OUR HISTORY
STONE CHURCH - 1937 through 1961
Our assembly was established by Pastor Milton Higgins in 1937. Our first church building was a former general store located at 32 Gordon Street . In 1942 Milton 's brother, Manly Higgins succeeded him. Fred Potter pastored from 1945 through 1959. In 1959 Rev. Victor Hillis became pastor and plans were made for a new church building.
SPEEDVALE PENTECOSTAL TABERNACLE - 1961 through 1976
Our second building was located at 218 Speedvale Avenue East and was dedicated in September 1961. A parsonage had been built behind the church the previous year. This building cost $35,000 for the materials and it was built with volunteer labour by the men of the assembly.
In 1967 Rev. Ralph Hilsden became pastor and during his tenure the church and Sunday School grew to the point of taking over the parsonage for classes. Clearly a larger facility was needed.
In 1974 Rev. John Shepherd accepted a call to our assembly and plans for a new church proceeded quickly. The property at 89 Speedvale Avenue East had sat almost vacant for many years with only a small house on it. Plans to develop anything else on it were unsuccessful and became available to our congregation.
PARKVIEW CHURCH - 1976 to present
In 1975, construction started on our present facility. In addition to making generous financial contributions, countless hours of volunteer labour were contributed by the congregation.
The first Sunday services in our present building were held on August 29, 1976 and the facilities were dedicated on October 17, 1976 .
Facilities included sanctuary seating for 450 people with potential for future expansion, prayer room, offices, classrooms, gymnasium (fellowship hall) and daycare facilities.
In 1979 Rev. Gaye Norrie became our pastor and steady growth continued. In 1991 a new addition was built on the south corner. This provided a new multipurpose room, classrooms, a larger nursery and better day care facilities.
In 1989, a Hungarian Congregation began to worship in our facilities, and in 1992, a number of families moved on to form a second PAOC congregation in Guelph , Southside Christian Assembly.
In 1995, Rev. Robert Senechal became our pastor, and in July 2001, our present Senior Pastor, Rev. Duane McLean and his family joined us.
In September 2005 we began phase one of a new building program with major renovations to our Sanctuary. Our tired décor and building design were no longer meeting the needs of our growing congregation. We finished these renovations in January 2006 and celebrated this event with a grand re-opening and dedication service. This summer we are proceeding on with phase two of our building program to meet the growing needs of our Church. Phase 2 includes a new youth chapel as well as a new office complex to meet our current staffing needs. Looking back on our history, we can see that it has been marked with growth and by the expansions and improvements that were necessary to effectively reach a community.
As we move forward, we do so with a sense of great heritage behind us and a desire to make history for God's honour and glory ahead.
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