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Grace Bible Chapel in Parkhill started in the mid-1960s when a group of people began a Sunday School program in a Parkhill home. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Fuller and Mr. and Mrs. Emerson Martin were the prime movers in establishing an assembly from this work. In 1968, the Christians purchased land in the area and built their present chapel. Elders have been Carl Turnbull, Bruce Fuller, Phil Bruce, Clarence Martin, and Amos Martin. Several people from Grace Bible Chapel have been commended to the Lord’s work in Canada. About 175 adults and youngsters attend the assembly.
Berean Bible Chapel in Windsor began in 1995 in the home of Albert and Shirley Birch, the result of a desire of the Birches, Victor and Marion Salmons, Ray and Connie Vrskovy, Floyd and Waneda Wright, and Miss Marion McEwen to begin a new gathering. They had been in fellowship at Oakwood Bible Chapel. The leaders have been Albert Birch, Victor Salmons, and Floyd Wright. In 1997, the new assembly, consisting of about 60 adults and youngsters, moved into leased space in an office mall at 2280 Foster Avenue.
Bethel Chapel in London began in 1934, two of its founders being Rowland Hill, Sr. and A.J. Phillips. These two men were in fellowship at that time at Hamilton Road Chapel in London and were burdened to begin a testimony in the south part of the city. (The Hamilton Road Chapel closed in the late 1980s and has been superseded by Southdale Bible Chapel.)
Woodside Bible Fellowship at 200 Barnswallow Drive in Elmira, north of Waterloo, began in 1975. Neil Martin, Urias Brubacher, Allan Hoffman, and David M. Martin were those involved in its establishment. The assembly was a hive-off of Wallenstein Bible Chapel and was called the Elmira Christian Fellowship for the first couple of years while it met at the Riverside Public School. Others active in leadership have been David McClurkin, Harold Paisley, Paul Fletcher, and Harvey Gingrich. About 300 adults were in attendance in 1996, plus a Sunday School of over 150. The assembly has commended workers to Zambia, Kenya, Senegal, Papua New Guinea, Venezuela, and to International Teams and His Mansion Ministries in Ontario.
Willowdale Christian Fellowship in Guelph began in 1979, with its first meetings at the Willow Road School. Eight families from Guelph Bible Chapel were involved in the start-up. The assembly later moved to Arkell Road to become the Arkell Road Bible Chapel. Leadership over the years includes Evered Penn, Campbell Round, James Conover, and Peter Bolton. About 110 adults and youngsters attend the assembly. Lakeside Bible Church began in 1989, hiving-off from Guelph Bible Chapel. The principals in the start-up were Gordon and Frank Guthrie, Phil Fletcher, David Booker, Norm Roberts, and David Neff, all of whom were elders at Guelph Bible Chapel. The assembly met six weeks in a school before moving into its own building in Guelph. Those in active leadership since the formation are the Guthries, David Booker, Jim Lowe, and Ken Rowan. Darryl Milne is the current youth worker, commended to that position. About 750 adults and youngsters attend Lakeside Bible Church. Bethel Chapel in Waterloo has its roots in several families that moved to Waterloo from Elmira and Linwood. They met in the home of William Klinck for several years.
Lakeshore Bible Chapel in Waterloo, at 470 Glenelm Crescent, was established in 1970 by ten couples: Allan and Joan Poyntz, Henry Ralston, Len and Joan Habermehl, Henry and Iva Ralston, David and MaryLynn Knight, Larry and Betty Tierney, Murray and Wilma Toman, Rolf and Esme Stockheisen, Dave and Sheila Brown, Ross and Carol Steinman, and Chris and Marnie Watts. The assembly was a hive-off from Bethel Chapel and had its first meetings at the Cedarbrea Public School. Lakeshore Bible Chapel moved to its present location in 1978 and has helped establish Forestview Bible Church, Cambridge Community Church in Cambridge, and New Hope Community Church in Waterloo. The assembly has about 185 adults in fellowship, with about 100 in the Sunday School. Through the years, several workers have been commended by Lakeshore Bible Chapel to the Lord’s service.
