Fairview Baptist Church met in the community of Fairview from 1960-2023. The last service at the original location was May 21, 2023. This brief history was shared that Sunday.
The Beginning of a Church in Fairview
In 1930 a new missionary work began in Alberta. Two pastors, Morley Hall and Howard Phillips led their churches to form a new mission society to plant fundamental Baptist churches in Alberta. Morley was educated at Toronto Bible College (now Toronto Baptist Seminary) and having pastored in Ontario for eight years moved to Calgary to lead Westbourne Baptist Church.
Westbourne was founded by First Baptist Church in 1905 near the Stampede grounds. In the 1920s Westbourne withdrew from the Baptist Union of Western Canada under the leadership of William Aberhart (who became Premier of Alberta from 1935–1943). When Hall became the pastor in 1930, after the church parted with Aberhart in 1929, the church was looking for a new fellowship and so began the Regular Baptist Missionary Society together with pastor Harold Phillips of Benalto Baptist Church. This society would later be renamed the Regular Baptist Missionary Fellowship (RBMF).
Hall’s evangelistic zeal led him to begin a radio ministry, labor in street ministry, and help start new churches in Crossfield, Drumheller, and then in Blairmore. Historian Michael Haykin writes, “Hall was a student of the Scriptures, a lover of Puritan theology and the great C. H. Spurgeon… The focus of his theology was an evangelism rooted in a strong belief in the doctrines of grace as defined by Calvinism and deep Baptist convictions.”
The foundation laid by Morley Hall would continue even as he moved east in 1944. In 1960 Hall would return to Calgary for the annual convention of the RBMF where he preached on the theme, “Let Us Go On!” They did with the RBMF funding the purchase of lots in the community of Fairview and Alf Bell arriving from Toronto to pastor the work. In 1963 the RBMF officially joined with the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada.
The Ups and Downs
The building at 230 – 78 Ave SE was built on the land purchased by RBMF incurring a debt of $55,000. Construction began in June 1961 and was completed on October 1st of that same year. Two weeks after opening the church had its first baptismal service. In 1982 the church paid off the mortgage with a celebration of how God had provided.
The church body has had its ups and downs over the years. In 1968, Pastor Jack Purdie (1925–2022) led the church during a time of growth. In the early 70s there was a two-month period where the church conducted two morning services with Sunday School in between. Plans for a larger building began but they never materialized.
As the church and community aged, membership declined. Into the 90s attendance continued to drop and ministries could no longer function. In 1990 the church was close to closing but continued on. By 1996, Sunday School was disbanded, and the membership roll dropped to 33. The church decided to remain open and continued to struggle. By 2009, with the resignation of the longest serving pastor (Pastor Bob Marsh, 11 years), the church was again at a point where closing was a very real option. Again, the church decided to continue and remain open. In 2013, after seeing some modest growth but again without a pastor and the membership roll at 21, the church called Tim Stephens to be their pastor and he began in January 2014.
Over the years, Fairview has seen eleven full-time pastors averaging four-year terms with several interim ministers in between. This lack of stability, leadership, and direction in keeping with the doctrine and zeal of men like Morley Hall left the church hindered in her service.
Since 2014, the church has seen yearly growth and talks resumed about a larger place for worship to accommodate the increasing congregation. Then COVID-19 happened….
The Blessing of COVID-19
COVID-19 is the latest milestone in the history of Fairview Baptist Church. After canceling in person services for nine Sundays starting March 15, 2020, the church decided to reopen in contravention to public health orders. The decision was supported by most members, yet it was controversial.
The church continued to gather through the summer and fall of 2020 with no fanfare. Word of mouth saw a few people join the fellowship as many other churches were closed or restricted. Beginning in 2021 complaints were made to the authorities and police, bylaw, and Alberta Health Services (AHS) began enforcement action against the church. When fines and a closure notice were given, AHS issued a news release leading media outlets to run the story.
The police response along with media reporting caused turmoil within the leadership and membership of the church. This time was difficult as brothers and sisters, worshiping together just a few months before, were now deeply divided on how to move forward. Attempts were made at staying together including meeting out of the spotlight. Unity was elusive until GraceLife pastor James Coates was imprisoned. Convinced that we must stand with our brother, who was imprisoned for sharing our convictions, we opened publicly and made it clear to everyone that Christ, not Caesar, is the head of the church.
Eventually fines led to court orders which led to imprisonment for Pastor Tim Stephens. He served twenty-one days in jail, being released on July 1, 2021. The church building was also seized for the month of June, forcing the worship of the church to take place outdoors.
Since that time, many people have visited Fairview Baptist Church with many choosing to call Fairview home. A building committee was formed in late 2021 and a new property purchased in November 2022. The Lord has provided all the required funds, which along with the sale of 230 – 78 Ave SE, allows the church to move into a new place of worship at 3311 Centre St N for a first official service on June 4, 2023—two years to the date that the government seized our current building. Christ is Lord. The ministry continues. Christ will build his church!
