Continuing the Testimony in the History

31 August 2025

By Pastor Frank Liu - Mandarin Congregation Pastor

Central Baptist Church opens the doors every weekday at noon, welcoming people from the community to come in and pray. Many visitors also come simply to look around or take photos, often filled with curiosity about the church’s 190 years history.

In fact, Central Baptist Church was originally located on Bathurst Street. Since its founding in 1836, it has always been a church passionate about proclaiming the gospel and actively supporting missions.

But one hundred years later, in 1936, the government requisitioned the original church building, and Central moved to the present location on George Street. At that time, this place was nothing but an empty piece of land, and everything had to be built from scratch. Yet even though that period was a time of recovery after the world war and the congregation was not financially well off, brothers and sisters, driven by their faith in God and their love for the church, launched a “Buy a Brick” campaign: five cents per brick, encouraging everyone to contribute to the construction of the new church.

Praise God, brothers and sisters gave wholeheartedly, and under the Lord’s marvelous grace, just over a year later, the church held its first service in the newly built building (October 9, 1937). It was a Saturday filled with gratitude and awe, as everyone celebrated together and recounted the Lord’s grace: if it had not been God Himself who accomplished this, who could have completed such a great work in such a difficult time and in such a short period?

From then on, Central Baptist Church, as a spiritual community, continued to grow and thrive in the Lord’s grace. Various ministries were established, missionaries were sent out, the gospel was proclaimed, and it bore abundant fruit.

Now, almost another 100 years have passed, and God is still at work here. He is calling us to follow the example of those who came before us, to continue to offer ourselves for His kingdom, so that this church will not only stand as a testimony of history but also remain a base for missions, becoming a blessing to the next generation of believers.

So, will you also respond to this call and become part of the story that God is still writing here?