REPORT OF THE HISTORICAL COMMITTEE

OF THE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH

to the 104th Annual Conference

          The Historical Committee met twice this year to carry out its responsibilities. Much of the work of the Historical Committee is done outside of meetings. Often the work is slow and tedious. The labor of the Historical Committee is a labor of love done by those who want to maintain the story of God’s faithfulness to the Bible Fellowship Church.

          It is encouraging to see the interest that many in our church have for understanding and preserving our heritage. The Historical Committee continues its strong commitment to uncovering and maintaining historical materials that are valuable to the Bible Fellowship Church. We encourage churches and individuals to be on the lookout for historically significant material which should be preserved in our archival collection.

          Major projects of the committee continue on. Dr. Harold Shelly continue his work on the preparation of a written history of our church. Dr. Shelly is severely limited by a lack of time. Plans are now being finalized to publish the minutes of our church from 1858 to 1895. This project has taken about 7 years to complete. The final step of printing should take place in the next year.

          Mennonite historians have expressed an interest in knowing more about our history. Three members of the Historical Committee, Dr. Harold Shelly, Daniel G. Ziegler and Richard E. Taylor, have been invited to deliver papers at a conference held at Bluffton College in Ohio in November of 1987. We are glad for the opportunity to interact with those who have an interest in our background.

          We would like to remind each one of the significance of your documents. We encourage churches to place their past minutes in the archives for preservation. We encourage the secretaries of boards and committees to place past minutes and valuable documents in the archives for safekeeping. We encourage individuals to donate documents, books, photographs and other historically relevant material in the archives where they will help to maintain the story of what God has done.

Historical Committee: Bright N. Heist, Chairman; Richard E. Taylor, Secretary; Ralph D. Cole, Treasurer, Daniel G. Ziegler, Willard E. Cassel, Harold Shelly