Maturing Together In Christ
“They Devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
Acts 2:42
Our History
Adapted from records kept by Ruth and Wilfred Bailey
1900-1944
Soon after the turn of the century, a few families who were members of the Church of Christ moved to Calgary from England and started meeting in their homes. The Bailey family was one of these families. Charles Bailey - uncle to Wilfred Bailey and great uncle to Dave Bailey, Bruce Bailey, Ron Bailey, Eileen Clarke, Sheila Sandmeyer and Donna Snyder - was instrumental in starting the Calgary Church of Christ in 1904. Charles was the first preacher and was paid a small salary. His brothers Frank, Percy and Herbert joined him in the church here. Others that were part of the church in the early years were James Mitchell, Charles Bruce and Fred Carmichael. Early records show that Arthur Weston and his wife Margaret, William Weston, H. Parnell, Bro. Stovell and Bro. Peters were also here in the early years, probably about 1907. Ernest and Eva Bailey and their two sons John and Wilfred moved to Calgary in 1912. Other people who made up the Church of Christ here in the first years were Mrs. Toone (Wilfred's aunt), Mrs. Harben and Mrs. Wilson.
In 1907, the church in Calgary decided to purchase their first property located at 517 - 15th Avenue SW. A small meeting house was built. The structure was a one room building, resembling the little old school houses that were so common on the prairies in bygone years. The group was joined by other members from eastern Canada and carried their services by mutual ministry. The main source of study was to follow a book as a guide, which was the pattern of teaching used by the Church of England, usually along the plain text of the Restoration of the New Testament Church. The numbers grew, as more moved to Calgary.
Several times evangelists were brought in to hold nightly meetings that would last a week or so. Brother Fickle was here several times. Bro. Don Carlos James came with lantern slides sometime between 1918 and 1921; this attraction filled the building to overflowing.
In 1914 to 1918 the size of the church was 30 - 50 people. (Wilfred Bailey was baptized in 1917.)
The war and depression that followed brought hard times to the church as members sought work elsewhere. Attendance was often below 20, one morning it slipped to only 5 in number. Our brethren took an anti-war stand, as did most Churches of Christ in Canada. The church attendance dropped to its lowest point in the 1930's, but from then on, slow progress began to occur.
1945 - 1989
In November 1945, Brother J.C. Bailey came to hold meetings. He insisted on two things being implemented: the appointment of elders and the start of a Sunday school in our own building. Up to this point, our preschoolers, Ron, Bruce and David Bailey and Valerie Buker (Swanson) were being taken to Sunday school at the Christian Church, two blocks away. The Christian church stemmed from the Christian church in the United States. They were an instrumental church, which later became Cambrian Heights Church of Christ and now Bow Valley Christian Church. In January 1946, we started our own Sunday school with the four little ones mentioned, plus Betty Wilson, later joined by Audrey Hill and Donna Bailey (Snyder). Classes had no workbooks or take-homes at first. Later, lesson books were used.
Arthur Weston and Ernest Bailey were appointed Elders (the first Elders to be appointed in the Calgary Church of Christ). Later, a lean-to was built on the back of the building and, later still, two rooms were constructed in the basement for classes.
Some of the teachers during those years included Joyce Weston Hare who taught the pre-schoolers; Ruth Bailey the grade schoolers; and Arthur Weston taught the teenagers. These years were marked by many with servant hearts. Mrs. Maud Harben who lived across the street from the church building did the janitor work and set the Lord's Table each week.
Each year the Sunday school pupils put on a Christmas program and enjoyed a Christmas tree on the platform. Picnics were sometimes held in the summer time for the congregation, and many times two or three families would go to the park after service for a picnic.
Bro S.C. Kinningham came from the United States in 1949 to hold a ten day meeting. Later, he and his family moved to Calgary in January of 1951 as the congregation's first located preacher. He stayed for two years. He directed efforts at holding evangelistic meetings in the schools, but this effort was not very successful. He wrote a course called "Back to the Bible." He also wrote articles for the Calgary Herald religious page until that opportunity was withdrawn. As a result of some of the Herald articles Joseph DePatie, father of David DePatie, was converted and baptized in 1957.
