Baptist Builder—
Calvary Baptist Church, Châteauguay, QC
Appeal: #249
A Church is Born
Calvary Baptist Church in Chateauguay, QC began as a missionary work in the early 1960s. Mrs. J.I. Moore, President of the Women’s Missionary Society of Regular Baptists of Canada, who was based in Toronto, sensed the Lord’s leading to minister within the province of Québec. In discussion with Ruth Bergeron, a local woman, the decision was made to hold a Daily Vacation Bible School (DVBS) in Chateauguay, QC. The two ladies scouted Chateauguay looking for a suitable place to hold a daily Bible School and the Society rented a house that would adequately meet their needs. On June 11, 1961, a dedication service was held at the house, claiming God’s blessing and leading that, in time, a strong New Testament church would be established in this area.
Around this time, several of the Society’s missionaries had been evacuated from the Congo due to internal strife in the country and were waiting on the Lord’s leading for their next place of work. These missionaries went door-to-door distributing literature and delivering invitations to attend DVBS. The Lord blessed their efforts and a very successful DVBS was held with an enrolment of 180. Sunday services were soon started, as well as prayer meetings and youth meetings, under the leadership of Rev. and Mrs. L. D. Dolby, who were 20-year veteran missionaries to the Congo.
The church was formally organized as Calvary Baptist Church on April 8, 1962 and six months later, through the Lord’s provision, Calvary was able to begin the construction of their own church building. A year later, in October 1963, they became a recognized part of The Fellowship.
In the Fall of 2008, needing a facility that had more seating, the church building was rented to other church groups and the congregation of Calvary Baptist relocated their services to Maplewood Presbyterian Church in Chateauguay which was better sized to meet their needs during that time.
The Need
Since its inception, Calvary Baptist has had the privilege of assisting start-up churches in Chateauguay including a French-speaking congregation. Currently, Calvary Baptist has two other congregations that they are assisting: a Spanish Baptist Church and a French African Church. On December 1, 2024, those who call Calvary Baptist home returned to their original church building and will share the facilities with the other start-up churches. To accommodate the three congregations who will be using the building, much-needed repairs and upgrades must be completed. Some of the repairs have been started but financial assistance is needed to upgrade the building’s heating system and install air conditioning. As summers can get very hot in Chateauguay, the building gets extremely warm. The hope is that the installation of a heat pump that will provide heating and cooling can be completed in spring 2025.