In May of 1956, two godly men, Jack Mountain, and Herb Charlton, felt a burden to reach the children of the area by starting up a Sunday school program for the children of Streetsville. Their motivation was simple—they wanted to reach boys and girls for Christ. God blessed their desire for ministry in this area, but it was quickly recognized that Streetsville needed more than a Sunday School. It needed a Bible-believing, gospel-preaching church. And so, on Thursday February 21, 1957, our founding fathers (17 charter members) gathered for the express purpose of forming Streetsville Baptist Church, part of the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada (FEBCC), with Rev. Richard Holliday called as the first pastor of this new assembly. One of the first things Rev. Holliday did was knock on every door in the village of Streetsville, to make contact with every family.
In the earliest days, our church met in various places in Streetsville: in a local community hall called The Orange Hall, the old Streetsville High School, the Mason Lodge, even outdoors in the park in the warm summer months. After much prayer, God provided our church with the land for its present location on June 6, 1958. Once again, faithful folks stepped forward to provide the mortgage holders with a guarantee to ensure sufficient funds for building a house of worship. Ten families willingly placed the collateral that existed on their own homes to ensure the successful completion of the building for Streetsville Baptist Church. Praise God, who receives all the glory! Ground was broken for the foundation on August 8, 1966, and the church building was completed the same year. In the early history of our church, several Portuguese families were part of the ministry, and Gus DaSilva led other men in the construction of the building. His brother William DaSilva did landscaping for the property, and William was proud to say that all 7 of his children were baptized in our church. On May 13, 1979, the mortgage of $50,000 was burned, and the church has been debt-free ever since.
Under the ministry of Rev. Paul Smith in the 1970s, the church grew to its largest point, with an active Sunday School of over 100 children. Plans were drawn up to expand the building to accommodate the growth, but these plans did not come to fruition. A group of earnest folks left amicably and founded City Centre Baptist Church, for which we give God the glory. Our church declined from that height, but faithful pastors like Rev. Dale Dawson saw the church through the 90s, and Rev. Dale Renout continued the work from 2000 to 2007. In that year, there was a need for a new pastor, and the church was close to closing its doors, but God faithfully provided Rev. Philip Philips who had recently retired. He agreed to serve as interim pastor to preserve the ministry while the church searched for their new minister. This search took 4 years, but finally in 2011, the Lord brought Jake Stewart and his wife Fanny to serve at this church. Our great God receives all the glory for the revitalizing work He has done among us! In 2019, we moved from a deacon-led church to a plurality of Elders, and we praise God for the fruitfulness we have seen in the ministry.
Eternity will reveal the work of our church in the past as it continues today. We are grateful to God for the long line of faithful pastors and their wives, deacons and their wives, and many faithful members over the years, passing the torch of the gospel ever on to those who come behind them. Some of the methods of ministry have changed, but God is faithfully served and worshipped here. What has not changed, and will never change, is the glorious message of Christ, His death that paid the price for our sin and His resurrection that gives hope for all who place their faith and trust in Him. Soli Deo gloria! Amen!