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As is often the case, understanding the past greatly
enhances one's understanding of the present and offers direction for the future.
Such is definitely the case for First Baptist Church.
We have a strong heritage of faith and ministry which provides strength
for today and hope for tomorrow. The origin of First Baptist Church dates back to July
3, 1904. On that date, just one
year after the establishment of the community of Lloydminster itself, ten
charter members assembled under the pastorate of Rev. W. P. Freeman. He
was an interim student pastor who held services throughout the summer in the
Immigration Hall until his departure in the fall. Services were suspended until the following summer when Rev. Elsey arrived to
continue the work. Under his
leadership a church building was constructed.
Shortly after the dedication service, Rev. Elsey left to resume his studies in Manitoba.
A year later, on November 25, 1906, Rev.
Pengelly came from Ponoka to pastor the assembly.
He remained until June of 1909 during which time the first manse was
built. Rev. Pinsent
was the next pastor and he remained until 1915.
Church membership up to this point had increased
steadily. However, by 1915 factors
such as population fluctuation, a lack of available ministers, and the coming of
the First World War combined to necessitate the closing of the church doors for
the next twelve years.
During this interlude, the church building was rented
out as a school and the manse as a private dwelling. On August 7, 1927 First Baptist reopened with twenty members
and still in association with the Baptist Union of Western Canada.
Rev. Robert assumed the pastorate during this time and remained until 1937.
In November of that same year, Rev. Secord took over as pastor and stayed until September of 1938.
He was followed by Pastor Filer who arrived in December of 1938
and remained until 1941 when he left to join the Canadian Army Chaplain Service. Rev. Filer
was followed by Reverend Tiessen (1941 - 1942), Reverend Entner (1942-1945), Reverend Thibideau (1945-1948), and Reverend Ross (1948-1952). 1952 also marked First Baptist's end of association
with the Baptist Union.
Later that same year Rev. L. E. Jones assumed the pastoral position.
During his ministry First Baptist undertook several new initiatives.
First, a new church structure was built.
This involved first building a new manse on 42 d Street
in the spring of 1953. Then in May
1954, the church purchased another lot on 40th Street unto which they moved the old manse and later sold.
This made way for the excavation of the basement for the new church on
the site of the original manse. The
first phase of the new church called for a basement with a temporary roof that
could be used until the next phases could be undertaken.
The "Basement Church" as it became known, was opened on
November 7, 1954. Pastor Jones also initiated the Baptist Bible Hour
radio broadcast which continued until 1973 when costs made it unfeasible.
Undoubtedly, the most significant contribution to the development of
First Baptist Church was the establishment of Pleasantview Bible Camp.
From its origin, the camp ministry from Pleasantview has had the most
effective outreach for the church. Facilities
there have steadily improved over the years up to the present time.
The yearly number of campers has increased from a few dozen to the almost
500. More importantly, youth who
have made confessions of faith and recommitments now number well into the
thousands. In 1959 Rev. Dinnick
assumed the work of Rev. Jones.
He saw the new church building through to completion and led in the
expansion of the facilities at camp.
Pastor Dinnick left First Baptist in June of 1964 and
was soon followed by Reverend Harold Johnson in December of that year.
Church ministries continued to develop under his ministry with the
establishment of Pioneer Girls shortly after his arrival.
In May of 1970, the church celebrated with a mortgage-burning ceremony.
Rev. Vern
Priebe arrived
in 1970 and soon began lending his talents to the church. He spared no effort on the camp and also applied his
considerable carpentry skills to various projects and tasks. He had a strong commitment to outreach and under his ministry
a touring youth choir and Christian Service Brigade began as well as a daughter
work established at Vermilion. A
thorough revision of the Church Constitution was undertaken during Pastor
Priebe's ministry and also during this time the old manse was sold and a new one
purchased across the street.
Following Pastor Priebe's departure in June of 1977, Pastor
Harvey Peters accepted the call to First Baptist and arrived in August of
that same year. The congregation
was continuing to grow and so plans were made to expand the pastoral staff to
include an associate pastor. Pastor Jim Browning filled this new position in June of 1978.
First Baptist became a priority for his energy and zeal.
During Pastor Peters' term a further daughter ministry was established in
Maidstone.
As the Lord continued to bless the church, the decision
was made to undertake a new building program.
Therefore, fundraising began and plans were drawn.
Eventually, the current facility on 50th Street was sold to the Church of God and our present church was erected on property provided
by Norman and Dorothy Mountain.
The first service in our new building was held on June
22, 1980. The Dedication Service
was appropriately held on Thanksgiving Weekend.
