Administrative History

The Gathering Church, formerly Bakerview Mennonite Brethren Church, located in Abbotsford, BC, began as an offshoot of the Clearbrook MB Church. By 1964, it was clear that the facilities at Clearbrook MB were not sufficient. Coupled with this problem was the language issue: young people wanted an all-English service; many older people did not. In response to these problems, church leaders decided to plant a daughter congregation that would serve the needs of the younger more anglicized church members and meet in a different location. Services began April 4, 1965, in the Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute facility, initial membership: 103.

In the decades that followed, Bakerview grew considerably, acquiring its own property, and completing several building projects. Throughout these years the congregation has been actively involved in international missions, community outreach, and church planting. Perhaps most notably, it helped establish Vietnamese and Spanish congregations in its area.

In 2000, membership was 690. In 2015, it was 695.

By 2022 the congregation had experienced a significant decline in attendance to the point where they decided to have just one service. The church worked at creating a new vision for the congregation, and the church decided to relaunch itself on Pentecost Sunday in 2023. On 28 May 2023, the church formally celebrated its new name, The Gathering Church: A Jesus-Centred Community. At that time the church had 312 members.

At the outset, John B. Toews and A.J. Friesen served the church as ministers. By 1966, J.H. Quiring had been appointed as pastor – a role he filled for eight consecutive years. In subsequent years, leaders have included Peter Falk (1975), Ben Zerbe (1976–1981), Harry Heidebrecht (1982–1994), John Neufeld (1995–1999), Michael Dick (2000–2015), interim Ray Harris (2015–2017), interim Ron Toews (2017–2018), Kerry Dyck (2018–2023), Brad Sumner (2024– ).

Language of worship is English.