A brief history.
19th century Ballymoney Baptists.
Early in the nineteenth century, according to the Irish Chronicle, a number of Baptists met in Garryduff, as early as 1820. In 1845, a Baptist Church was formed in Ballymoney, with the help of Dr. Carson of Tobermore, but apparently they returned to Garryduff after only a few years in a meetinghouse in the town. Due to emigration and population movement, this work eventually dwindled and died out, though in its heyday, numbers attending had been as high as 100.
New beginnings.
Attempts were made in the early twentieth century to restart a Baptist work in the town; in the 1920s and 1950s, but these were unsuccessful. Indeed it was not until the arrival of a Baptist Missions worker, Bill Johnston, that the present work had its beginnings. Bill undertook some door-to-door work from 1981 to 1983, and began meeting with a nucleus of seven Baptists who lived in or near Ballymoney. They met together with him on Wednesday evenings, alternately in the homes of two families. Attempts were made to find a site on which to place a mobile hall, but these were unsuccessful. In 1983, Bill Johnston and his family moved to the United States. Following his departure, a letter was sent to Pastor Lyttle to say that we did not see how the work in Ballymoney could progress, unless a full-time worker could be provided; one who could live in the town and lead the work.
Steven and Gail Curry.
Some time later, in 1984, Pastor Henry, having spied out the land, arrived with a very thin, self-effacing and quiet young man, whom he introduced as Steven Curry. Shortly afterwards, in 1985, Steven Curry and his wife Gail came from Baptist Missions, settled in the town, and a small group resumed meetings in their house off the Kilraughts Road, on Wednesday evenings. After much fruitless searching, including the earlier efforts of Albert White, a lively pensioner who lived with his wife in the Covenanter flats, the small group of believers purchased a small piece of waste ground, suitably sited for Baptists on the edge of the river near the bridge at Ballybrakes, a portable hall was erected.
A church constituted.
The present church was constituted on the 20th September, 1986. The little hall on the riverside was packed to overflowing on a bright harvest day, when friends from neighbouring churches met to mark this exciting event. Thirteen people (Baptists are not superstitious!) covenanted together to become the founder members of Ballymoney Baptist Church. The formation of the constitution was one of the many new ventures undertaken by this newly-formed group, under Steven Curry’s leadership. What might well seem on the face if it to be a laborious and painstaking exercise, proved a time of productive searching and discussion of the truth of the Bible, and of the Baptist faith. It turned out that discussions of doctrine and theology were enjoyable and helpful in building a team of believers together into a unit.
The church covenant.
The thirteen believers signed a covenant on the day of their constitution, as follows:
“We, the undersigned believers, with deep humility, being gathered together before God our father, dedicate ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ and to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
By God’s grace we declare ourselves to be a church after the pattern set forth in the New Testament, gathered together for the preaching of his word, the observance of his ordinances, and the evangelisation of our fellow men.
Therefore, we do solemnly join ourselves together in a holy union, fully subscribing to the above constitution, and recognising Christ as the only Head of the Church.”
(This covenant is read publicly on each anniversary of the constitution of the church.)
Making do.
Many happy days were spent in that little hall, with its homely informality and intimacy. No one in such proximity could evade the preacher’s eye, and it was impossible not to know everything about everybody else. One of the most dramatic events in the history of this hall was the first baptism on the site, in the open air. It took place at the end of the summer, when we might have expected a degree of warmth, but instead it was quite chilly. In addition, there was no effective means of heating the large galvanised tank situated outside the end of the hall, under a thorn bush (which had to be trimmed for the occasion). As a result, men could be seen carrying buckets of hot water from a boiler in the tiny rear hall of the hut, along the side, and pouring the hot water into the tepid tank to stave off the chill the prospective members might experience. Steven performed the ceremony, and the entry to the tank was through the emergency door, down some makeshift steps into this cool receptacle, to be submersed and then obliged to make your way to the little garden shed at the opposite end of the hall to change and dry off. You had to be hardy to venture baptism in those early days, but four brave souls did so and survived unscathed.
Calling a Pastor.
After a mere three years, the church had grown to twenty seven, and decided to call Steven Curry as their pastor. Pastor Tom Lawson from Bangor delivered the charge to the new pastor, who had set his heart on being a missionary in Peru and was a little deflated to find that the Lord would have him travel no further afield than Ballymoney. From the beginning, Steven was the ideas man, always ready with a fresh initiative, and full of enthusiasm. His apparently endless fund of contacts provided support, and added to the teaching ministry of this new church. Steven was always ready and willing to help those in any difficulty or need, and a tireless visitor of those who were ill. His systematic teaching from both Old and New Testaments with an unashamed emphasis on the doctrines of Grace drew people form a wide range of backgrounds into the church, and established a firm foundation for the future of the work.
A new building.
The congregation grew, necessitating the renting of the town hall for Sunday services, but in 1990, a more substantial site was purchased, situated at the exit from the Ballymena bypass, and following some difficulty about planning permission, a building was erected. What had originally been envisaged as a basic rectangular structure, built by the members themselves for £60,000.00 grew to a much more substantial church complex, costing almost a quarter of a million pounds. Tommy Shaw accepted the contract, and the building was officially opened in September 1993, by Sam and Mary Sloan, revered retired missionaries from Peru and members of the fledgling church. Rev. Bob Sheehan was the preacher, and the new building was filled to capacity for this event. The only hitch was that the new microphone system failed, necessitating those in the upstairs gallery to be seated in the aisle.
Sam and Mary Sloan.