Main points of church teaching at the time included:
Key doctrine: Faith, Repentance, Confession and Baptism and acappella music
Morality: Taking a stand against questionable movies, dancing, drinking, playing cards and pool
Meeting Times: Sunday morning for weekly breaking of bread and a lesson from the almanac, along with readings from the Old and New Testaments and commentary on the lesson from the almanac. The church also gathered on Sunday evening.
L.J. Anderson, another American preacher, came in 1954. During his time in Calgary a meeting was held by O.C. Lambert, a specialist on the Catholic religion, which drew a lot of interest. When Lambert moved back to the US the congregation was without a preacher for about 8 months until Doug LaCourse, who was originally from Ontario, agreed to come. He ministered here for two years and also conducted the Back to the Bible course. Following the departure of LaCourse the church went without a preacher for another 8 months until Bro. Fred Reimer agreed to come. He stayed for two and a half years. During this time a week-long meeting was held in July of 1958 with a Bro. Kennamer as the speaker.
It was about this time that one of the Americans who had been working in Calgary decided to sell his business and made a donation of $5,000 to the church, contingent on it being used to purchase property. With this money, along with a loan from the Bank of Nova Scotia, the church entered into an agreement to purchase property located at 38th Street and 30th Avenue SW. The congregation entered into an agreement with Sam Hashman Construction to erect a building that would seat about 240 people.
The building was completed thanks to the efforts of all the members who worked together to complete the construction of the new building. The church building was officially opened December 25, 1960. Fred Reimer moved in November of 1960 and did not experience the opening and benefit from the new facility, after having played a role in all the planning.
One doctrinal issue or tradition that was challenged in the 1950's was the issue of one cup being used for the communion. A member of the Hoffman family had Tuberculosis, and some in the congregation felt that one cup was perhaps not sanitary. The use of individual communion cups was started.
In 1961 Charles Littrell came to preach for the Calgary Church and he stayed for about 4 years. The preacher in Medicine Hat at the time was Joe Corley, who was able to encourage Littrell to come. Charles' specialty was printing, so he began a ministry putting out a monthly pamphlet, "The Mountain Harvester." During his time here the congregation started an annual Vacation Bible School program. Littrell printed all of the teacher and class materials for the VBS.
During this period there was considerable unrest and debate being waged within the Restoration Movement and Churches of Christ. What was labeled as the "anti-movement" resulted in much debate concerning issues such as churches not being involved in operating orphan homes, congregations being truly autonomous, each congregation being governed by its own leaders, and no cooperation on joint ministries like supporting television programs like the Herald of Truth. It was believed by some that no money should be raised and spent that was not directly related to the "Lord's business." Littrell seemed to be leaning toward this movement, and the church kitchen was converted to classrooms. The Elders did not support what Littrell was teaching and, as a result, Littrell resigned.
The congregation was in a state of turmoil, and a split resulted in the formation of what became the Northside Church of Christ. After the departure of the group to Northside the Calgary Church of Christ had a membership of 60-100 people.
Lynn Anderson came for a week-long series of meetings during some of the turmoil and returned a couple of years later to hold another week-long series. The congregation continued to function without a full time preacher until the arrival of Ivan Weltzin. Weltzin came for a meeting in January and moved to Calgary in August to assume the work of preacher. He worked in Calgary for 5 years, attempting a variety of evangelistic approaches, including attempting to launch a prison ministry. The congregation also attempted to start another congregation on the North Hill. Herman Pope was the lead evangelist, but the effort was unsuccessful, in large part because the Popes just couldn't cope with the cold weather and decided to move back south.
The congregation then held three protracted meetings over the next couple of years. Kermit Webb held a meeting May 29 to June 3, 1967; Lynn Anderson in October of 1969 and Thomas Jackson in October 1970. These meeting were not successful in terms of evangelism, but they seemed to be encouraging for the congregation.
Stanley Sherman came to Calgary in 1970 to work with Ivan Weltzin for a year, and then Ivan got out of ministry and sold Golden Products. Stanley worked for another year and then he moved back to the US.
