November 9, 2023 | From Pastor Matt and Council

Dear Renfrew Baptist Church family -

We want to thank you for your patience especially over the last few weeks as we have attempted to “get back” into our building. It does feel like it has been many years rather than just a few months. The plan as of today (Thursday) is to be in our building once again for Sunday. I need you to know that there will be many parts of the building that are not accessible as it is still an active construction site so we need you to be aware that there will not be a chance (quite yet) to go wandering through our building. It is also important that we supervise our children so that no one gets hurt or finds themselves in a place that they shouldn’t be.

Tomorrow (Friday) - we are asking you to pray as we have a couple inspections from the city that will determine if we have partial occupancy for this Sunday. We know that the building is not the church, we all are the church but we also know that the building is significant to many of our faith journeys over the years. Could you commit to praying for the inspections on Friday? Would you also pray specifically that the fire inspection would go off without an issue?

We look forward to welcoming you back into our space and continue to build on the legacy that we have behind us and the one we will contribute to in the future!

Blessings on you friends -

Matt for Darin F (Building Liaison) and the Council

November 1, 2023 | From Pastor Matt and Council

Dear Renfrew Baptist Church - 

As we cross into the month of November which certainly has its own challenges in itself whether it is the daylight savings time (remember fall back is this week) or the long dark days that remind us winter is right around the corner. Please know that we are so excited with what these next few months will be for us as a church as we have an opportunity to watch a Christmas play on December 3 and participate in all the great things that happen over the Christmas season at Renfrew.

We had a great night last night handing out chocolate bars and potato chips for our Great Candy Giveaway (abbreviated version). It was great to be back in the community and interacting with our neighbours who are as excited as we are to have us back in the building.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to access our building as we originally had planned for this Sunday. Chandos (our contractor) has worked extremely hard to make it happen but they were unable to overcome some of the last barriers that need to be taken care of so that we can have a partial occupancy allowance. I know personally for Darin (Building Lead), Jamie (Council Chair), and our staff this is incredibly disappointing for us all. I do know that good things come to those who wait and a one-week delay is minor in the grand scheme of things during this process.

This means on Sunday November 5, we will be meeting with our network partner - Daybreak Community Church at their location in Airdrie. There were some other options that we looked at away from Grace Baptist Church but none of them seemed as feasible as being with our partners at Daybreak. The service will begin at 10:00 am at 2104 Yankee Valley Blvd in Airdrie.  We will have childcare and many of the elements that you would expect at Renfrew will be the same. There is even coffee available at 9:30 am if you want to come early.  

We know that this arrangement is not ideal but would encourage you to make the effort to join us this Sunday in Airdrie. We would love to celebrate with great expectation of what God is doing in both of our churches that support each other through our network relationship.  

Once again, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your support (in words and in attendance and in support) for the time that we have been outside of our normal building. We have seen an increase in our attendance as well as in our environment while at Grace Baptist Church. We know that any time there are changes to our normal rhythm of life there is a healthy amount of sacrifice required and we thank you for making that sacrifice over the last few months. There is so much excitement on what God is going to do in and through us as we come back into our space on November 12.

Thanks for being a part of Renfrew Baptist Church -


Matt for the Renfrew Baptist Church staff and Council

May 25, 2023 | From Pastor Matt and Council

This is an exciting Sunday for us as we celebrate the 65-year history of Renfrew Baptist Church in its present (and future) location while looking towards the future and the impact that we will continue to have in the community that we are a part of.  It doesn’t matter if we know the building on 1204 Renfrew Drive as Temple Baptist or now as Renfrew Baptist Church - our passion for our immediate community has not changed.

As a church, we are embarking on building another piece of our legacy when we renovate our current space starting on June 1, 2023.  In regards to our upcoming renovation, we are wondering if you, our congregation would be willing to help us a bit on Sunday after church.  There is much equipment to move and place in different spots to ensure that the renovation can happen in a timely manner.  We also need to move some stuff to Grace Baptist Church so that we can hit the ground running on June 4.

If you are willing to help for a bit - we will provide pizza as close to the “time” that we are done as we can!  We just need you to register with Pastor Matt so that he can be prepared for what will happen on Sunday.  Our belief is that it will take about 45 mins or less at Renfrew Baptist Church.

In regards to where we will be holding our services from June 4 to September 3, the location is:  Grace Baptist Church.  The address for the church is:  2670 Radcliffe Drive SE.  We will be meeting in the Chapel which is located alongside of Memorial Drive.  There will be a bit of an orientation for the first few weeks of our time there.  The service will start at 10:30 am and we are expecting to hold children’s ministry and other normal Sunday activities there.  It will be important for you to continue to check your email and cell phones as we will communicate regularly through this process.

