First Baptist Church Vancouver is a multiethnic, multigenerational, socio-economically diverse congregation of about 650 in the heart of downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. We see this as a resounding demonstration of the gospel’s power to overcome human divisions. We are excited to be near the completion of an extensive building project
OUR VISION
We are a community following Jesus with a heart for the city and beyond.
OUR MISSION
We seek the peace and flourishing of the city in the following ways.
Develop a Christ-centered, missional congregation.
Create opportunities for community-building, especially in a city that has identified
social isolation as one of its key challenges.
Serve the vulnerable and marginalized.
Welcome immigrants and refugees.
Support mental health and wellness.
Offer full-time, quality childcare.
Provide affordable rental housing.
Partner with local churches and organizations.
Contribute towards long-term environmental sustainability.
OUR VALUES
Worship that glorifies the Triune God.
Preaching that declares Jesus and His Gospel of the Kingdom.
Introducing others to Jesus.
Equipping one another to live like Jesus in our beautiful but broken world.
Seeking the favour and empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Community based on and shaped by the grace of God, wherein we seek to speak the
truth in love and show tangible care.
Prayer as a lifestyle.
Outrageous generosity.
Servant leadership.
Eagerly awaiting the coming of Jesus, bringing with Him a new heaven and a new earth
OUR STORY
Our story begins in Blair’s Saloon on Abbott Street, a Vancouver pub. The year was 1886, and Vancouver had just been incorporated as a city of almost 5,000.
A small group of Baptists saw the increasing need to establish a church for the growing city. On Sunday, June 6, they launched the inaugural Sunday School program, welcoming 30 children into Blair’s Saloon.
The following Sunday, June 13, 1886, Blair’s Saloon and most of the city were destroyed by fire. By God’s grace, following the fire, two building lots were obtained from the Canadian Pacific Railway (432 Main Street) to build a dedicated space for our congregation. The modest building was 24 by 35 feet and cost just $700 to build.
The following March, a meeting was called to form First Baptist Church officially. Within months, the congregation outgrew the little building on Main Street. A new church building, seating about 800, was built at Hamilton and Dunsmuir Streets and was dedicated on Sunday, September 15, 1887.
By the turn of the twentieth century, our congregation saw the importance of putting down permanent roots on the westside of Vancouver. In 1904, we purchased our current lot. From 1911 to the present, despite various challenges, we have experienced the faithfulness of God at the intersection of Nelson and Burrard, situated at the very centre of the downtown peninsula.
