About Us

During the winter and early spring of 1985, two groups of Christians from the Kennebecasis Valley were meeting regularly to discuss and pray about the possibility of stepping out in faith to begin a new Baptist church. Neither group knew that the other group was meeting, but God knew and He also knew how they would come together in His time.

In May, 1985, the perceived leaders of the two groups, who had known each other while attending the same church years earlier, met in a restaurant. Those two couples were Don and Katrina Kerr and Stewart and Pat Henry; the Kerrs represented the group from Rothesay Baptist Church and the Henrys represented the group from Forest Hills Baptist Church. They decided to place an ad on the church announcement page of the Saint John daily newspaper to invite interested persons to attend a meeting to explore the possibility of a new Baptist Church in the Rothesay area.

The initial meeting was held on Sunday afternoon, May 26, 1985, in a classroom of the old Rothesay Junior High School with 33 adults in attendance. The two groups were there, along with some individuals from other churches and a few who were not attending any church. Rev. Ken Blakney, who later became our Pastor Emeritus, gave the devotional. It was decided to continue meeting on Sunday afternoons in June.

The next four meetings were held in the gymnasium of Rothesay Junior High School. A devotional and prayer time was included each week, along with a praise and worship time, accompanied by Dorothy Melick and Katrina Kerr on auto harps and Don Moore on guitar. At the suggestion of the Baptist Convention office, a Steering Committee was appointed at our second meeting, composed of six men and three women.

In July, the young church began morning worship services in the music room of Rothesay Elementary School; this continued until early fall. Weekly prayer meetings were also held during this time at various homes.

In late September, the church moved to the music room of Lakefield Elementary School and Walter Spragg, a Gideon lay preacher, was called to deliver the sermons at our morning and evening worship services on Sundays and to lead the Bible Study and Prayer meetings on Wednesday evenings. Our Charter Members Night was held in the music room at Lakefield on September 23, 1985, with 53 Baptized believers becoming the first members of Kennebecasis Baptist Church.

Walter Spragg stayed with us until our first pastor, Rudy Pohl, arrived from Ottawa in July, 1986. During Pastor Rudy's time with us, the church continued to grow; as a result, morning worship services had to be moved from the Lakefield music room into the gymnasium of that school. During the fall months of 1986, the Steering Committee met with Dr. Harry Gardner, from the Baptist Convention office, to discuss possible structures for local church government and to develop a plan to present to the church. In January, 1987, four boards and several committees were established; the boards were Deacons, Trustees, Finance and Christian Education. One of the committees was a land committee, which was chaired by Claire Blakney; that committee recommended two parcels of land to the church and it was decided to purchase approximately ten acres of land on the Old Hampton Road in Quispamsis, across from Kennebecasis Valley High School.

When Pastor Rudy returned to Ottawa in June of 1987, Dr. Keith Hobson became our interim pastor, although Walter Spragg also came back to preach for the month of July because Pastor Hobson had another commitment during that time. The mortgage for the parcel of land was burned during Dr. Hobson's time with us.

In August, 1988, Dr. Leo Gallant came from Brown's Flat to be our second full-time pastor. In the fall of 1988, Pastor Leo led us into our first building program and in May, 1989, the church moved from Lakefield School to our first building on the Old Hampton Road. The mortgage for this first building was burned on Thanksgiving Sunday, October, 1998. The church also required some auxilliary staff upon moving into their building. Nancy Mullin, who was a charter member, has been our church custodian since 1989. Joyce Jeffrey was church secretary from 1991 until 2001 and Kim Greer, who is also a charter member, has been church secretary since that time.

In 1991, the church called its first Youth Pastor, John Dunnett, who stayed until 1995, when he left for a call to the Baptist Convention. Pastor Leo left for Chester Basin, Nova Scotia in November, 1994. Our interim pastor for 1995 was Eric Davidson; Ford Alward was in that position for the first six months of 1996. Our present Senior Pastor, Brian Long, arrived at the end of June, 1996 and, two years later, our second Youth Pastor, Dale Stairs, arrived in August; Pastor Dale left for a call to the Baptist Convention in September, 2005. John Hughes was called to be our first Director of Music from 2000 until 2003.

In 2003, we began our second building program, which expanded the church sanctuary and foyer; new offices, a gymnasium, larger kitchen, lounges and several classrooms were also added.

In August, 2005, Joshua Britten was called to be our second Director of Music. In August, 2006, John Dunnett returned to KBC as our Associate Pastor of Children Youth and Young Adults.

In August 2006, Pastor Brian Long was diagnosed with brain cancer and began a regime of treatments for the disease. Pastor Dunnett assumed the role as Acting Senior Pastor during this period. Pastor Brian was able to resume some of his duties in 2007 including bringing the Sunday morning message on occasion. This amazed everyone, especially his doctors. Pastor Brian went on long term disability on January 1st, 2008.

At a special business meeting on March 27th 2008, Pastor Brian was appointed as Pastor Emeritus and Acting Senior Pastor John Dunnett was officially appointed the Senior Pastor of KBC. The Lord saw fit to call Pastor Brian home on June 1st, 2008. He touched many lives during his time with us and we look forward to the day when we shall meet again.

On May 15th our Director of Music, Joshua Britten, submitted his resignation. He finished his employment at KBC in August when he was married and moved to Fredericton, N.B.

On July 14th, 2008 the church welcomed Alan Fewkes as the new Associate Pastor of Youth and Young Adults.

