the Re-build Story
Re-Building for Impact
To construct again, to restore, to rebuild. Isaiah wrote about re-building - “You will rebuild the ancient ruins…” (Isaiah 61:4). The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada began right here in this community in downtown Toronto over a hundred years ago. That foundation is still there waiting to be re-built.
We want to re-build. We want to restore. That is the vision God has given us, to re-build the Church in the urban core of Toronto. So it’s imperative for the development of this work that we find a significantly larger building, one that will contain this vision that God has put on our hearts.
Our History
Over 100 years ago, the Alliance had a remarkable presence in downtown Toronto. By any standards, their life and ministry were admirable.
They “tramped the lanes and alleys (sometimes in the dead of night), feeding the poor, praying over the sick, comforting the sad, counseling the frustrated, and encouraging the unfortunate… They established the Toronto Mission Union in 1884 which, at its zenith, operated five mission halls, a senior citizens home, a convalescent home and Toronto’s first home nursing service… In Bethany Home, people in material, physical and spiritual distress were ministered to at no cost. Bethany Workingman’s Home housed, fed and preached the gospel to ninety men each night… They turned a brawling billiards hall into a renowned Alliance missions centre.” Excerpts taken from Lindsay Reynolds, Footprints (p.89, 214, 290, 330, 332)
The Ruins – Sadly, the strong beginning of the Alliance was not sustained after the turn of the century. Various issues contributed to this collapse. Among them was a broken gentlemen’s agreement, lack of leadership development, expropriated properties, and outreach at the expense of the local church’s leadership health. By 1920, nothing remained in the downtown. Buildings were sold. The Alliance regrouped, moved northward, and spread out all across Canada and to many nations. Yet in downtown Toronto, the work closed down.
The Re-building – Refocusing back on the urban core of Toronto, First Alliance Church with the help of the Eastern Canadian District, planted Toronto Alliance Church in 1992. Public meetings were held in homes and then moved into a school. And finally in 2002, a space was rented at Queen and Bathurst, up the stairs at 602 Queen Street West.
Toronto Alliance Church became a church for the local community as people from the downtown made the church their own. In addition, many moved downtown in order to participate in the work. Ministries among the needy mushroomed and steadily, the church has grown. Permanence in the heart of the city, though difficult, is critical to our mission. With God’s help, this church will always be here – not just existing but thriving.
