Oil and gas. Canola and wheat. Winterland and frontier. Dams and hydro. Roughnecks and rednecks. Optimism and economic boom. Gateway to Alaska and the Yukon. These words describe the time and activities of the late 50's and early 60's.

This rush for ecomonic gain also resulted in a mad influx of people where, not unlike the Yukon Gold Rush, sanity and reason often were forgotten. The result? Workaholics and alcoholics. Building booms. Shortage of workers. Opportunity for the skilled and unskilled. Young families everywhere. In the late 50's, the Western Children's Mission, a ministry of the Mennonite Brethren Churches of BC, began a summer program for children in the Fort St. John area. The daily Bible instructions brought positive results and the need for an adult ministry became very apparent. Irwin and Amanda Klassen were encouraged to bring Bible studies in the Aennofield area of town in 1960. As the town grew rapidly, the BC Conference established a church in 1962 with Peter and Betty Boschman leading as the first pastor couple.

The Fort St. John ministry was never intended to be a collecting point for the spiritual ministry of "Mennonites" who had moved into the area. Rather, since day one, the goal was to bring Christ to the unchurched of the community. The church consistently emphasized children's ministries through which many adults have been reached with the gospel. Similarly, youth work and home based Bible studies were emphasized.

Fort St. John has a very transient population. Every decade has about a 50% turnover. For the churches of the community, this has always presented a challenge.

The church has a very healthy cross section of age groups. The dominant group would be young couples with children. In terms of employment, there is no dominant profession or career represented. The denominational background of the folks in the church also shows great variation. By no means can we say that "Mennonitism" is a common thread that binds people together. Rather, we trust that it is the mutual fellowship in Christ that gives us a bond that creates unity of purpose.