It is worth mentioning that the composition of the Calgary church was greatly influenced by the number of Americans who would be transferred from the US to spend time in Calgary. This has been a constant in the history of the Calgary church, in part because of the major influence the oil industry has on our economy. It became very much a cycle. Key people would be transferred and become part of the congregation, but it has also been quite common for these same people to be transferred back to the US, leaving the congregation in a kind of transient position waiting for the next wave of Americans to come. This whole situation has been a blessing, but with drawbacks. It was great to have the participation in leadership, but also de-stabilizing in a way because the individual impact was not long-lasting.
The year 1971 saw a major evangelistic campaign initiative launched in Calgary under the leadership of Stanley Sherman and Ivan Stewart. It generated a great deal of interest and enthusiasm for the congregation, but the style of evangelism did not have lasting effects because we did not have a well established process to help new Christians grow into mature disciples.
In 1971 the church held a meeting with Jim Hawkins and in 1972 a gospel meeting was lead by Keith Mitchell.
Stanley Sherman's departure resulted in the arrival of Jack Exum who worked with the congregation from August 1972 - 1974. He conducted summer VBS programs for a couple of years and in 1973 the church sponsored a booth at the Calgary Stampede. The booth was manned by members and was a program that continued for a couple of years, and then was discontinued.
When Jack Exum left, Stanley Sherman returned and worked with the congregation for three years. During the third year Charles McKnight came to work with Stanley. Charles and Lynne McKnight worked for about a year and a half before deciding to step out of ministry. During the 1970's Terry Moore worked as a Youth Minister with the congregation.
Church membership during the period fluctuated some but tended to stay in the range of 80-100 people.
In the early 1980's a program swept the US and influenced the congregation to become involved in a "bus ministry." The idea was for the congregation to invest in a bus, and, then, each Sunday member volunteers would do a route to go pick up neighborhood children, bring them to Sunday school and Youth Worship and then transport them back home. The bus trip itself provided a great opportunity to relate to the kids. One of the goals of the programs was to be able to reach the children's parents and hopefully build relationships that would bring families into a relationship with Christ and introduce them to the gospel message of grace.
The challenges that faced this program were the number of volunteers required and the time commitment necessary to successfully run the program. Several members of the congregation were involved in the leadership of this ministry including: Wayne McKeage, Doug and Cheryl Cox and others. The fruit from this effort was discouraging and the program was discontinued when it had run its course and the bus was no longer safe to operate. The Youth Assembly was lead by Wayne McKeage and Heather Heywood who made a significant impact on all the children in the congregation for many years.
The summer Vacation Bible School was operated continuously for a period of 12 years, but was replaced during the ‘70's by summer camps. The camp at Pine Lake and the camp at Swan Valley near Creston, BC took over as the summer attraction for church young people.
In 1979 Cecil Cox and his family came to Calgary to begin working in ministry, and the Coxes stayed with the congregation for 5 years. Some of the ministry initiatives during his time included a telephone ministry listed under Dial-a-Devotional, called "Turning Point." This was a two minute message, which was different every day. You could access the message by dialing an advertised number. Cecil also was in a rotation that allowed him to deliver an early morning message on television.
In 1980 the Calgary Church of Christ hosted another Campaign. This resulted in contact with some of those who are still part of this congregation today. Overall, history repeated itself, and the 79 or so baptisms that resulted from the campaign were encouraging, but many contacted through this effort could not be discipled and brought into a lasting relationship where they would continue to mature in their faith as part of the Calgary Church of Christ community.
The emotional high of the campaign was followed by a difficult period for the congregation. There was considerable disagreement on a variety of issues, which simply was not healthy for the church. A serious blow to the congregation was dealt when Mervin Buckingham - one of the elders - was seriously injured when he was hit in a cross walk by a car. The injuries resulted in his death and reduced the eldership to two, Norm Holmgren and Wilfred Bailey. The combination of this blow, and much of the discord that was experienced by the congregation, resulted in the resignation of the Elders and of Cecil Cox. The church operation was assumed by a Steering Committee of seven men. The committee continued to function until Cecil Bailey came to work with the congregation in September of 1984.
