Administrative History

The West Clearbrook Community Church in Abbotsford, British Columbia, began services in 1989 through outreach of the B.C. Mennonite Brethren Conference’s Board of Church Extension in a new subdivision known as Townline Hill. Bert and Heather Kamphuis are considered the founding leaders of the congregation. Since 1990, the congregation has been affiliated with the Mennonite Brethren family of conferences.

The church’s philosophy was a mixture of tradition and contemporary. It was a policy that preaching would be shared 50/50 by pastor and laity so that the pastor had the freedom to pursue outreach and it also gave the congregation the ability to explore their gifts. The church was committed to evangelical Anabaptism, the Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith, and the authority of Scripture. They were also committed to contemporary worship in order to reach the modern generation. An effort was made to reach out cross-culturally and use the gifts of everybody including a policy to open all church positions to women. The church closed in 1998.

They held their services at Columbia Bible College and worshiped in English. Congregational leaders included Bert Kamphuis (1989–1994), Bill McGladdery (1992–1997), and Ron Braun (1997–1998).