Wallenstein Bible Chapel, Wallenstein, ON
From BrethrenPedia
Contents |
[edit] Address/Contact
Street
Phone #
Street
Phone #
[edit] Links
[edit] Leadership:
Present Elders
Glenn Gingrich, Wayne Hockley, Murray Martin,Tim Harrington,Richard Devos and Ron Martin
Past Elders
Ezra Frey, Amos Hoffman, David Hoffman, Israel Hoffman, John Martin, Noah Martin,Onias Weber, Urias Brubacher, and David M. Martin
[edit] Commended Workers/Ministries
Conestoga Bible Camp, first session in 1972
Full-Time Service
Mr. and Mrs. John Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Hoffman, and Vera Bauman
Ron Seabrooke starts as the full-time worker at Wallenstein Feb. 1, 2006.
Mr. and Mrs. Abner Bauman, Esther Frey, and Mr. and Mrs. Allan Hoffman
[edit] History
In about 1800, the first Mennonites came to Waterloo County, Ontario, from Pennsylvania. By 1820, such names as Martin, Bowman, Hoffman, Gingrich, and Weber were known in the area that is now Woolwich Township. According to John Martin, many of the Mennonite preachers had a meager knowledge of the Bible and the doctrine of salvation was not taught.
In 1922, Alex Stewart of Guelph came with Frank Guthrie to this Mennonite area and held meetings in Elmira, resulting in the salvation of a number of people, including Mr. and Mrs. Emmanuel Martin. A small assembly was brought into being at Elmira, the Christians meeting above Playford’s Garage. That same year, Mr. Stewart held meetings in Linwood; some were saved, including Simeon Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Emmanuel Gerth, Mrs. King, and Mrs. Pem Hosea, and an assembly was planted there, meeting in Mrs. King’s carpenter shop. The Elmira Assembly, ON lasted until 1928, and the Linwood Assembly, ON lasted a few years longer, until the Gerths and Hoseas moved to Waterloo.
But God was working in the area. In 1928, Israel Martin was saved, and in 1931, John M. Martin and others were saved in evangelistic meetings conducted by a Pentecostal preacher. Soon John’s brother Noah was saved, and Henry Bauman and his sisters, and the Brubacher sisters. John Martin married Melissa Brubacher in 1932, but they stayed with the Mennonite churches for a while.
In 1931, Israel Martin started a Sunday School in his brother Nathan’s house in Hawkesville. Mr. William Goetz had moved to Hawkesville about this time and started Bible studies in various homes. These were later moved to Nathan Martin’s house. Sunday evening services were then started there, and Nathan Martin’s house became known as the Hawkesville Gospel Mission, ON. Preachers from various denominations were invited to come and preach.
By 1934, it was apparent that the group of believers were going to leave the Old Order Mennonite church. In the spring of 1934, some of the believers had begun Remembering the Lord at the farm home of John and Melissa Martin. To the Hawkesville Gospel Mission, ON were coming the Martin Baumans, John Martins, and Noah Martins from the Wallenstein area; the Israel Hoffmans, Amos Hoffmans, Sydney and David Hoffman, and the Simeon Martins from the Heidelberg area; the Goetz and Weber families lived in Hawkesville. This was the nucleus of the new group about to form.
In September 1934, the first public meeting to observe the Lord’s Supper was held at the Hawkesville Gospel Mission, ON. Frank Guthrie and George McKenzie were with them, and fifteen were baptized by immersion that day, with about 1000 curious townspeople in attendance.
The group had to make a fundamental choice at this point. Two of the most respected preachers who had come to the Hawkesville Gospel Mission, ON were Henry Jansen, a a respected Mennonite Brethren pastor from Kitchener, and Frank Guthrie from the brethren assembly in Guelph. They had to decide whether to affiliate with the Mennonite Brethren, or to become an independent church patterned after the Plymouth Brethren tradition.
Initially, there was strong momentum to affiliate with the Mennonite Brethren conference of Ontario. A vote was held, in which a majority of the congregation's leadership voted to do so. However, John Martin refused to go along with the decision, creating a dilemna for the group. Eventually, Martin and other parties favourable to Plymouth Brethren affiliation won out, and the church became informally affiliated with other independent Plymouth Brethren congregations. [1]
Mennonite customs were slow to disappear, the characteristic dress being one of these. The 1934 opening of the Guelph Bible Conference Grounds, 40 kilometres from Hawkesville, at which the main speaker was Harry Ironside, is remembered as having a major influence upon the Hawkesville Christians.
The number of those affiliating with the new assembly at the Hawkesville Gospel Mission, ON grew, and Nathan Martin’s house was inadequate. Property was secured in the center of Hawkesville at the corner of Geddes Street and Hawk Street. The Hawkesville Gospel Hall, ON had its opening in December 1939 with a series of meetings, at which a number were saved. John Martin, who with Sydney Hoffman had been commended to full-time work elsewhere, returned and was one of the speakers.