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What We Believe:

Baptists believe that hope for the individual, the nation, and the world is found in Jesus Christ and a personal relationship with Him. Baptists are one group or denomination within the Christian church. Like other Christians we hold some basic biblical beliefs:

	We believe in one God who reveals Himself to us as Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit.
	We believe in the reality of sin in the world and in our personal lives.
	We believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead to save us from our sins.
	We believe that each person needs a personal relationship with Jesus in order to be saved.
	We believe that it is by God’s grace we are saved; we do not earn our salvation by good works.
	We believe that one day Jesus will return again.

Baptists emerged historically out of a desire to follow New Testament teaching as they understood it. The following beliefs have come to be known as "Baptist Distinctives":

Baptist Distinctives

I. Jesus is Lord. Like other Christians, Baptists believe that Jesus is fully God and fully human. Through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, He can freely offer salvation to all that accept Him as Saviour and seek to follow Him as Lord. Therefore, Baptists believe that every area of the church’s life and the individual believer's life ought to be subject to the Lord. Consequently we believe that studying God’s Word (the Bible) and prayer are vitally important for both churches and individual believers. He is the supreme authority.

2. The Authority of the Bible. We believe that God communicates His will primarily through the inspired Word of God, the Bible. Baptists believe the scriptures are inspired by God. They are the only perfect, supreme, infallible and sufficient standard of faith and practice. The Bible is our final authority in matters of faith (what we believe) and practice (how we live and conduct ourselves). We also believe that all persons have the privilege and responsibility to read the Bible prayerfully for themselves.

3. The Priesthood of All Believers. The Bible affirms the value of each person. Each of us has been created in the image of God. Each of us has the right and privilege to deal directly with God through Jesus Christ. Thus we do not need a "priest" to act as a "go-between" between God and ourselves. Every member is called to be a minister. We can pray and confess our sins directly to God. Each of us also has spiritual gifts that we have the privilege and responsibility to use in ministry.

An extension of this principle is that Baptists believe that no group or individual has any right to compel others to believe or worship as they do. Baptists historically were among the first champions of religious liberty in Canada.

4. A Believers' Church. Baptists believe that Jesus Christ chooses to form his church by bringing together those who believe in Him for the purpose of worship, witness, fellowship, and ministry (both spiritual and social). Baptists recognize the church as all that profess faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour. We believe this "universal church" is visibly expressed in local congregations. Each local church is made up of believers who profess their faith in Jesus, are baptized, and identify themselves with that church, normally through membership.

5. Believer's Baptism by Immersion.Baptism is Jesus’ command for those who believe. Full immersion is the pattern established in the Bible. Baptism by immersion allows a believer to publicly identify with Jesus: going under the water symbolizes Jesus' death, being immersed represents His burial, and rising from the water celebrates Jesus’ resurrection! Baptism is one first significant acts through which the believer is obedient to Jesus’ commands and proclaims personal faith in Christ!

Historically, the decision by believers to follow the biblical pattern of baptizing believers (not infants) by immersion (not sprinkling or pouring) gave rise to the name "Baptists."

6. Local Church Autonomy. Local Baptist congregations are governed by the principles of the priesthood of all believers, the Lordship of Christ, the authority of the Scriptures, and the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. Baptists believe that Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is present in the lives of believers in a congregation. In terms of leading and governing a local church, believers are responsible to seek to discern God’s will through prayer, Bible study, and discussion.

This principle also gives each individual congregation a certain degree of autonomy and freedom from control by other bodies. However, just as individual believers, through prayer, study of Scripture, and discussion, come together to govern local churches, so individual churches come together in larger bodies (areas, associations, unions, and conventions) to work together to know and obey God’s will. From their beginning, however, Baptists have consistently recognized the importance of cooperation with churches of "like faith and order."

7. Separation of Church and State. Based on Baptist convictions such as the Lordship of Christ and the priesthood of believers, Baptists believe there must exist a separation between the church and civil governments. We believe God has given legitimate roles in society to both church and state. There should not be a church-controlled state, nor a state-controlled church. We hold a deep conviction that neither is to encroach upon the rights or responsibilities of the other. Christians are, however, under obligation to become the conscience of the community and nation and hold governing authorities accountable to perform their duties with wisdom, integrity, and conscience. Christians are also under obligation to speak to issues of social justice.

What is a "Canadian" Baptist?

Our church is part of "Canadian Baptist Ministries" (CBM), an umbrella organization that celebrates the connectedness of Canadians who share a Baptist faith from coast to coast.

Through CBM, Baptists in Atlantic Canada (United Baptist Convention of the Atlantic Provinces) work with Francophone Baptists (l’Union de l’Eglises Baptistes Francaises au Canada), Baptists in central Canada (Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec) and cooperate with Baptists in western Canada (Baptist Union of Western Canada).

CBM also enables Baptists across the country to share in ministries such as the support of missionaries in over a dozen countries, overseas relief and development (The Sharing Way), short-term service assignments (Canadian Baptist Volunteers), publishing, youth work, and public affairs.

Internationally, Baptists who are part of CBM are also part of the Baptist World Alliance. Through the BWA. more than 35 million Baptists around the world share their faith, vision, and ministries.

To find out more about Altantic Baptists and our history, visit the Atlantic Baptist Convention web site.

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The Staff:

Senior Pastor: Rev. John Dunnett (email: pastorjohn@kubc.ca) 849-3779

Associate Pastor: Youth and Young Adults: Rev. Alan Fewkes (email: al.fewkes@kubc.ca) 849-9033

Volunteer Ministries Co-ordinator: Cyndi Hastings (email: cyndismailbox@hotmail.com) 849-8268

Office Manager: Kim Greer (email: kubc@nbnet.nb.ca) 847-5822

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