With the core
group coming from Grantham MB Church, the first official meeting of Westview
Christian Fellowship took place on October 16, 1988, at Memorial School on
Welland Ave. As a young church we desperately wanted to make a difference
in the city of St. Catharines. With Thom Braun as the founding pastor, we
had the courage to try small groups, very casual service styles, a full
worship band, and many creative outreach programs. These were exciting
times. After spending years doing set-up and tear-down every Sunday, we
eventually landed at 112 Oakdale Ave. -- an abandoned 33,000 sq.ft.
former, school board office. Our church was growing, we were
learning about the presence of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives, and we saw
our new home as a gift from God.
From this new base and
with a tremendous sense of intimacy with God the next few years saw us getting
involved in the community by joining the Merritton Labour Day weekend parade,
serving the poor through Out of the Cold, starting the Side Door Café where we
presented several dessert theatres, concerts and art exhibits, having BBQ’s for
our neighbours and much more. Through the many highs and lows of these
years we were learning to recognize the marks of intimacy with God. We
enjoyed His goodness and faithfulness through it all.
Our journey, including several tough years,
saw many people finding their way to other churches, a new church
being formed in Jordan, and Westview eventually moving to a new
location. 124 Queenston St. immediately began to feel the
presence of its new owners. The purchase took place July 8, 2005 and six
months of renovations transformed a tired old building into an exciting new
home. The new location also began leaving its mark on us. With Vic
Ratzlaff providing leadership, we have strongly felt the nearness of God,
while slowly having our eyes opened to the people and community in this
downtown core. Once again, Westview is feeling the call to be itself while
desperately wanting to find a redemptive and meaningful relationship to the
community -- we are the ‘church on the corner’. We fully
expect God to give us everything we need to individually live our
lives throughout Niagara while together we find a place on
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