Administrative History

Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church, located in Chilliwack, BC, began as a daughter church of the East Chilliwack Mennonite Brethren Church. In the late 1940s, East Chilliwack was experiencing overcrowding. To relieve this situation, a group of urban members from East Chilliwack MB Church, began holding their own services in the St. Thomas Hall.

After meeting together for seven months, the new group decided to construct a new church building on the corner of Broadway and Maple. The building was completed and dedicated in 1947. In this same year, the new congregation sought affiliation with the General, Canadian, and British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. The congregation was referred to as the Chilliwack Mennonite Brethren Church, a name that changed to Broadway Mennonite Brethren Church in 1970.

In 1969, the Broadway congregation decided to build a new structure on the same site. The congregation met at Little Mountain School until the new building was dedicated in early December of 1969. It had a seating capacity of 450 people. A new stage area, an enlarged foyer, a reconstructed balcony, and several other aesthetic changes were completed with volunteer labour in 1990.

For several years, the Broadway church assisted in a church plant effort in the Sardis area. In 1975, nine families left the church to form the core of the work in Sardis. Financial and prayer support for the Sardis group were regular contributions from Broadway.

In 2000, membership was 286. In 2015, it was 254.

Leaders at congregation include J.I. Bergen (1947–1958), I.H. Thiessen (1959–1963, first salaried minister), Henry Warkentin (1964–1974), John E. Friesen (1975–1978), interim David Neumann (1979–1981), Robert J. Friesen (1981–2000), interim Wilf Richert (2002–2003), Gary Simpson (2004– ).

The language of worship is English.  The transition from German occurred in the 1960s.