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Joe and Anna Ebert began the Kintore Bible Chapel in Thamesford, east of London, in their home in 1993. Though the assembly did not hive off from another, the Eberts had brethren backgrounds. Larry Ball has shared leadership of Kintore Bible Chapel with the Eberts. The assembly has about 40 people attending and continues to meet in the Ebert home.
Vienna, Straffordville, and Tillsonburg lie southeast of London, just north of Lake Erie. To that area came a 20-year-old old [[Thomas Donald William Muir|Thomas Donald William "T.D.W. " Muir ]] from Hamilton in 1875 and began preaching. Soon he was joined by John Smith, just arrived from Scotland. They preached together in schoolhouses, homes, halls, and church buildings. Many were saved, and several assemblies were quickly established, including the South Middleton Assembly, which continued until about 1945. The assembly established near Straffordville continues today as the Straffordville Gospel Hall.
The Tillsonburg assembly was established in 1888 on Harvey Street through the efforts of Mr. Muir and others from the South Middleton and Straffordville assemblies. The assembly met in a rented room in ‘Graves Block’ for about 25 years. In 1914, the Tillsonburg Gospel Hall was built and there the assembly worshipped until the town fathers gave notice in 1976 that the property was to be expropriated and a new shopping mall developed there. In 1979, the Hall was moved to its current location at the corner of Bridge and Queen Streets and renovated. At that time the name was changed to Tillsonburg Bible Chapel, ON and the assembly developed a strong youth program.
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.
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. [[Thomas Donald William Muir|Thomas Donald William "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.
In the early 1920s, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lapsley lived in the Valens area and fellowshipped in the Clyde Assembly. The Lapsleys were exercised to see an assembly in their area, since the original Valens Assembly had discontinued, and with the help of George Dixon and Mr. and Mrs. John Robson, began an assembly in 1923, meeting first in the Robson home. William Bailley held many Gospel meetings in the area, resulting in new converts. Fred Watson also helped in establishing the new assembly. The Christians later built the Valens Gospel Hall on property adjacent to the Robson home. Others in leadership have been Earl Watson, John Holtzhauer, Ted Lapsley; Robert Reeve, and Martin Grinwis. The assembly at Valens Gospel Hall has commended workers to Zambia, and presently has about 30 in attendance.
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For six weeks in 1874, John Smith and Donald Munro had preached the Gospel in Hamilton, at the western tip of Lake Ontario, seeing little interest. Then [[Thomas Donald William Muir|Thomas Donald William "T.D.W. " Muir]], K.J. Muir, and William J. Faulkner were saved under their preaching. The Gospel meetings continued, and many more were saved and baptized. These Christians soon began meeting to Remember the Lord, the beginning of the McNab Street Gospel Hall in Hamilton. This is the oldest continuously meeting assembly in the city of Hamilton. It has since relocated and is called the West Fifth Bible Chapel.
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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.
Later in 1879, Donald Ross and [[Thomas Donald William Muir|Thomas Donald William "T.D.W. " Muir ]] preached together in a tent on Yonge Street, and later Mr. Moyse of Australia joined them. The following year, Alexander Marshall conducted a Gospel campaign in the city; Harry Ironside was his co-worker for a time in these meetings.
During this period, Brock Street Temperance Hall, which stood on Brock Street at the corner of Little Richmond, emerged as the center championing ‘open’ principles. Brock Avenue Gospel Hall and Central Gospel Hall both have their roots in the Brock Street Temperance Hall.
In the course of time, the two groups Elizabeth Street and Farley Avenue followed divergent lines. Also, a son-in-law of Walter McKenzie built a new hall on Buchanan Street, which he called Beulah Hall. This grew to be a very large meeting. When the Christians built a new hall at 25 Charles Street, they retained their Beulah Hall designation.
During this period, there was a degree of interaction of these ‘open’ brethren with some denominational churches and with the’exclusive’ brethren. For example, J.W.C. Fegan, the well-known ‘open’ brother who started the Boy’s School in England, preached at Farley in 1884 and at the Queen Street Baptist Church in 1886. In 1892, [[Thomas Donald William Muir|Thomas Donald William "T.D.W. " Muir ]] preached at the ‘Assembly Rooms’ at Yonge and Maitland, where F.W. Grant attended before moving to Plainfield, NJ. Donald Munro and John Smith preached for a time at a Methodist church in Bolton.
In 1886, Donald Munro married and established his home in Toronto. He was an active evangelist in the city and was responsible for the first Conference at Farley Avenue Hall. The Conference became an annual event that served to launch the activities for the year. Many of the well-known pioneers were speakers at these Conferences.
Englehart is about 25 miles south of Kirkland Lake and nine miles from both Earlton and Charlton. In 1929, Ben Widdifield and R. Bruce returned to Englehart for a series of Gospel meetings. These men visited all around the countryside on foot or bicycle. When people were saved, these men urged the formation of a new assembly in that area.
Englehart Gospel Hall was formed in 1933, meeting first in the home of Tom Holcroft. Then the Christians moved to the home of Alex Spence, and in 1935 began holding assembly Sunday meetings at the Orange Hall. Some of the Christians who had been traveling to the Earlton or Charlton Assemblies began fellowshipping at Englehart. The Albert Carr family moved to Englehart in 1938 and became stalwarts in the assembly.
Not until 1952 was the Gospel Hall built, and then just a basement, located at the corner of Fifth Street and Sixth Avenue. The upstairs seems to have been built about a year later. The Huntsville Gospel Hall donated 100 chairs. The growing assembly has been very evangelistic, with children’s works and having its own Conferences. Leadership over the years includes Mr. Spence, Mr. Carr, Mr. E. Smart, and Mr. Gordon Wood, among many others. About 50 adults and youngsters attend Englehart Gospel Hall now.
