Carrickfergus Baptist Church

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Carrickfergus Baptist Church is a Baptist Church situated at Northlands, off the North Road, in the town of Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland.

[edit] History

The earliest reference to a Baptist Church in the historic town of Carrickfergus was in the 1640s. It is believed that it was associated with troops garrisoned in the town at that time and disappeared with their removal at the restoration of the Monarchy.

In 1862 six businessmen formed the Carrickfergus Baptist Church. The first meetings were held in the Larmours School room but in 1864 a building was erected and the church called its first Pastor, Mr William Hamilton. In four years Church membership rose to forty-five. Pastor Hamilton served the church for 25 years until his death in 1889. Records show the relief work in which he engaged in the West of Ireland during the potato famine.

Four pastors then served the church until 1905 during which time the church continued to grow. As Belfast flourished in the early 1900s, Carrickfergus, which in earlier days had been the major town in the area, declined both as a port and as a manufacturing centre. This led to a constant drain on members who had to move elsewhere to seek work. The formation of a church in Whitehouse, close to Belfast, resulted in the transfer of 20 members at the turn of the century.

For 23 years the Church laboured on without a Pastor and membership continued to decline. The church forged a link with Clifton Park Church in Belfast and Pastor L.E. Deens shared his ministry with both churches. During this period and indeed until the 1950s the church was indebted to the Home Missions (Now Baptist Missions) for financial support.

It was not until 1959 that electric lighting was installed; up to that time the old town gas works had provided both heat and light.

The 1950s saw the revival of Carrickfergus as an Industrial Centre and the opening of major factories connected with the textile industry brought hundreds of people to live in the Borough. This led to the development of major housing estates on the outskirts of the old town.

With the influx of people the church once again flourished. The establishment of a children's work in the Sunnylands housing estate, led to the commencement of a second Sunday School in the area. In the 1960's the children's work was further developed by the introduction of the Campaigners our uniformed organisation. In 1964 a new hall was erected in Lancastarian Street to cater for this growing area of work.

The Church continued to grow, and with a membership now of almost 100, the old building was proving inadequate. However, as it backed onto the ancient town walls it was impossible to develop further and so in 1979 the church moved to a new green-field site adjacent to the Sunnylands Housing Estate. Within just a few years the debts were cleared.

The final chapter of our development was in 1991 when, with now almost 150 members, the new church halls were built within the church grounds. This has enabled the development of a flourishing Youth Club and Parent and Toddler group as well as the previously existing Children's Work.