Cecil proved a tower of strength in helping the congregation to regain its focus and become more like it ought to be. David Cannon and his family came in 1985 and stayed until April 1987 when they moved and David began serving as a Chaplain in the U.S. Air Force.
Some of the highlights during this period were the move to the new building on 38th Street and the 1980 campaign. It was a period when members experienced a lot of natural growth as their children were baptized and began developing their own faith.
The coming of Bob Harrington as chief minister began another interesting chapter in the history of the congregation, beginning September 1, 1987. Soon the church embarked on a program entitled "The Planning for Growth Campaign." The purpose of this campaign was to determine five year goals and objectives by the end of May 1988. To accomplish this task the church embarked on a detailed study of church growth: through classes, articles, films, seminars, discussion groups (which had been started in the fall of 1987), and a detailed diagnostic evaluation by the Centre for Church Growth from Houston, TX.
Based upon the input received during this campaign, the whole congregation met May 1 and 15, 1988 to set objectives for the next five years. These all day sessions resulted in both clearly defined goals and strategies for their achievement. Great enthusiasm accompanied these decisions, with all the participants feeling they had a meaningful role in establishing a God-honoring direction for the church. Almost instantly, with this new focus, the church was blessed with numerical growth. As part of the process the congregation was able to acquire larger premises and a more useful facility. The new building was located at 4030 Maryvale Dr NE and is the present location of the congregation. The church was on the precipice of doing even greater things for the glory of God.
The elders of the congregation were Cecil Bailey and Walter Hovind. Eric Nyrose was added to the ministry staff to work with the youth of the congregation and alongside Bob Harrington. Shirley Dixon was the church secretary.
The five year purpose statement guided the church for the next five years.
The congregation made a unanimous commitment to support the five year purpose statement.
The content of the five year purpose statement included the following:
Because the primary duty of all men and women on earth can be summed up in loving God with all our being and unselfishly serving our fellowman (Mark 12:28-34), we desire that each member of the local body of Christians devote themselves to these principles above all others so they may be faithful to God, and so that spiritual and numerical growth will result.
In order to accomplish this there are two focal points for which we must strive as individuals and as a church within our community in Calgary:
- To love God and follow the teachings of Jesus as they are revealed in the Bible alone.
- To see ourselves as being saved to serve, and to work with our leaders in order that we may be equipped and inspired to works of service in two areas:
- Firstly, in our love, support and encouragement of one another in the body.
- Secondly, by loving our fellow men and women outside the body of Christ by communicating to them the good news about Jesus revealed in the Bible, and by ministering to their other needs as we have opportunity.
In all things, let us work diligently to show our love and gratefulness to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ - to whom we owe all glory, honor and love.
The congregation agreed unanimously to expect to grow numerically to 425 active members by July 1, 1993.
The congregation agreed unanimously to support the implementation of Cell Groups which will supplement our existing small Bible study groups. Both Cell Groups and Small Bible Study Groups will meet on Sunday nights in the homes of various members.
The congregation unanimously decided to implement an enhanced Ministry Program.
•a. Each ministry will have a leader. Some of the ministries will report to the elders.
•b. Each ministry will have a purpose statement to define what it does and does not do.
•c. Each ministry will have a name which will embody that ministry's sense of purpose.
•d. Wednesday night will become a night of ministry. There will be an Adult Class for those not involved in ministry, our Sunday school program will continue on Wednesday night, and other members will be actively involved in ministry. The whole congregation will be together for a short devotional at the beginning of the evening.
•e. We expect a minimum of 65% of the congregation to be actively involved in ministry.
The congregation unanimously agreed to support the implementation of Fellowship Groups.
Purpose: To encourage fellowship and friendship of members and future members.
•a. 15-80 people
•b. Minimum of one activity a month
•c. Each member will have a primary commitment to one Fellowship Group, though they will be able to participate in the activities of other groups.
•d. The Fellowship Group Coordinator will be Max Comer.
•e. Each Fellowship Group will have appointed leaders.
The congregation unanimously agreed to support and enhance the education program. Hence we look forward to an expanded program - Sunday school, Timothy and Stepping Stones, Youth Group and Adult Class.
