| History of the BFC |
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Here's a brief history of the Bible Fellowship Church and a link to a BFC history site.
Seven Mennonite revivalists, under pressure from their bishops to give up their style of evangelism, huddled at a farm house in Milford Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It was Friday, September 24, 1858, just two weeks before the next high council. Should they acquiesce to restrictions upon the freedom of expression they enjoyed in their revival and prayer meetings? No, they would not. And so they established the Evangelische Mennoniten Gemeinschaft (Evangelical Mennonite Society). In their new fellowship which would remain Mennonite in doctrine, they would continue enthusiastic evangelism. Within two weeks all seven--elder William Gehman, bishop William N. Shelly, preachers David Henning and Henry Diehl, and deacons David Gehman, Joseph Schneider and Jacob Gottschall--were outside the New Mennonite association (now the General Conference Mennonite Church). One year later, the first Tuesday in November 1859, they held their first semi-annual preachers conference in the Evangelical Mennonite Meeting House in Haycock Township, Bucks County. Eleven days later they dedicated a new meeting house in Upper Milford Township, Lehigh County. Thus began the Bible Fellowship Church. For more information, visit our BFC History Web Site.
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