Adventism in Toronto

In 1883, George Brown established a reading room at his residence at 5051/2 Yonge Street, Toronto. It appears that he had searched for several months and was unsuccessful in locating even one Adventist in the city. However, one year later, Brown reported that an elderly couple and their daughter had begun to keep the Sabbath. It appears that they were all that remained of an estimated 2,000 Miller enthusiasts in Ontario who were expecting Christ's return on October 22, 1844.

The first church building was erected in Toronto in 1911 by J. T. Errington, a self-supporting minister. This prepared the way for the organization of the first church in Toronto on September 25, 1915, with 13 charter members. After several changes in location, this eventually became the Awde Street Church. Though no longer in existence today, many Ontario Adventists still have fond memories and trace their Adventist roots to this early congregation.

Membership growth has at times been slow and difficult. The war years resulted in some members moving elsewhere for jobs. Then came the 1940s when Clifford Reeves brought his evangelistic team to the 3,000-seat Massey Hall. This "big" thinking in evangelism has brought many well-known evangelists to town, such as George Vandeman, Charles Bradford, E. E. Cleveland, and Henry Feyerabend.

Another significant event was the opening of North York Branson Hospital in 1957 in the Willowdale area, then on the northern edge of Toronto. Expanding services, numerous health-related training programs (nurses, medical interns, lab technologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, etc.) saw the hospital grow to a 464 bed full-service hospital by 1966. Health promotion was an integral part of Branson Hospital ministry. Facility expansion and improvement continued through the 1980s; however, the 1990s brought significant changes as many hospitals saw major shifts from in-patient services to out-patient services. As a result in 1998, the Ontario government identified 12 Toronto hospitals for closure or merging. Branson Hospital was instructed to merge and be operated by North York General Hospital as an ambulating facility. This transition is still being implemented and has significantly changed the Adventist presence of Adventist health care. Currently, the new Adventist Health Care Board is s tudying long range plans for the current site and existing facilities, as well as other health-related opportunities that identify with the health-care philosophy of the Adventist Church.

As the membership and number of churches grew, so developed a need for Adventist education. In 1953, Crawford Adventist Academy (originally known as Toronto Junior Academy) was started. With almost 500 students, Crawford Adventist Academy is now the largest K-12 Adventist School in Canada. Crawford's staff and students diligently pursue it's motto of "Commitment to Excellence". The school is a microcosm of the city through the diverse cultural heritage representing over 30 nationalities.

Evangelism is the heartbeat of the 50 churches and companies in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Membership growth leaped forward in a major way since the 1960s as more and more immigrants chose Toronto as their new home, especially from the islands of the Caribbean in the '60s, from Asian countries, the Philippines in the '70s and Hispanics from Central and South America in the '80s. This has brought hundreds of committed, Christ-loving Adventists into the GTA. Their enthusiasm for witnessing has added to a previously well-developed base for evangelism.

Today, there are numerous ethnic churches and companies, the first of which was the Ukranian Church, which was started in 1929. Now there are Chinese, Estonian, Filipino (5), Ghanaian, Hispanic (3), Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean (2), Portuguese (2), and Yugoslavian churches. As well, there are a number of churches that are facilitating smaller groups through Sabbath School classes, such as Finnish, Romanian, French and East Indian.

To find a church is not difficult. You can choose from the smallest, Toronto Estonian (nine members), to some of the largest congregations in Canada, including Willowdale (1,216); Toronto Perth (1,102); and Toronto West (926). One of the challenges that Toronto churches face is finding adequate facilities for new or existing congregations. Currently, almost half of the Adventist congregations in Toronto are in rented facilities. Due to high real estate costs and minimal available land in the core areas of Toronto, several congregations have in the past few years sacrificially purchased vacant warehouses and are in various stages of renovating them into places of worship and fellowship. Location and times of services for Adventist Churches can be found at www.ont-sda.org.

While there are many distinctly ethnic churches, most congregations have a cultural mix of members. This adds greatly to the life and activities of the churches. Many Adventist churches have program schedules that can keep you "at church" all day Sabbath, much of Sunday and most evenings of the week. Youth groups, A. Y., choirs, music fests, Pathfinders, Adventurers, anti-drug parades, rallies, workshops and outreach seminars are just some of the numerous activities and groups. The energy, enthusiasm and fervor of Toronto Adventists permeates such events as tent evangelism, small groups and street ministries all year long. Of note is the "Touch of Love" program where 30 of the Adventist churches in the GTA work together and feed hundreds of street people every day of the week.

A major public evangelistic thrust is now in progress, as the Toronto churches are collectively preparing for evangelistic meetings, June 3 - 24, 2000 at the 6,000-seat Coliseum with Walter Pearson, Jr. as the speaker.

Adventism in Toronto is alive, vibrant, progressive and varied. There is room for you! So come, worship and serve God and humanity with us. [Dirk Zinner]