Pastor Phil Johnson from the Osoyoos Baptist Church sits in the church basement among construction equipment. Renovations have been going on in the building for more than a year and Johnson is looking forward to having everything put back together again. The church has come a long ways over the years, and members will be celebrating its 50th anniversary on September 4 and 5. Photo by Laurena Weninger - Click on picture for larger image
OSOYOOS TIMES-September 1, 2010
By Laurena Weninger – Osoyoos Times
The folks who were involved with the early version of the Osoyoos Baptist Church started getting together in the 1930s, said current Pastor Phil Johnson.
“But they didn’t become an independent, self-governing church until 1960,” he said.
In 1935, the Weintz, Heinrich and Heinrich Jr. families banded together to start the Christian fellowship here in town.
In 1936, volunteer labour helped build a Baptist church in Osoyoos.
“In the year of the purchase, 1936, the price of property was approximately $400 per acre,” states an article from the Osoyoos Times from 1975.
The first minister was Rev. Rumple, who came from the Kelowna Baptist Church (now Grace Baptist Church) every third Sunday.
The Osoyoos church was a “mission station” of the Kelowna church and in early days the reverends came from there as well as from Oroville to hold Osoyoos services.
In 1959, the church voted to use only the English language in its services, instead of the traditional German, Johnson explained, and in 1960 it was recognized as an independent church.
The congregation outgrew the original church in the early 1970s and it was sold to one of the members and turned into a home.
For a while the congregation met in the home of George Balas until a new church was built on the corner of 87th Street and 92nd Avenue.
A special service to dedicate that new church was held on April 20, 1975 – at which time the membership of the church totaled 41 people.
It continued to grow and in December of 2008 members of the Osoyoos Baptist Church and members of the Osoyoos Elks agreed to trade buildings.
It was agreed the church would take over the Elks Hall at the corner of Hwy. 97 and 62nd Avenue while the Elks would take over the former church building on 92nd Avenue.
(In addition to the transfer of the buildings, the Baptists were to pay the Elks $300,000.)
Johnson said they have been in the new building for 16 months now and they are still up to their eyeballs in renovations.
The basement has been upgraded and repaired, including the kitchen, and new meeting rooms have been established.
The congregation is up to 120 people, Johnson said, and other community groups also use the space for their meetings.
Over the years, reverends have included those by the names of Krumbein, Kujath, Buetler, Berg, Hees, Adams, Nichol, Kanwischer, Anderson, Wollenberg, Mohninger and Jarosch.
Johnson has been at the church since August of 2003.
The church has several activities planned to celebrate its 50th birthday in Osoyoos.
On Sept. 4, they plan to hit the beach with a barbecue and that night Three and Company will be putting on a free concert at the church at 7 p.m.
On Sept. 5, there will be a catered banquet held after the regular church service, which is held at 10:30 a.m.
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