Hespeler Baptist Church is a smaller sized church located in Cambridge, Ontario. The church was founded in 1889, and has grown quite since then.
History Hespeler's beginnings date back to 1822 when immigrants of Pennsylvania German stock arrived on the banks of the Speed River. Before long these hardy folk had established a settlement. Jacob Hespeler's arrival in 1845 was the spark to growth. Under his energetic and enterprising leadership, grist and textile mills developed. The railroad arrived and the population mushroomed.
Into this expanding community in 1889 came a number of Baptist families. Rev. Frank Beatty of Galt arranged for these families to meet together and in October 1889 the decision to organize a church was made. In spite of some financial difficulties and a rapid succession of pastors, the little group of believers grew. A Sunday School was organized in 1890 and a young people's group followed. Land was purchased and a building was erected in 1893. These believers aggressively reached out even assisting in the establishment of a Baptist church in the Preston area in 1895. By the turn of the century Hespeler Baptist Church was truly a growing and viable entity.
Later, with the arrival of the 1950s the church called its Pastor, Rev. Harold Hindry. Under his leadership it engaged in a building program erecting the first phase of the current building. The church grew to 200 by 1957 and it was not long until further plans were drawn up and in 1960 an addition was added.
The 1970s brought further change to the community. The three towns of Hespeler, Galt and Preston were amalgamated into the City of Cambridge. The church felt a need to expand and added the current sanctuary in 1973. Shortly after in 1975, Pastor Hindry retired bringing an end to an era.
Today Today the church has a number of programs. The church has Sunday AM and PM services. AM services start at 11:00.(In the summer they start at 10:30) PM services start at 6:30. The church has Sunday school for all ages, which start at 9:45 a.m. An Awana program is available for kids for kindergarten to grade six. There is a Jr. and Sr. High programs for youth. For young adults there is a College and Career program, and married couples. Woman's ministries are big at Hespeler Baptist. There are bi-weekly events, and special events. Men's Fellowship have breakfasts regularly and have special events. Seniors also meet regularly. There are many Bible studies the church has also. The whole church will have a couple of picnics over the year as well. A Vacation Bible School is also offered in the summertime.