New Hope Community Church in Waterloo started in January 1996, meeting then, as today, in the Westvale Public School for Sunday mornings, and using homes for small groups. The assembly derived from Lakeshore Bible Chapel, that church’s third purposely planted congregation, to reach into the west side of Waterloo where there was no English-speaking evangelical church. Among those at Lakeshore who worked to establish the new assembly were Gordon Martin and Mark Rogers. The leadership team at New Hope has included Jeremy Horne, Randy More, Allan Poyntz, Mark Rogers, Bill Stubbs, Rob Vanderspek, and Dan Zimmermann. From an initial 40 people, about 150 attend the assembly now. Bill Stubbs is a full-time worker at New Hope Community Church.
Elizabeth Street Hall was begun by Walter McKenzie in that period. Mr. McKenzie had been converted under the preaching of John Darby in Toronto, but soon disagreed with Mr. Darby on questions of local discipline.
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Leaders over the years include William Beatty, Henry Hodgson, Herbert Rawlings, Robert Kersey, Kenneth Porter, and Victor Fuller. Lake Shore Gospel Hall has up to 75 in attendance now.
George Wilson was saved as a young man in the work at Forest. He moved to Sarnia and helped establish the Sarnia Assembly in 1887, which met first in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson at 229 South Vidal Street. Later that same year, joined by John Smith who had recently made his first voyage to Canada, Mr. Munro held meetings at Stratford and Shakespeare amid much persecution, but God saved souls and two more new assemblies were planted.
The town of Arkona is midway between Sarnia and London. There, the Arkona Bible Chapel started in 1974 and was known initially as Elim Gospel Hall. David Daley was a full-time worker in the assembly from 1975 through 1982. In 1991, some of the Christians at Arkona Bible Chapel formed the Maranatha Bible Fellowship and met in rented space. In late 1996, the leadership of the two assemblies began discussing a merger. After much prayer, this came about in 1997. The combined assembly occupied the former Arkona Bible Chapel, which was renamed Elim Bible Chapel. The new assembly has about 200 adults and children in attendance, with new converts and many baptisms.
The Windsor Gospel Hall celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1991. One of the brethren who figured prominently in the formation of the assembly was William Lever. Born in Scotland, he moved to Canada in 1911 and came to Windsor in 1912. Knowing of no assembly in Windsor, he fellowshipped at Central Gospel Hall in Detroit. In 1916, he and a small company of Christians, most of whom were connected with that assembly, rented a hall in the Odd Fellow’s Temple on Wyandotte Street East, just off Ouellette Avenue, to begin the work at Windsor Gospel Hall. The Christians at Central Gospel Hall continued their support of the Windsor assembly in the ensuing years.
Since then, two additions have been completed. About 200 are in fellowship, with about 125 in a Junior Sunday School and 40 in the Young People’s group.
In the city of London, the Emery & Edward St. Gospel Hall was built in about 1920. The property had been purchased by a Mrs. Jeffery, who also had the hall built, for an assembly associated with the ‘Grant’ party. At some point, the assembly became ‘open.’ In 1952, the name of the hall was changed to Emery Street Gospel Hall and in 1972 to Edward Street Chapel. The assembly has always met at this location.
Over the years, leadership has been shared by Arthur Drennan, James Ross, Elmer Hair, Jack McLaud, Charles E. Lacey, Robert DePhillippeaux, Arthur MacKnight, Gorden Black, and Leslie Doey. About 50 adults and children are in the assembly today. Workers have been commended by the assembly to Angola, to the home field, and to Graphite Bible Camp.
Others in leadership in the assembly, which has always been at the same location at 439 Moore Street, have been William Barrington, Rowland Hill Jr., Earnest Bodaly, Howard Elliott, Harry Brown, Gorden McKenzie, Edward Cossey, H.G. Phillips, and Douglas Phillips.
