The Crossing Church - St John’s, formerly West End United Baptist Church
Title
The Crossing Church - St John’s, formerly West End United Baptist Church
Creator
Avery Jackson
Source
The Crossing Church - St John’s
Church Name
The Crossing Church - St John’s, formerly West End United Baptist Church
Church Association
Newfoundland & Labrador Association
Province
Newfoundland & Labrador
County
Newfoundland & Labrador
Address
314 Topsail Rd, St. John's, NL
Status
Active
Date
Built 1972-1973, current building 1982-1983
Historical Information
The Crossing Church - St John’s, formerly West End United Baptist Church, has its beginnings with the former First Baptist Church of St John’s. First Baptist, started in 1956, planted this church. In the beginning this group met in a school building. The group incorporated in 1969, with the first pastor being Reuben Davis.
An interesting fact about this group is that they bought a camp facility on River Road in Blaketown, before any other building. In 1971, the congregation purchased a parsonage at 24 Colville St.
It was not until 1972-1973 that the congregation built their first sanctuary space, referred to by many in the area as “The Box,” or “the building with the basement upstairs.” The shape of the building resembles a cube, and is covered in grey-steel siding. A striking feature about the exterior of this part of the facility is the original, long, narrow, stained glass windows. On the main level one can find the former sanctuary space and stage, now used for recreation. The reason it was called “the building with the basement upstairs” is that there are classrooms located on the second level, something that is often found in the basement of Baptist churches in Atlantic Canada.
One can tell the difference between “The Box” and the newer facility, built in 1982-1983, based on the exterior building materials used. This newer part of the facility contains the current (2023) sanctuary space, classrooms, office space, and a kitchen area. The exterior facade of the structure is covered in brick. The main sanctuary space is built in the Akron design, an architectural plan that congregations were making use of in the first part of the twentieth century. This design abandoned the traditional long, straight, and narrow sanctuary with a central aisle in favour of a shallower and wider sanctuary with a sloping floor and pews which sweep in a half-circle and are broken into three sections. Also typical of the Akron style are sliding walls which allow the gallery to be closed off when not needed, and doors on the Sunday School rooms which completely open the front wall of the classroom. In a true Akron style Sunday School, the classes would open these doors completely so that the superintendent would be in full view to address the whole Sunday school. Doors were then closed for the class time. The sliding door could also be opened to enlarge the seating capacity of the sanctuary.
Many groups use the sanctuary space due to the excellent acoustics found in the facility. During 9/11, with many planes grounded at the St. John's airport, this facility housed many travellers, stranded due to the planes being grounded.
This church is now named The Crossing Church, which has a site in Gander, and St. John’s. A group from this church separated and formed Calvary United Baptist Church in St. John’s.
Information provided by The Crossing Church - St John’s.
An interesting fact about this group is that they bought a camp facility on River Road in Blaketown, before any other building. In 1971, the congregation purchased a parsonage at 24 Colville St.
It was not until 1972-1973 that the congregation built their first sanctuary space, referred to by many in the area as “The Box,” or “the building with the basement upstairs.” The shape of the building resembles a cube, and is covered in grey-steel siding. A striking feature about the exterior of this part of the facility is the original, long, narrow, stained glass windows. On the main level one can find the former sanctuary space and stage, now used for recreation. The reason it was called “the building with the basement upstairs” is that there are classrooms located on the second level, something that is often found in the basement of Baptist churches in Atlantic Canada.
One can tell the difference between “The Box” and the newer facility, built in 1982-1983, based on the exterior building materials used. This newer part of the facility contains the current (2023) sanctuary space, classrooms, office space, and a kitchen area. The exterior facade of the structure is covered in brick. The main sanctuary space is built in the Akron design, an architectural plan that congregations were making use of in the first part of the twentieth century. This design abandoned the traditional long, straight, and narrow sanctuary with a central aisle in favour of a shallower and wider sanctuary with a sloping floor and pews which sweep in a half-circle and are broken into three sections. Also typical of the Akron style are sliding walls which allow the gallery to be closed off when not needed, and doors on the Sunday School rooms which completely open the front wall of the classroom. In a true Akron style Sunday School, the classes would open these doors completely so that the superintendent would be in full view to address the whole Sunday school. Doors were then closed for the class time. The sliding door could also be opened to enlarge the seating capacity of the sanctuary.
Many groups use the sanctuary space due to the excellent acoustics found in the facility. During 9/11, with many planes grounded at the St. John's airport, this facility housed many travellers, stranded due to the planes being grounded.
This church is now named The Crossing Church, which has a site in Gander, and St. John’s. A group from this church separated and formed Calvary United Baptist Church in St. John’s.
Information provided by The Crossing Church - St John’s.
Files
Collection
Citation
Avery Jackson, “The Crossing Church - St John’s, formerly West End United Baptist Church,” Atlantic Baptist Built Heritage Project , accessed May 13, 2024, https://atlanticbaptistheritage.omeka.net/items/show/432.