Elim Bible School: from Gretna to Altona

Elim began in 1929 when the Bergthaler and Blumenorter Mennonite churches established Bible classes at Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna. Johann Enns taught the initial group of twenty students, preparing them for congregational work, evangelism, and mission. Economic difficulties interrupted operations between 1931 and 1936. The school moved to Altona in 1940, where Abram A. Teichroeb directed it until 1963. Thus the chart’s “Altona, 1929” joins an original date to a later location.

Later programs emphasized Christian education, church music, service, and adult learning. Renamed Elim Christian Education Centre in 1972, the institution closed temporarily in 1974 and reopened as Elim Bible Institute under the Conference of Mennonites in Manitoba in 1975. A new campus opened in 1983. Residential education ended in 1986; short courses continued until final closure on May 1, 1988. Its successive programs show how local congregations adapted Bible-school education to changing needs and resources.