During this time the elders identified six men who were near to being ready to serve the congregation as elders. The intention was for the current elders to mentor these men, to study the teachings of the Bible in regard to eldership and to provide hands-on training so that the eldership could be expanded.
Our Church Groups
If we are to grow in our love for God and one another it is important that we are involved in various groups within our church community.
Assembly Celebration Group
This is our Sunday morning assembly. It is designed according to Biblical pattern to edify Christians, worship God, and witness to non-believers. A critical aspect of the meeting is the sense of celebration evidenced through a festive air of expectancy and enthusiasm. At this time we are encouraged in the realization that we are part of something that is significantly larger than anything else in our daily lives.
Fellowship Groups
These groups are made up of 15-80 people for the purpose of social fellowship. It is often within these groups that members often find friendships. This is a context wherein each participant can know everyone by name and people can enjoy social discourse. These groups each publish a newsletter and meet a minimum of once a month.
Ministry Groups
Within the body of Christ (the church), God has given each member one or more spiritual gifts. Ministry groups are small groups between 3 and 30 people who come together for the purpose of exercising their spiritual gifts in works of service. Most of these groups meet on Wednesday night during the week for our Night of Ministry.
Small Home Groups
A Small Home Group is a small group of 6 to 16 believers who come together for fellowship, encouragement and support. The church has two types of Small Home Groups: Home Study Groups and Home Cell Groups. The purpose of Home Study groups is for sharing among members of the body. The purpose of the Home Cell Groups is for evangelism outside the body. Home Cell Groups start out with 6-8 members and then they grow to 16 members before dividing into two cell groups. It is within the context of these groups that true spiritual fellowship is possible as people learn to bear each others burdens in prayer, ministry and mutual support.
The deacons during this time included:
Assembly Planning Ken Heywood, John Reed
Benevolence Richie Reid
Building maintenance Dave DePatie
Children's Assembly Wayne McKeage
Education/Evangelist John Casella, Bob Harrington
Facilities Kevin Clark, David Sandmeyer, Allen Swanson
Cell Groups Larry Buckingham, Wayne McKeage
Missions Dave Bailey
Treasury Bruce Bailey, Marshall Hare
The church experienced a great deal of growth numerically and spiritually during this period under the leadership of the elders and Bob Harrington. While some of the goals set were not reached, the church grew to a size beyond the numbers it had seen previously.
Bob Harrington and his wife Cindy decided to move back to the United States in part so Cindy could be closer to her parents.
After an extensive recruiting process the congregation hired Larry Yurk. Larry and Julie and their five children moved to Calgary to join the work here in 1994, from Modesto, CA. During their tenure here the church continued many of the programs that had been started prior to Larry coming. The staff included Shirley Dixon, church secretary, and Eric Nyrose as Youth Minister. Shirley retired and Hope Pawlak was hired as secretary and Eric also resigned to accept a position at Alberta Bible College.
Other elders were added during this time, including Dave Bailey, Bill Rubel, Richie Reid and Kevin Clark, who joined Cecil Bailey and Walter Hovind as elders.
In order to assess certain strengths and growth areas for the congregation, the church, at the recommendation of Lynn Anderson, began working with the Natural Church Development program, which surveyed members of the congregation who were involved in a small group and active. The feedback from the survey participants was then to be used to help leadership to take advantage of strengths and work on the growth areas, with the express purpose of helping the congregation becoming healthier and to grow numerically and spiritually.
Larry continued his ministry until May of 1999.
Following a recruiting period that considered several candidates, Troy Hodgson was hired as Minister. Troy had been a Youth Minister in Victoria prior. He and Debbie and their son Luke moved to Calgary in September 1999. Hope Pawlak continued as church secretary and Troy embarked on ministry that brought a higher focus on ministering to the Marlborough Community. The church enjoyed a period of growth and the elders determined that hiring additional ministry staff would best meet some of the needs of the congregation. Jack Ashby was first hired part-time in July of 2000, then contract and eventually full-time with the congregation. He worked in the area of administration and supported a number of ministries and served as Education and Involvement Minister. John Close was recruited and came to join the staff as Youth Minister in July of 2001. David Lidbury was hired to work part-time in the Counseling and Family areas of ministry. During this period Pam Nyrose served the church in the role of Administrative Assistant.