Once again, a larger building was needed, land was donated near Wallenstein, and in November 1968, the Wallenstein Bible Chapel was ready for occupancy, with a seating capacity of over 500. The elders at the time of this move were Ezra Frey, Amos Hoffman, David Hoffman, Israel Hoffman, John Martin, Noah Martin, and Onias Weber. Urias Brubacher and David M. Martin soon joined them. Growth in numbers has continued, and the assembly is involved in many outreach ministries. Conestoga Bible Camp, which began as a ministry of Wallenstein Bible Chapel, had its first session in 1972. Among the many who have gone out into full-time service for the Lord are Mr. and Mrs. John Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Hoffman, and Vera Bauman to ministry in Canada; and Mr. and Mrs. Abner Bauman, Esther Frey, and Mr. and Mrs. Allan Hoffman to overseas ministry. In 1989, the assembly hived-off the Alma Bible Church. Recent elders include Melvin Frey, Glenn Gingrich, Wayne Hockley, Ken Hoffman, Aaron Martin, Murray Martin, Ollie Shantz, and Henry Tewinkel. Today about 450 people attend Wallenstein Bible Chapel.
A few miles east of Elmira is the city of Guelph. In the early 1900s, an assembly was meeting in a house on Norwich Street in Guelph, apparently the first in that city. C. Ernest Tatham’s father was the leading brother in this meeting, which later moved to a hall over the old Royal Bank building on Wyndham Street. At that time, the meeting consisted mostly of the extended Tatham family and a few others.
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In about 1945, William Murray and John Martin had tent meetings in Waterloo; after that they rented a vacant store and carried on the assembly meetings there. In 1948, a small Bethel Chapel was built at 16 Laurel Street and the assembly started to grow. The building has since been enlarged. The assembly has about 75 in fellowship now.
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During the fall of 1990, nine families who lived in Cambridge but drove to other cities for their church meetings came together to pray about and discuss forming a new church in Cambridge. Gordon Martin from Lakeshore Bible Chapel gave teaching on the New Testament church to the group, some of whom had brethren backgrounds. These families began meeting on Sundays in September 1991 in the Hespeler Missionary Church building. When the building was sold a year later, the congregation moved to the Clemens Mill area of Cambridge, first into St. Margaret’s School and then in 1993 to Clemens Mill Public School, where they took the name Cambridge Community Church. Rob Heintz joined the fellowship in 1992 and serves as a full-time pastor with several elders. About 200 people are in the assembly.
Perhaps as early as 1870, Douglas Russell came from Scotland to a district near Galt, where he had relatives in the Clyde and Valens area. These are small towns near Cambridge, between Hamilton and Kitchener. Mr. Russell’s preaching was powerful, and many were saved, including the grandparents of Lorne McBain. Upon returning to Scotland, he became involved with Donald Ross and his associates, and entered into fellowship in an assembly there. When he returned to Canada, he preached in the area around Clyde. Donald Munro and John Smith came to assist in the work, and the Clyde Assembly was established. The first meeting of the believers was in a blacksmith’s shop. This assembly continues today. Within a short time, the Valens Assembly was formed at nearby Valens, and a short time later the Galt Assembly came into being. T.D.W. Muir had been saved at meetings conducted by Donald Munro and John Smith in 1874 in Hamilton. Within a few months, he was one among many preachers who preached in the area.
As early as 1866, an ‘exclusive’ assembly was meeting in Toronto on Alexander Street between Yonge and Church Streets. Another ‘exclusive’ assembly was meeting on Albert Street by 1873 and was called ‘The Tabernacle.’ Lord Cecil, prominent in the split of the Grant brethren from other ‘exclusive’ groups, met at Albert Street.
In 1875, the evangelists Donald Munro and John Smith, arrived in Toronto. Not finding a suitable place for preaching, they rented a hall and preached there. They often stayed at the home of John Ironside, who met with the Christians at Elizabeth Street. In 1879, Donald Ross held meetings for at least three weeks at Elizabeth Street Hall, and it is thought that this was the beginning of the first identifiable ‘open brethren’ assembly in the city.