Bristol Baptist Church

Bristol Baptist Church was organized on April 24, 1894, and a church building was constructed in 1902. 

In the Union of 1905-1906, three streams of Atlantic Baptists came together to form the United Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces. In the Florenceville-Bristol area, four churches formed a field, sharing a pastor and a parsonage: Florenceville United Baptist Church (west), East Florenceville United Baptist Church, Bristol United Baptist Church, and Connell United Baptist Church. 

In the late 1970s, East Florenceville and Bristol became independent, no longer sharing a pastor and parsonage, with the mutual theme being ‘Divide and Multiply.’ At this time, the fair market value of the parsonage was assessed, and Florenceville bought out Bristol’s half to give their fair share of the equity. 

In late Spring of 2005, the Bristol ministry was facing many limitations in their small, older building. It was agreed that Bristol Baptist Church and Florenceville Baptist Church could do more together than apart, functioning as a single ministry to a single community (discussions at the municipal level were also underway, and the official amalgamation to form the town of Florenceville-Bristol occurred in 2008).

In September 2005, the Bristol congregation held one final decommissioning service to recognize over a century of ministry. The sale of the Bristol parsonage on Route 107 plus the balance of any remaining funds were designated for future expansion of what is now True North Baptist Church. The Bristol United Baptist Church building was sold in 2009.