Administrative History

In May 1974, Les Zimmerman and his family came to Pemberton, British Columbia, to establish a church. They were sponsored by the Regular Baptist of Sqamish, B.C. A month later, Tom and Gale Mitchell joined them. The first meetings were held in the community centre.

After two years, the Zimmerman’s moved to Whistler, leaving Tom and Gale to continue the work in Pemberton. In 1976, Gary McLoed and his family, sponsored by the Open Brethren, came to Pemberton. During this time, the young peoples groups flourished. Gary and Tom decided to combine efforts because both groups were small, and they shared speaking responsibilities. This also proved to be a time of some turmoil and instability. Later the McLeods moved to Whistler, leaving Tom to carry on the ministry.

In 1982, Nick Dyck came to Pemberton under the Mennonite Brethren Conference to see if this struggling fellowship could be assisted. The presence of so many denominational representatives in such a small group contributed to the stress. In May 1982, Art and Leona Martens from Surrey, B.C., came to serve the fellowship. They did not live in the area, but commuted for the weekends. The visitations made by the Martens encouraged congregation. In 1983, the congregation officially became a member of the Mennonite Brethren family of conferences

In September 1985, Henry and Edna Thiessen were called as the first resident pastor family. Henry had spent 24 years working with an interdenominational mission and was empathetic to the needs of such a mixed body of believers.

After almost ten years of service in Pemberton, Tom and Gale Mitchell left to go to Africa.

In 1985, the church had 17 members. Growth was slow in the small mountain valley community. In 2000, the group had grown to 47 members. In 2010, the congregation's membership was 60, and the average weekly attendance was 80.

Leaders of the congregation include the following: Les Zimmerman (1974–1976), Tom Mitchell (1976–1985), Gary McLeod (1976–1985?), Art Martens (1982–1983), Henry Thiessen (1984–1991), Will Born (1991–1993), Neil Klassen (1993–2004), Mark Leverton (2004–2005), Paul Cumin (2006–2017), Phil Cann (2018– ).