Whyte Ridge Baptist on the verge of a new era

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/02/2019 (2731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Whyte Ridge Baptist Church is poised to open at its new McGillivray Boulevard location, which will represent a new gathering place for community activities.  

Whyte Ridge is fortunate to have churches that support several religious denominations, including the St. Gianna’s Catholic Church, constructed in 2013, and a Presbyterian church being planned along McGillivray Boulevard.  

In March 2017, I wrote about the history of the Whyte Ridge Baptist Church, which was one of the first buildings in our community, having made the transition to Scurfield Boulevard from McDermot Avenue more than 30 years ago, and with plans for further expansion to a site on McGillivray. My article discussed all of the many ways the church has been involved in our community.

In late January I was given a tour of the new building by pastor Terry Janke and was amazed by the services that will be provided to the community in the near future.  

The church is located on 14 acres of land adjacent to Lake Muir in FortWhyte Alive, and will include a lakeside trail, play structures, and an outdoor gathering place.  

At almost 37,000 square feet, the indoor space is massive. In addition to the 600-seat main auditorium, the facility has a 6,300-square-foot foyer with several small clusters of seats as well as a small cafe, a nursery/daycare, gymnasium, youth ministry, a library, fireside room, two kitchens, numerous offices, and lots of storage space.

There is space on the site for a second phase of development that will include another 1,200-seat sanctuary.  

Services currently offered at the Scurfield facility will be relocated, including those if the Winnipeg Somang Presbyterian Church and daycare, and most of the new space will be available for community residents to use.  Plans are underway to sell the Scurfield facility, likely to another church.

Chatting with Pastor Terry and some of the people working on the project, I was fascinated to discover the similarities with our efforts to expand the community centre.

Fundamental to completing the feasibility study and developing the ministry plan was engagement with the community to gather input regarding needs, and several years of prayer, gathering momentum and fundraising through fostering a vision of an exciting new place where so much more can be accomplished.  

While the underlying themes are different — faith and sports — at their heart, the community centre and the church both create spaces for the community to gather, meet, share, and develop relationships.  

Isn’t that the very definition of community?

Nick Barnes is a community correspondent for Whyte Ridge.