New Minas Baptist Church

The first church was built in 1856 from wood obtained from land where the Country Gardens shopping center sits today (2022). The original congregation consisted of fifteen members from the New Minas and Canaan areas and their church building was constructed on the south side of Commercial Street. across from where today there is a shopping center (2022). In 1901, a chancel was added to this property, and in 1963 an addition to the rear of this building was completed, containing a large hall for church dinners and youth activities, ten classrooms and a modern kitchen. On June 9, 1968, the final service was held in the old wood framed structure.

In 1968, the membership of the church reached 250 adults and the congregation was outgrowing its facility. The congregation decided to build a larger church parallel to Commercial Street (#1114) on the same site plus a three-acre lot donated by Harold Hatt. On October 13, 1968, the cornerstone was laid. This church was a brick, mid-century modern buildingtypical for its time in terms of style and architectural design. The congregation continued to grow to the point that they outgrew this facility and with repair expenses adding up, they decided once again to construct a new church in a new location.Construction by Cathedral Developments, Ltd. was started on the third church in 1984, on a new site adjacent to the Lockhart-Ryan Park, and subsequently, east of that new church complex the Louis Millet Community Complex was constructed. Both structures are on the north side of Commercial St, New Minas, across from the KenWo Golf Club property. This church property (4.5 acres) had been purchased from the Ryan family in 1981. Along with the church sanctuary, dedicated and opened on June 1, 1986; a two-storey Christian education centre with agymnasium, an adjoining kitchen, washrooms, and ten Sunday school rooms were built next to the church facility, dedicated and opened on June 7,1987, and subsequently named ” The Merrill Fellowship Centre.” In March 2004 a significant expansion on the north side of the sanctuary provided a large meeting room, a large, a much-needed storage area, and a well-designed nursery addition. On February 19, 2008 a sod turning ceremony east of the “Merrill Centre” provided for the construction of a large multi-purpose room, seven offices, eleven additional classrooms some of which became plus a secure children’s day-care facility. These additionsare all connected to each other.

This church is typical for its time and is one of the first examples in the Annapolis Valley of a church that is more than just a place that is used on Sundays. This building, with its gym, recreational space, daycare facility and offices is a place that is open almost every day of the week, and a place where multiple events are held. This modern church lacks a steeple, in the sense of a tower that often contains a bell. It does, however, have a dormer jutting out from the main roof line, with a larger metal cross connected to the peak of its roof. The church has retained many of the architectural embellishments from its predecessor buildings, such as the original cornerstone from the structure built in 1968. This facility is a wooden frame building with a modern red brick and vinyl siding on the exterior. These materials pay homage to the materials used to construct the churches predecessors. The interior of the building is typical for its time in terms of style, layout, and design. The sanctuary space has no fixed pews, and has instead used moveable individual chairs, which can also be found in other churches from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. There is a large modern foyer between the front doors and the sanctuary, which provides for fellowship and access to other areas of the extensive facility.

From Commercial Street, one can easily see which section is used for the sanctuary, for the library/cafe and gymnasium, for the offices and education rooms and for the daycare. The sanctuary is on the far left of the structure, and there are two visible main rectangular structures connected by three smaller wings.

Information from Nelson Labor and Linda Hart, Kings County Churches, Kentville: Kings Historical Society, 2014, and the church.