In 2000 Marshall Hare decided to step back from the work of Treasurer for the church, after serving for 37 years. His dedication and commitment to serve is a model for those that will follow.
In keeping with some of the earlier intent, the role of deacon became known as Ministry Leader and a number of key ministries began to develop during this period.
There was some change in Eldership with John Coghlin, Bud Ashby and Gary Zorn being added, and some of the longer serving elders stepped back during this time, including Kevin Clark, Bill Rubel and Richie Reid. Wayne McKeage was added as an elder of the congregation. The church enjoyed a period of new people coming and the numbers grew. There was also a noticeable transiency as people came and went and retention seemed to present a number of challenges.
The leadership committed to a greater emphasis on evangelism and involvement and took on some difficult issues, including the role of women and the music question.
The church offered the Alpha program and also benefited from 40 Days of Purpose and 40 Days of Community, which originated with Rick Warren and Saddleback church in Lake Forest, CA.
There was a move towards higher levels of cooperation with churches within the Restoration Movement and the congregation's relationship at the leadership level saw growth and a spirit to work together and make a concerted effort to grow the kingdom through cooperation.
When Troy was hired in 1999 he made his desire known to the Eldership that he had the desire to lead a church plant effort. This idea continued to germinate and as 2004 came to a close Troy felt an urging to fully investigate his dream to plant a church. He gave notice to the Eldership in March 2005 that he would plan to start a high impact church plant venture in March 2006, and he would therefore leave the employ of the congregation in February 2006.
The Journey Church plant was launched as a partnership of a number of Restoration churches in the Calgary area including: Bow Valley Christian Church, Oak Park Church of Christ, Connections Church, the Church of Christ Development fund, the Calgary Church of Christ and a few other players.
With the support of this congregation a team of about 70 agreed to commit to Journey and be sent by the Calgary Church of Christ to be the core of this new church venture. Oak Park, Bow Valley and other churches sent a minimum number of members to join the effort.
The decision of a number of leaders to join the Journey plant created a need to recruit a number of new leaders to fill the void. It became a time of renewal as a number of leaders stepped up and accepted responsibility. The approach of the launch date was filled with uncertainty and excitement. The financial impact of the loss of a sizeable number was also considered. Leadership opted to challenge the congregation to maintain the budget, despite the fact that 25 - 30 % of the giving from the previous year had committed to Journey. The challenge was met by the remaining members and by new members who became part of the congregation. God richly blessed the faith commitment.
The expanded leadership of Teams like the Minister Search Team, The Transition Team and the Prayer Team saw God at work. The Search Team successfully recruited Kelly Carter to move back to Canada after studying toward his doctorate in Texas. There was a need for an Interim Minister and Billy McMillan was hired to fill that role, and he did an outstanding job.
Kelly and his wife Robin and daughter Meghan arrived in Calgary in June of 2006 and fittingly were able to be part of the 100 Year Celebration.
Kelly accepted the challenge of working with the congregation at the start of our second century. His heart for ministry is in the process of being established. Already he has put his hand on the life of the church promoting a greater emphasis on prayer, a greater reliance on the active involvement of the Holy Spirit and a growing personal relationship with God.
New elders have been added and the congregation is now served by six elders: Bud Ashby, Dave Bailey, David Lidbury, Wayne McKeage, Jack Mooney, and Gary Zorn.
The leadership group truly wants to seek God's will for the congregation and to effectively help the church be all God wants it to be.
As we look back over the past 100 years there is much to be grateful for. There have been successes and some failures. We acknowledge the leaders from the past on whose shoulders we stand and we appreciate their dedication.
As for the future, we hope that we can spur each other on to love and good works that will see the kingdom expand during our watch, being God honoring in all that we do. May we all press on to the high calling to which we have been called. May we prepare ourselves to be ready when Christ comes and be faithful while our time on earth lasts.
May we in the end be faithful and, running the race so that we can win the prize. May we hear "Well done good and faithful servant" and may we take seriously the opportunity to play a role in a number of others sharing eternity with us because we allowed God to use us and to introduce Him to those in search of Him!