th anniversary celebrations in 1996.
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