Sam and Mary Sloan were missionaries in Peru with Baptist Missions for many years, but having retired form the Mission field, they chose to go out of their way to support a new venture in Ballymoney, consistent with their pioneering past, and in spite of advancing years. Once they had seen start made, they followed their hearts back to Peru, but due to Sam’s poor health were obliged to return to Ireland. These two warriors in the gospel continued to the end of their very productive lives to be mentors and virtually parents to this young church, leading not so much by precept, as by example. They scarcely ever missed a meeting or failed to support a venture in the church. Sam suffered failing health and weakness without a murmur of complaint, and Mary’s zest for life and mental vigour never failed. She too was always upbeat, praising God’s goodness in all circumstances, and even cheering up her visitors who came to see her on her deathbed. One of her many notable expressions was “unpacking for heaven” by which she meant she was sorting out her belongings and giving them away before her death. It was sometimes hard to imagine someone as seemingly docile and meek as “wee Sam” enduring the hardships common in his early days in Peru, and yet continuing undaunted in his mission. A little plaque in the foyer of the present building bears quiet testimony to this lovable and inimitable duo.
The end of an era.
(Farewell service for Steven and Gail Curry)
It was with great sadness and regret that this congregation heard the announcement that Steven Curry had accepted a call to become the pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Bangor. 23 years in one church, and growing together with the members of that church makes the parting difficult on both sides. Unsurprisingly, then, capacity audiences filled Ballymoney Baptist Church for the farewell services, on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th January, 2008. The guest speaker was Mark Johnston, minister of Grove Chapel, London. He spoke on Psalm 23, which he emphasised was a message of encouragement and strength for all seasons, explaining that although the “under-shepherd” was leaving, the “Over-shepherd” would remain with both pastor and church.
The church secretary, Derek Boyd, in his tribute, said that “Steven’s shy and quiet demeanour belied a vigorous spirit of adventure and challenge,” and the church grew steadily, with the result that a temporary building was soon superseded by a permanent one on the present site. Steven’s ministry, however, could not be measured in terms of sites, buildings, or even numbers of members and attendance. “First and foremost, Steven is a thoroughgoing preacher of God’s Word; in Paul’s words to Timothy, ‘a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.’ The church was formed on the basis of a clearly reformed theology, and his teaching has been consistently systematic and expository. Indeed, his last sermon as pastor was simply the next passage in Philippians, one which as so often in the past, proved entirely apposite:
‘Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed -not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence -continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.’ ”
Andy and Sarah Dalrymple (2004-2008)
In April, 2004, Andy Dalrymple accepted the call to be an assistant pastor, so
that the ministry of the church could be extended evangelistically, and an opportunity be provided for a prospective pastor to become involved in all aspects of the running of a church, with a view to future ministry. During his four years in Ballymoney, Andy not only played a crucial role in the development of the church’s outreach, but shared in the preaching, visitation and other duties which normally fall to a pastor. To develop the church evangelistically, he undertook door-to-door work in several areas around the town, helped with open air and other outreach work, and ran courses in Christianity Explored. He was also a prime mover in the church’s radio outreach initiative.
A Farewell Service was held for Andy and Sarah on the 27th July, 2008, and Andy and Sarah subsequently moved to Scotland, where he became Associate Pastor in Musselburgh Baptist Church
Colin Adams (2012-2015)
The Induction Service for Colin Adams was held on Saturday, 5th September and a capacity audience filled the church building. The guest speaker was Peter Grainger, the former Senior Pastor of Colin’s church, Charlotte Baptist Chapel in Edinburgh. Many guests attended from Scotland, and greetings were brought from local churches by Trevor Watson, Coleraine; from the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, by Rob Millar, Dublin; as well as from Charlotte Chapel, by an elder, Graeme Watson. Andy Dalrymple, Associate Pastor in Musselburgh, and former Assistant Pastor in Ballymoney opened in prayer, Victor Kennedy read from Colossians, referring to thanksgiving and prayer.
The Act of Induction was performed by Geoff Bunting, an elder in the church, followed by the induction prayer by Jack Dean, also an elder. In his response, the new pastor thanked the Lord for three things: saving him as an undeserving sinner; providing him with 6 years’ experience under Peter Grainger in Charlotte Chapel; and leading him to a church where he believed the Bible to be the “first word and the last word”. In his address, Peter Grainger issued a charge to the pastor and people, to remember that they were merely “jars of clay”, (1 Corinthians 2: 1-5) and that their sole function was to display by contrast, the beauty of the treasure that had been placed in them, namely the truth of the gospel. He explored “the striking paradox” that mere humans should be tasked with “the surprising privilege” of spreading the gospel of God’s offer of salvation to others. Other means of delivering such an amazing message might have seemed more effective to us, but this was God’s chosen method, and therefore a great privilege. Steven Curry, former pastor, concluded that it was with mixed feelings that he stood once more on his former pulpit, but he wished his successor every blessing, and hoped that for Ballymoney, “the best was yet to be”. The meeting was chaired by an elder, Alastair Smith. Sadly, Colin’s ministry came to an end in July, 2015, when he accepted a call to Greenview Evangelical Church in Glasgow.
Joe Flanagan 2018
There followed another period without a pastor until Joe Flanagan, formerly a pastor in several churches including Crumlin and Derry, accepted call in September, 2018. Steven Curry, the church’s first pastor, was the speaker and delivered the charge to the latest pastor of Ballymoney Baptist Church. This was a relatively natural development, in that Joe had been helping with the ministry and pastoral work of the church for a considerable time, in addition to his work in the Dunamanagh Church. Shortly after Joe’s induction as pastor, Andy Dalrymple resumed leadership responsibility again in the church too, undertaking the role of promoting evangelism. The church continues to grow and develop, with new members joining, and several more showing interest at this time.