The church isn’t a building – but First Baptist has valued its home bases

Congregation members and well-wishers filled First Baptist Church May 25, for a commissioning and celebration service.

They returned to their property following five years of redevelopment – seismic and other upgrades, along with the addition of social housing and the dramatic Butterfly tower.

First Baptist’s church building is now at the corner of Burrard and Nelson in the downtown core – but that wasn’t always the case.

The congregation has made its home in several shelters over the years, and longtime member Kurtis Findlay gave the following presentation on the various incarnations during the service.

You’ve all heard the phrase, “the church isn’t the building, it’s the people.” But as we’ve experienced over the past five years, it is so much easier to be a church when you have a building.

As we thank God for His faithfulness to us and this city through the gift of this building, let’s also remember God’s previous provisions: the buildings that he has gifted this congregation the opportunity to steward over the past 138 years.

Westminster Avenue

After forming as a church in 1887, one of the first things they did, in the Baptist tradition, was to form a committee. This building committee built our first home for $700, located on Westminster Ave (now known as Main Street) between Hastings and Pender.

It was about 24 x 36, which is almost the same size as the basement in my townhouse. It sat 150 people, and they outgrew it very quickly. It was built on the back half of a lot, and when they moved out it was moved to the front half and put on stilts so they could add a lower floor below.

Our original building is the top half of the building you see in this picture [above].

Hamilton and Dunsmuir

In 1889, two years after forming, they built a much larger church on the corner of Hamilton and Dunsmuir where the Playhouse Theatre now sits. This beautiful building sat 800, and they also built a parsonage that you can see in the photo beside the church where the pastor’s family lived. This was their home for 22 years before moving to out current spot on the corner of Nelson and Burrard.

969 Burrard

This building was built in 1910 and opened for services in 1911. One of the main reasons for building this building was for the extra ministry space. Pinder Hall and the floor below was a dedicated Christian education building with Sunday School classes for all ages and teaching throughout the week.

At the time, because of the elevation of this hill that we are on, this church was the tallest building in the entire city. Now look how it compares to our own tower next door.

And there are other ways we have expanded our ministry over the years. Our buildings don’t just include churches. We have a long history with this whole block of Nelson Street.

Here is a picture of our other major displacement. The great fire of 1931. But I want to point out that first house to the left of the church.

1011 Nelson

The church bought this lot in 1925. It was a large house with many rooms, converted into a Baptist Bible Institute for more serious scholars and later converted into rental suites.

And in behind that they built a gymnasium. This gym is a bit of a mystery and the only photo I can find of it is of its roof.

This project was spearheaded by the Sunday School Superintendent at the time, Bertram Pinder, whose contributions to the Christian education of our church was recognized by the naming of Pinder Hall. Both buildings caught fire in 1958 and had to be torn down, and that’s when we got our church parking lot.

1021 Nelson

Historically known as the Mitchell Residence, we acquired this lot in 1988, renovated it, and turned into nine low-income rental suites.

1023 Nelson

Sitting behind 1021 Nelson, where our current gym is now, is a building we also acquired in 1988; in 1994 we fully renovated it, converted it into a meeting place for the youth group, and called the building the ‘Servant’s Quarters’.

1025 Nelson

Historically known as The Diplock Residence, we know it better as Hobbit House. Acquired in 1968, we renovated the building in 1972, turning it into Hobbit House – a restaurant and coffee house that served the West End community. Jeremy Bell called it “the church’s living room.”

1045 Nelson

Geneva Apartments – we acquired this building in 1999. It was a four-storey apartment building built in 1945 containing 23 rental units. Mary Cramond gave this building a new name through a naming contest: The Rivendell Suites.

This address still lives on today. The new Rivendell is 60 units of rental housing and is just on the other side of the Butterfly tower.

All of these old, dilapidated buildings have now been amalgamated into our new ministry space which will bring so many new opportunities as God guides us into the future. I’m sure we all are looking forward to what He has in store for us and our incoming generation.

To the glory of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, as it is now and as it will forever be. Amen.

Kurtis Findlay has very deep roots at First Baptist Church. Now in his 40s, he grew up there, his father grew up there, and his grandparents met and married there. He is now writing a history of the congregation, having conducted some 60 interviews with congregants, spoken with former pastors and amassed more than 20,000 photos related to the church.

This transcript is re-posted by permission.

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First Baptist sent this note out as part of its weekly newsletter June 4:

The May 25 afternoon service was deeply moving. Watch the recording here. [Kurtis Findlay begins his presentation at 26:35.]

• • The Alumni Choir and worship team blessed us with beautiful music.
  • Kurtis Findlay shared the remarkable history of FBC’s buildings. Click here to read.
  • Justin Kim [Lead Pastor – Staff and Strategic Development] reflected on our Heart for the City journey, honouring the churches and organizations who opened their doors during our time of transition. Click here to read.
  • Darrell Johnson [former pastor of First Baptist, author and scholar] and Drew Melton [Lead Pastor – Preaching and Vision] offered encouraging and challenging messages: Heart for the City, Eyes for the City
  • We devoted extensive time to prayer as pastors and ministry partners gathered to pray for FBC, our city and our partnerships moving forward. Click here to read.