Steinbach Bible Institute and inter-Mennonite education

Steinbach Bible College traces its beginning to classes held in the Steinbach Mennonite Brethren Church from November 1931 to February 1932, with three teachers and thirteen students. Regular instruction paused, although evening study continued, and daily classes resumed under John G. Berg in November 1936. The first graduating class followed in 1939. Local churches organized the Steinbach Bible Society and provided a dedicated building, occupied in 1940.

Biblical instruction, evangelism, mission, and preparation for congregational service remained central as the school developed. It became Steinbach Bible Academy in 1947 and Steinbach Bible Institute in 1953, moved to a larger campus in 1955, and broadened its inter-Mennonite support. Expanded degree programs began in 1977, followed by the Steinbach Bible College name in 1979. The chart’s 1931 “Institute” label applies a later name to the school’s first beginning; its later EMMC annotation requires a separate date distinction.

The chart dates recognition as an Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference school to 1971. An account by SBC academic dean Terry Hiebert instead places EMMC among the supporting bodies in 1964, citing the college’s published history. The precise nature of the chart’s later recognition has not been independently established; it should not be presented as the beginning of EMMC participation or as a proven ownership transfer.