John Martin developed a radio ministry originating from Kitchener, and was assisted by several from the Hawkesville Gospel Hall, ON. When the Emmaus Bible School opened in Toronto in 1945, five of the young men from Hawkesville attended and were instrumental in having the Emmaus Young People’s Rally held at Hawkesville.
By 1951, Hawkesville Gospel Hall, ON was too small for the increasing numbers, and an addition was built, increasing the seating capacity to 200. In 1960, the name was changed to Hawkesville Bible Chapel, ON, concurrently with the introduction of a Family Bible Hour on Sunday mornings. Elders were first publicly recognized in 1963. Allan and Joyce Weber, then in the Lord’s work on Prince Edward Island, were invited to return for visitation work in the area. The elders also visited weekly in pairs in the community.
Once again, a larger building was needed, land was donated near Wallenstein, and in November 1968, the Wallenstein Bible Chapel, ON was ready for occupancy, with a seating capacity of over 500. The elders at the time of this move were Ezra Frey, Amos Hoffman, David Hoffman, Israel Hoffman, John Martin, Noah Martin, and Onias Weber. Urias Brubacher and David M. Martin soon joined them. Growth in numbers has continued, and the assembly is involved in many outreach ministries. Conestoga Bible Camp, which began as a ministry of Wallenstein Bible Chapel, ON had its first session in 1972. Among the many who have gone out into full-time service for the Lord are Mr. and Mrs. John Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Hoffman, and Vera Bauman to ministry in Canada; and Mr. and Mrs. Abner Bauman, Esther Frey, and Mr. and Mrs. Allan Hoffman to overseas ministry. In 1989, the assembly hived-off the Alma Bible Church, ON. Recent elders include Melvin Frey, Glenn Gingrich, Wayne Hockley, Ken Hoffman, Aaron Martin, Murray Martin, Ollie Shantz, and Henry Tewinkel. Today about 450 people attend Wallenstein Bible Chapel, ON.
Ron Seabrooke starts as the full-time worker at Wallenstein Feb. 1, 2006
[edit] Also See
Faith Bible Chapel, Simcoe, ON
Hawkesville Gospel Mission, ON
[edit] Author
Dan H. Smith, Ed.D. President, Emmaus Bible College
[edit] Resources
Questionnaire responses and other correspondence
The 75th Anniversary of The Windsor Assembly, 1916 to 1991
Excerpts from a History of the Brethren Movement, by Norman E. Crawford
Sketch of the History of Bethel Gospel Chapel North Bay, Ontario, 1997; based on book to be published in 1999: When Your Children Ask, by Donald E. Carney
The History of the Barrie Ontario Assemblies, by H. Bruce Hicks
Brief History of Early Assembly Work in North America, by Norman Crawford, 1999
Until He Comes, A History of the Spring St. Assembly, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, 1899-1997, by Wayne and Heather Rodgers
History of the Lansing Assembly, by Hubert Lucas, Sr., 1973
Reflections of Turner Road Chapel, 1930-1990
In His Name, by John S. Robertson, March 1960 (a history of Toronto Assemblies)
A Kernel of Wheat, by Chester Donaldson, 1982, updated 1994
A Grain of Mustard Seed, The Story of Bible Fellowship Assembly, by Chester Donaldson,1983
Deer Lake Gospel Hall, by Bert French, 1997
The Growth of God’s Assembly, Planted in Welland, by Lorne Yade, 1985
Saved to Serve, by John M. Martin, Gospel Folio Press, Grand Rapids, MI 1994
Wallenstein Bible Chapel, The first thirty years, 1968-1998, by Albert Martin, 1998
Englehart, 1933-1993, 60 Years of Memories of an Assembly and its People, by P. Wood, 1993
History of Christians Gathered Unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ at Strongville, Ontario, by Mrs. William Williams and others, 1990.
A Record of Gospel Testimony in Northern Ontario, by Bethuel Carr, 1979
Graphite Bible Chapel, by Doug Robinson, undated
Waverley Gospel Hall, undated
Let The Tide Come In, by C. Ernest Tatham, 1976
Shoreacres Bible Chapel, 1959 - 1994, 35th Anniversary Reunion
When Your Children Ask, a History of Bethel Gospel Chapel North, Ontario, by Donald E. Carney, 1999; published by Donald E. Carney
The Brethren Movement in North Hastings 1885 - 1924 (A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Historical Theology, Dallas Theological Seminary), by Robert Garry Jenkins, May 1986.
History of Bancroft Area Assemblies, Garry Jenkins, unpublished, 1986.
Letters of Interest, August/September 1955, p. 14; October 1955, p. 15; January 1959, p. 7; December 1966, p. 8; June 1969, p. 14; September 1975, p. 20
Martin, David A., "Mennonite Fundamentalism and the Hawkesville Brethren: An examination of the origins of the Wallenstein Bible Chapel and its impact on the local Mennonite Community" Journal of the Waterloo Historical Society, Volume 91, 2004 (Available Online)[2]
