About Us
There has been a Baptist presence in Johnstone town since the late 1880’s where a small group of people got together to spend time in worship and prayer. This was a group of what could be described as nonconformist. Their beliefs didn’t fit in with those of the established church. That’s what differentiates Baptists. We come from a nonconformist tradition.
From this small group of people Johnstone Baptist Church was formed in 1900 and was officially recognised in 1905 by the Baptist Union of Scotland when it became a member church.
The first church building was on Canal Street and was known as the Old Tin Hut. From here the church moved into the Liberal Club building in Church Street and an extension was added to the building as the church grew.
The Baptist Church was the first church in Johnstone to offer a Sunday School. This was held after the main service to allow the Sunday School staff to be at the earlier morning service.
The next move for Johnstone Baptist Church was, when in 1965 the East and West Churches in the town merged, to form what is now known as St. Paul’s Church. The Baptist Church moved into the old 1828 Church of Scotland building in Walkinshaw Street. The age of this building was a severe strain on the church’s resources due to the constant need for maintenance. The decision was made to move yet again. That is why you can now find us at Pine Crescent in the Johnstone Castle area of the town.
During all this time the ethos of what it means to be a Baptist Church has remained the same. As Baptists we are called to share the Good News of the Gospel with those around us.
During these 130 years plus witness in the Johnstone area there have been 12 pastors of the church. Some serving for a short time and others for a considerable length of time.
Our current pastor has been with us since December2016.
We are also a registered charity in Scotland and details can be found on the OSCR website. Our registered charity number is SCO21171
For more information on what it means to be a Baptist please see our ‘Who we are and that we believe page.’