On July 19th, 1853, the Baptist Church in Shediac (part of the then New Brunswick Eastern Baptist Association) purchased one acre of land from Robert Atkinson for the sum of 50 pounds. The land purchase was for the sole purpose of erecting “a suitable house to be dedicated to the Worship of Almighty God.”

 

The “suitable house” was erected on that spot beyond the cemetery, where the church building previously used by our congregation once stood. It remained at this location until 1906 when it was moved across Shediac Bay (on the ice) to a location on Main Street in Shediac. The move was one of faith in the hope that by doing so, they could carry the message to more people.

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Ezra Taylor moved here from Salisbury and, in 1909, commenced construction on the second Baptist Church on the site vacated by the original church. We believe his move was motivated by the call to build this church and re-establish a Baptist presence in the area. (The previous church’s relocation did not yield the anticipated results, and its life as a church was short-lived.)

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For the next 40 years, this church was part of a “Field Ministry” with Calhoun and McKees Mills. This field ministry was later reduced to one when McKees Mills decided to withdraw, and then, Calhoun separated. During this church’s history, we have engaged full-time pastors on probably no more than six or seven occasions.

 

In July 1936, we commenced a Summer Church in Pointe-du-Chêne, and this church was responsible for all aspects of the service, including Sunday school teaching.

 

Throughout most of the 40-year period (1910–1950), the church was near capacity for most services, including Sunday school. Approximately 80% of those attending were relatives, all descendants of Ezra and Ida Taylor. During the period 1960–present, a pattern began to form wherein the church membership and attendees would fluctuate from near capacity and then fall back to 40%–50% capacity. This trend was due to the lack of proper and adequate facilities. This trend has continued over the years, becoming even more apparent as the church grew and its facilities remained limited.

 

In 2002, the membership boldly took a leap of faith and went forward with a plan to construct a new and larger church building, which began in 2003 with the construction of a street to the church site (Ezra Taylor’s cow pasture), followed in 2006 by a firm plan to proceed with the planning phase of the new church.

 

In November 2008, we moved from the little “inadequate” church to 379 Main Street, Shediac (sounds familiar), to share the facilities of the much larger Trinity United Church. We held our last service there on Sunday, May 30, 2010. Once again, we left Main Street, Shediac, and returned to Ezra’s land, where, commencing Sunday, June 6, 2010, through to the completion of our new Worship Center in September, we worshipped in a large tent. We opened the doors to our new church and held our first Sunday service in October 2010.

 

To some extent, history may be repeating itself; however, today we depart from history and begin a brand new chapter. Shediac Baptist Church IS HISTORY, and we are now SHEDIAC BAY COMMUNITY CHURCH. The name has changed, but our mission - “to bring hope to our community by introducing them to Jesus Christ, and to grow together, becoming more like Him” - and our message remain the same: “the only way to salvation is by and through the Cross and Jesus Christ.”

 

We commenced our latest journey in 2002 with fewer than thirty members and an average attendance of forty, which dropped to eighteen members with an average attendance in the thirties by 2005. Since then, our congregation has continued to grow. Membership in August of 2016 is now approaching 80 with an average attendance of 120!