Half a century of fellowship, community outreach and service to God will be commemorated in September as the Paeroa Baptist Church celebrates its fifty-year anniversary.
The church began as a small fellowship of fewer than 30 members in 1974, operating from a small building on the corner of Corbett and Albert St. One of the original members, 92-year-old Paul Ashford, said the congregation was small enough that whole-church outings to the beach were easy to organise.
“We used to go down to Bowentown on a Sunday and have lunch down there. [Fellowship member] Graeme Lee and his brother, they both had speedboats and they would take our teenagers out skiing,” Paul said.
“We always had a good time there, and we were small enough to be able to do that.”
Over the years, numbers grew until the small premises was no longer able to hold everyone.
“It got to the stage that if you didn’t arrive on time, you couldn’t get a seat.”
In the early 90s, the church bought its current premises on Wood St. Formerly owned by the army, the main building required extensive renovations. Most of the church pitched in to help the hired builders.
“I happened to be a carpenter from very many years back and I’d retired,” Paul said.
“When we sold the church, we went and met at the Scout Hall for a short while, while we were working on [the new building].”
Inside, there are traces of the church’s beginnings, with a stained glass window from the original building taking pride of place in the foyer.
“One of the builders took it out and they had to go and put glass either side of it, and we put it in our new building. Just as you go through the foyer, it hits you.”
The church has had a lot to do with the Paeroa community over the years, fellow church member Barbara Coxshall said.
“We’ve always been trying to do outreach work to the community in different ways. We’re very good as a church at doing social engagements,” she said.
“We’ve had our ups and downs with population… even through my time, we had a wonderful teenage group.”
The fifty-year celebration, to be held on September 21-22, will feature a meet-and-greet event, dinner, and celebration service. Several former pastors will be there to join in the commemorations, along with as many current and former members as possible. The church is welcoming anyone along with ties to the church, and memories, photos and other memorabilia are also welcome.
DETAILS: Paeroa Baptist Church 50th anniversary, September 21-22, 2 Wood St, Paeroa. Contact paeroabapchurch@gmail.com or 07 862 8838 for more information.
