Westhill Park Baptist Church

The ministry of our church began with 45 people standing on a street corner, in front of an empty lot, dedicating their lives to the work of bringing the Gospel to the northwest area of Regina. This event did not take place at the corner of Sherwood and Doiron, the site of our current building, but rather at the corner of Cameron Street and 7th Avenue; it was March 1, 1923.?? The three empty lots at this location were at the forefront of what was then the northwest part of the city.

An extension had been initiated in 1922 by First Baptist Church and began as a mission work conducting weekly Sunday School and occasional evening services. The work was dedicated to Dr. Marjorie Cameron, a member of First Baptist Church, who had died in India while serving as a medical missionary. To house the mission, a 40ft. by 20ft. building was erected at a cost of about $2,100. Subsequently, 41 members of First Baptist Church transferred their memberships and along with 4 others established Cameron Memorial Baptist Church on March 1, 1923. The first pastor of our church was Rev. Will Surman.

Cameron Memorial Baptist Church would continue to serve the Lord for the next 65 years. The original building was expanded twice and then replaced in 1963 by the structure that still stands at this location. Another milestone occurred in 1970 when Emmanuel Baptist Church amalgamated with Cameron. Emmanuel was located at the corner of Sherwood & Avonhurst and, although both locations were utilized for a time, in 1972 all operations were combined at the Cameron location. Several of our current members trace their membership back to Emmanuel and it is an important part of our past.

During the Cameron Years, we were served by the following dedicated pastors:

• Rev. Will Surman
• Rev. E.E. Jessop
• Rev. A.G. Elliot
• Rev. I.G. Hind
• Rev. A.J. Hadley
• Rev. Theo Gibson
• Rev. John Dick
• Rev. Fred Steed
• Rev. Jack Hawkins
• Rev. Wayne McLaren
• Rev. Kenneth Brown

In 1986, the church determined that God?s will for Cameron required relocation to the suburbs and, accordingly, an option was placed on the current property in Westhill Park. Rev. James Wells accepted a call to be our senior pastor and thus began the Westhill Years. The name of our church was changed to Westhill Park Baptist Church in 1987 and we moved to the ?new? northwest area of the city; initially holding Sunday services in St. Joan of Arc School. The church continued to be blessed by growth and, thanks to the financial commitment of our members and the support of the Baptist Union Of Western Canada, we took possession of our current building in 1989.

After the passing of Dr. Wells in 1998, we were blessed by the leadership of  Dr. David Simpson.  Following Dr. Simpson’s retirement, Rev. Tim Coleman was installed as Westhill’s Senior Pastor.

Since becoming Westhill Park Baptist Church, we have been honoured by continued growth, have enlarged the building twice, and recently completed a major renovation to the Sanctuary, Lobby, and Fellowship Hall.   We continue to plan and implement new ministries and have identified further building plans to accommodate these efforts.

The people of Cameron, Emmanuel, and Westhill Park Baptist Church have been blessed by God. We pray He will continue to find us faithful in carrying out His ministry in northwest Regina.