Walmer Road Baptist Church is a Baptist in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is affiliated with Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec.
History
Early in 1889 Elmore Harris, then pastor Bloor Street Baptist Church (later to become Yorkminster Park Baptist Church), became convinced that there was need for a new ministry in the area in north-western part of Toronto that had been recently annexed to the city. After consulting with his congregation it was decided that Walmer Road was the most suitable spot for the church. Elmore Harris' father, Alanson Harris of Brantford (founder of A. Harris, Son & Co. Ltd.) purchased the lot on Walmer Road at the corner of what was soon to become Lowther Avenue, at a cost of $7,600.
In April 1889, Elmore Harris resigned as pastor of Bloor Street Church, effective October 15, 1889. The first building (which can now be identified by the short tower some distance west along Lowther Avenue) was completed and opened on October 20, 1889. Sixty-two people transferred from the Bloor Street Church and became the Charter members. By 1891 the membership was already about 350 and in December it was decided that more space was necessary. Mr. Alanson Harris and Mrs. John Harris, immediately agreed to provide the funds. And what is now the main sanctuary of the church was erected at a cost of $70,000. Upon completion it was the largest Baptist building in Canada. The dedication of the new sanctuary took place on November 6, 1892.
Throughout its more than 125 years, Walmer Road Baptist Church has been a community of believers with a commitment to outreach and service in the Annex and a strong reputation for creative leadership by skilled pastors and involved lay people. A detailed history of the church can be found in two documents: A Century for the City published in 1989 and Walmer at 125 published in 2014.
Architecture
Walmer Road Baptist Church was designed and built in 1889 and 1892 in the Gothic Revival style by the architectural firm of Henry Langley and his nephew Edmund Burke. The interior of the church was built to accommodate 1540 people on the floor and in the galleries. The church entered its next and last building program in 1912. A new structure was erected in the space between the two older buildings, and was dedicated as the Ruth Shenstone Harris Memorial Church School on January 18, 1914. A comprehensive renovation of this Education Wing was undertaken in 2000.
Outreach
Outreach and church planting was a key activity of the church from the very beginning. Christie Street Mission was founded in 1898 by the congregation from Walmer Road. In 1907 it became Christie Street Baptist Church under pastor H. R. Nobles.
Spadina Road Mission was born in 1907 to serve the area at Spadina and St. Clair Ave. In 1914 the Mission merged with Wychwood Road Baptist Church just to the west, when a new bridge across the ravine brought that church within easy reach.
Hewitt Avenue Mission was begun in 1909 in the Brockton Village neighbourhood (now Roncesvalles, Toronto) on Hewitt Avenue. It eventually became High Park Baptist Church.
Memorial Institute became a ministry of Walmer in October 1911, when they agreed to take over the work of Memorial Baptist Church, on Tecumseth Street south west of Queen and Bathurst in downtown Toronto. A significant ministry to poor people living in downtown Toronto continued in this location until 1942 when it ceased operation.
Training the laity
In 1894, Elmore Harris and Dr. William Stewart, a Walmer supporter, suggested that the church provide space for a lay training institute to be known as the Toronto Bible Training School. Stewart became the first principal. Courses were held at Walmer Road church for the first four years and then they relocated to new facilities at 110 College Street in 1898. The vision of the founders was to train laypeople as Sunday School teachers, pastors' assistants, and as city, home and foreign missionaries. Initially the training program was two years. In 1912 it became the Toronto Bible College and is now the Tyndale University College and Seminary.
During Howard Bentall's time as pastor in the 1950s, a vision for a lay training institute was once again revived and beginning in September 1955 the Baptist Training Institute (BTI) was formed. It was designed as a one-year lay training program and at first, classes were conducted at the church. In 1959, BTI was relocated to Brantford, Ontario.