First Mennonite Church, Greendale

First Mennonite Church Greendale is located in Chilliwack, British Columbia (BC). The first Conference of Mennonites church to be organized in British Columbia began here in 1928-29, when the first settlers came to the Sardis and Sumas areas from the prairie provinces of Canada and elsewhere. In April 1930 a large wooded area owned by the Northern Construction Company was subdivided into 28 lots of 18 to 25 acres each. The sale of this land was available only to Mennonites. This resulted in a significant increase in the number of Mennonite families in the area.

At first the various families met in a chicken barn and in the homes of Nicolai Bahnmann and Johann Reimer or outdoors, but eventually a meeting house was constructed in Sardis in 1931. On October 31, 1931 the congregation was formally organized with 80 members as the First Mennonite Church of Sardis under the leadership of Elder Nicolai Bahnmann, and all the settlers of Mennonite Church background from both Yarrow and the Sardis and Sumas areas joined the congregation.

In 1936 the Sardis congregation hosted the sessions that led to the formation of the Konferenz der Vereinigten Mennonitengemeinden in Britisch Columbien (Conference of United Mennonite Churches in British Columbia). The delegates asked the Sardis church to bring its constitution to the next gathering of the churches so delegates could consider it for the conference.

In 1938, Sardis was one of seven BC churches to join the General Conference Mennonite Church. For practical reasons each congregation in Yarrow and Sardis became independent in 1938. When boundary changes occurred, the Sardis church became Greendale in 1947.

The first meetinghouse was enlarged in 1941, and replaced in 1947 by a new church measuring 50 by 100 feet and seating 1,200. Greendale experienced the disastrous 1948 flood, when the waters rose to cover the floor of the church. The church building was destroyed by fire on December 13, 1955, most likely due to faulty wiring. On September 2, 1956 a new sanctuary, built on the same foundation but with a smaller sanctuary and the addition of classrooms, was dedicated. The building was renovated in 1986.