Benton Street Baptist Church Kitchener

• Name	Benton Street Baptist Church Kitchener
  Born	congregation begun 1852	90 Benton St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario
  Gender	Unknown
  alt name	Benton Street Baptist Church, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario
  Church	1852
  	congregation begun
  alt name	Bef 1918	German Baptist Church (Benton Street Baptist Church, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario
  	German Baptist Church
  Name	German Baptist Church Kitchener
  Died	Yes, date unknown
  Person ID	I1035	Properties
  Last Modified	15 Sep 2011

  
  

• Notes

  Benton Street Baptist Church Begun: 1851 The congregation of the first German Baptist Church in Canada was organized in Bridgeport on September 10, 1851 by Rev. August Rauschenbusch. A church was built in Berlin at the corner of Benton and St. George Streets in 1852, with  Rev. Henry Schneider  as the first pastor. Pastors who followed Rev. Schneider were Revs. Ed. Austermuehl (1863-1864) and C. Bodenbender (1865-1871). By 1883 the congregation had grown to 140 members and the new and larger church which was built on the same site was opened in December of that year. The pastor at the time was  Rev. Jacob Fellman , who had begun his service as pastor on August 23, 1876. Sunday evening services in English were attempted in 1891 but were not continued because of poor attendance. However, an English-speaking Baptist congregation, to be known as King Street Baptist Church, was organized in Berlin on November 10, 1895; seven members of the new congregation were from the Benton Street church. The name of the church was changed from German Baptist Church to Benton Street Baptist Church in March, 1918 when the congregation ceased holding services in the German language. On January 25, 1928 the church "withdrew from the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec ... " (Clubine 1976). The church later "became affiliated with the Fellowship of Independent Baptist Churches" (Ibid.) . A growing congregation necessitated improvement and additions to the church over the years. The Sunday School was built in 1901, and was enlarged in 1927 with the addition of a second storey. Fire destroyed the church on February 11, 1964, except for an addition which had been built in 1953. Sod was turned on September 5, 1965 marking the beginning of construction of a new church; the cornerstone was laid on April 3, 1966 and the new building was officially opened and dedicated on September 18, 1966. The congregation had met in Eastwood Collegiate in the interval. Records: Baptism dates: 1851- Location of records: at church Marriage dates: 1851- Location of records: at church Burial dates: 1851- Location of records: at church For marriage dates 1858-1861, 1865, 1867, see Waterloo County Marriages 1858-1869. The Civil Registers for Waterloo County 1855-1861 contain some Births 1861, Marriages 1855 and Deaths 1855, 1860, on National Archives microfilm C-15758, available on interlibrary loan or at the Kitchener Public Library. These latter records may include references to congregations in the Townships of Waterloo, Wilmot and Woolwich. [ADDRESS/LOCATION: 90 Benton St., Kitchener, ON N2G 3H4; 745-3792.] References: Baptist Church; Clubine 1976; Stroh, WHS 1978(66):114; R. Taylor 1986; Uttley 1937:93-97; WHS 1931(19):275; WHS 1964(52):82-83; WHS 1965(53):18. Church History: Benton Street Baptist Church: 125 Years, 1851-1976, 1976.1a 1aAmbrose, Rosemary. Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide to Churches Established Before 1900. Kitchener, Ontario, Canada: Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1993. [used the kind permission of Rosemary Ambrose 2011]

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - congregation begun 1852 - 90 Benton St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario alt name - - Benton Street Baptist Church, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario alt name - German Baptist Church - Bef 1918 - German Baptist Church (Benton Street Baptist Church, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario  = Link to Google Earth