Pastor Peters left First Baptist in July 1982 and
Pastor Browning left in December of 1982. Following
the departure of these two men Pastor Bruce Scott came from Ontario in
August of 1984. Under his
leadership the church continued to grow. Additional
pastoral staff that were added during this time were:
Mr. John Barrie who became lay pastor to seniors.
Pastor Chuck Fish as Pastor of Administration and later as
Minister of Music, Pastor Clarence Hood as Pastor of Personal Ministries,
and Dale Dirksen as Camp Administrator.
In 1988 Pastor Hood left the ministry and returned to
Eastern Canada, John Barrie passed away and Pastor Scott accepted a position
with Ontario Bible College. Pastor
Fish moved on to further ministry in Alex, Alberta and Dale Dirksen continued in
ministry in Oregon, U.S.A.
Reverend Jack Bacher arrived from Alaska in September of 1989 on an interim
basis. A gifted teacher, Pastor
Bacher ministered until October of 1990 when Pastor Henry Friesen accepted the
call to First Baptist as senior pastor. In
1990 Marvin Fege succeeded Dale Dirksen in the area of camp administration.
After the Feges left in 1991 Darey Harsch accepted the
position of Managing Camp Director in 1992.
The camp ministry continued to grow and under his leadership reached a
peak of around 500 campers during the eight-week summer camping program.
In January of 1993, Pastor Bryan Summerhaves
accepted a call to come to First Baptist and to assume administration
responsibilities as the Ministries Co-ordinator. Darcy remained until December of 1993 when he was followed by Darren Rish who arrived in May 94 as Youth Pastor and ministered in this
capacity until December 1997 when he left to start his own business.
Pastor Friesen stayed until June of 1994 when he left to establish his
own private counseling practice. During
his time the remainder of the church bond debt was liquidated.
A focus on a personal ministry of caring and sharing highlighted Pastor
Friesen's ministry to our congregation. Pastor Summerhayes took on the role of Senior Pastor following Pastor Friesen’s departure and continued in this ministry until December of 1999 when he left to take up a pastorate in Ontario. During his ministry here at First Baptist Church, he was joined by Andrew Dow, who arrived in March of 1998 as Minister of Youth, and Greg Alderton, who followed him in August of 1998 as Minister of Music and Care Ministries. They worked well as a team. In August 2000, Reverend Ta Tumu became the Interim Pastor. As of January 2001, he accepted the position of Senior Pastor. January 2001 also saw the addition of Merv Loewen on a part-time basis, as Ministry Co-ordinator. Ben Dewbury started in February 2001, as Minister of Youth. In 2001, Phase 1 of a building expansion took place, seeing the foyer expanded, along with the addition of two offices. Rev. Mark Breitkreuz joined the staff team in September 2002, in the role of Associate Pastor. In 2002, Phase 2 of the expansion was completed, seeing the nursery relocated to a new section, along with a Fireside Room and Conference Room. This allowed for the expansion of the sanctuary to accommodate the growth that was taking place. Merv Loewen joined the staff in a full-time capacity in February 2003 as the Executive Pastor. We are greatly anticipating the ministry of these men as they seek the wisdom and direction of God in leading the congregation of First Baptist Church into the new millennium.
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SENIOR AND ASSOCIATE PASTORS
REV. W. P.
FREEMAN
REV. C. S.
ELSEY
REV. J. E.
PENGELLY
REV. R. E.
BELSHAM
REV. G. H.
PINSENT
(CHURCH CLOSED)
REV. P. H.
ROBERT
REV. H. E.
SECORD
REV. R. F.
FILER
REV. F.
TIESSEN
REV. E. A.
ENTNER
REV. H. R.
THIBIDEAU
REV. V.E.
ROSS
REV. L. E. JONES
REV. D. S.
DINNICK
REV. H. L.
JOHNSON
REV. V. H.
PRIEBE
PASTOR PHIL ANDERSON (1972 - 1973)
REV. H. R.
PETERS
PASTOR JIM BROWNING (JUNE 1978 - DEC. 1982)
REV. BRUCE
SCOTT
PASTOR JOHN BARRIE
REV. CHUCK
FISH
REV. CLARENCE
HOOD
PASTOR DALE DIRKSON (MAY 1987-FALL 1989)
REV. JACK
BACHER INTERIM (SEPT 1989 -1990)
PASTOR MARVIN FEGE
REV. HENRY
FRIESEN
DARCY HARSCH
REV. BRYAN
SUMMERHAYES
DARREN RISH
ANDREW DOW
GREG ALDERTON
REV. TA TUMU
REV.
TA TUMU
MERV LOEWEN
BEN
DEWBURY REV. MARK BREITKREUZ (SEPT 2002 – PRESENT)
MERV
LOEWEN
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