One final thing is that there will be items that are available for you to take home if you are able to take them on Sunday.  If you are interested in some of these items listed below, please respond to Pastor Matt at:  matt@renfrewbaptist.ca.  

The items available are:

* Pews
* 2 Fridges
* Bulletin Boards
* Speakers


Renfrew Baptist Church Council and Pastor Matt

December 2, 2022 | From Pastor Matt and the Council

This Sunday marks a moment in the history of Renfrew Baptist Church. Renfrew Baptist Church has always been a bit ahead of where people expected it to be. Years ago, when the present building was first built, it was constructed with the thought that one day it would need to be renovated for the future. 

As you drive in each Sunday, you might have driven by the site where the United Church used to be and are reminded that we are still called to the community that God has placed us in. Who would have known those many years ago that we would have an even greater call to be the hands and feet of Jesus, serving in the church family and in our communities?
 
Our church building has served us well for more than 60 years - a legacy given to us by our churches founders - and one we want to build on now.
 
We are renovating not just for our needs in 2022 but for our needs in 2042 - to give us the functionality we need to continue using this space for ministry purposes as they change and shift over the years.
 
The renovations we have planned - including updating the sanctuary, replacing our kitchen, enhancing the fellowship hall, reinvigorating our exterior and replacing our roof, windows and other structural components - will be a gift, both to our current congregation and to the future Renfrew family.
 
This is an opportunity to continue the legacy of our funders - investing in maintaining and improving our building so that it continues to be a space that allows us to be the hands of feet of Jesus, both within and outside of our church family.
 
Over the last four weeks, we have been talking about making a commitment or pledge for the future. This Sunday December 4 is going to be all about that. Some of you might want to fill out the pledge form early if you are not going to be there while some of you who will be with us in church will want to bring along your pledge card. 

Please know that we won’t be asking you to put your name on the pledge card – this is between you and God. The pledge card helps us understand for the future; what will we need to mortgage for the remaining balance. 

In a real high level, we have about $750K ready for this renovation. We still have $200K in our bank account above the $750K. The renovation will cost about $750K more than the original $750K so we together need to raise and mortgage about $750K. Please pray about your commitment over the next 3 years to our building fund.
 
We are going to celebrate our commitments by getting together for a Celebration Luncheon on Sunday. Right after the morning worship service, we will hang out around food and celebrate where God is taking us over the next few years as a church.  Please register simply so we can plan the food accordingly.
 
Thank you for being the church! Thank you for being a church that thinks bigger than itself! Thank you for believing that God is calling us to impact our community. Thank you for being you.

Matt for the Renfrew Baptist Church Staff and Council

May 5, 2022 | From Renfrew Baptist Church Council

Dear Renfrew Baptist Church family -
 
As we begin this month of May, we wanted to take a minute to thank you for your contribution to the ministry of Renfrew Baptist Church. We are continually amazed at our congregation and the way that God has orchestrated you all to be a part of it. We are excited for the last Sunday in May where we will “officially” kick-off our Renovation Capital Campaign with a fun pizza party after the morning service. There will be more details to follow but make sure to book this date off in your calendar!
 
In light of our preparations to be ready to renovate our church, it has become increasingly apparent that our focus needs to be on our church building and not the other buildings that we currently own. We have come to the realization that acting as landlords is not our forte, and that we are at the point where significant financial investment in renovations to our 2nd parsonage (1408 Renfrew Drive) would be required, which we do not believe would be financially prudent at this time. On May 1, we met with Lorie (our current tenant) and informed her that we will be moving to sell the 2nd parsonage within this year. As a council, we shared this at our Community Gathering and Prayer time held on Sunday night.
 
We know that there is a wealth of emotions that comes with a decision like this. This decision was not made lightly nor was it made without personal care. In our meeting with Lorie, we assured her that she will be not left alone to figure out what her next accommodations will look like and we communicated to her that we would be willing to cover some expenses that she will incur as she moves in the fall. Many of our council members have close relationships with Lorie and although this decision is incredibly hard because of the personal connection, we as a council believe that it is the right move to make at this time for the future of Renfrew Baptist Church.
 
Parsonage #2, with Lorie living in it for over 25 years, has been a legacy of Renfrew Baptist Church. Lorie welcomed and cared for numerous people who needed the deep love and care that Lorie was always there with open arms to provide.  We loved that this parsonage was used for something greater than what it was originally bought for. Now those funds can be repurposed into our main church building helping to finance a significant amount of the expected costs of this project. Little did our fore-fathers know what they originally provided us, which we are extremely grateful for today and pray that they would be proud of where we are as a church.

We understand that there may be questions, concerns or comments as you read you this - please feel free to reach out to the council at: council@renfrewbaptist.ca
 
 
Blessings - 
 
Renfrew Baptist Church Council