The Light Turned Red…But the Message was “Go!”
It would take more than one blog post to even scratch the surface of the story of Dr. William Haley MacBain. But let’s scratch just a little bit and let the pictures speak for themselves.
After graduation from high school in 1934, at the age of 18, Hal MacBain spent two months preaching the Gospel in various locations in the Maritimes. Fifty-four people came to faith that summer. That same year he began his studies at Toronto Baptist Seminary where, according to sources, he established quite a reputation.
During Hal MacBain’s years of study at TBS, he took a year off (1936) to go to Courtright and Wilkesport in Ontario to assist Rev. Jack Watt. From these beginnings, Temple Baptist Church in Sarnia would come into existence. Dr. MacBain would pastor this church from 1937 to 1964.
In a history written by Dr. MacBain in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the church in 1987, he tells one fascinating story of the early days of Temple Baptist Church.
The phone rang intermittently. Each time it was answered in the same perfunctory manner; ‘Connor Station: Officer O’Shea speaking.’ It was the only break in the monotony in the waiting room of a suburban Detroit police station as two young Canadians pondered the dilemma in which they found themselves. They had thought their problems were over. They were leaving Detroit and heading as fast as they could for Sarnia, Ontario, when the red light at the corner flashed on, but the car refused to stop. Detroit policemen are not inclined to take a casual view of such things, so they impounded the car, and Jack Watt and Hal MacBain sat in the police station wondering what to do.
“It was Monday, July 12, 1937. A series of special evangelistic services had begun on the previous Friday night in a tent which had been erected on a vacant lot on South Mitton Street in Sarnia. Dr. H. H. Savage of Pontiac, Michigan, was the preacher for that first service and the tent was filled to capacity to hear this highly respected servant of the Lord. Jack Watt, who was pastor of the nearby Courtright and Wilkesport Baptist Churches had preached to a large attendance on Sunday night. Everything seemed right for a very successful series of meetings. Dr. James McGinlay of Central Baptist Church in London had been engaged to start on the Monday night but word was received on Sunday that he was sick and would be unable to come. The question that weighed heavily upon us then was, where could we get an outstanding preacher to take his place on such short notice?
“It was to meet this emergency that Jack and Hal went to Detroit and Temple Baptist Church on Monday morning to see if Dr. Beaucamp Vick had any ideas.”[1]
Dr. Vick suggested his preaching assistant, Gilbert Wilson, as a replacement speaker, and the deal was sealed. The two young pastors headed back to Sarnia. That was when they landed in police custody. With the help of Dr. Vick they were able to make it back to Sarnia in time to make the announcement of the coming of an outstanding preacher from Texas who was coming to speak. These tent meetings, and the moving of the Spirit of God that was the result, signalled the beginning of Temple Baptist Church in Sarnia.
Hal knew it was time to resume his studies at Seminary. For two years he commuted back and forth from Sarnia to Toronto, catching the train at 4:40am on Tuesday morning (the Seminary did not have classes on Mondays), arriving in time for classes and then catching the train back to Sarnia on Friday afternoon, arriving in time for the prayer service on Friday evenings at 8:00pm. He prepared his messages on Saturday, speaking at three services every Sunday. Monday was his day for visiting and taking care of other responsibilities, including planning for getting a church building as soon as it was possible.
The congregation found an unused building which they were able to purchase for $500. They also found a lot which they bought for $200. And, as Dr. MacBain recalls, “The building landed on the lot on October 27, 1937…. It was a source of great encouragement for the group to have their own lot and building so soon after the tent meetings. Some old theatre seats were discovered in a building downtown…Heating was supplied by a gas floor furnace…A pulpit was made from an old piano…The auditorium would seat 115 people. But that was the whole church. There was no basement, no washroom, no pastor’s study. It was all one room, but it was neat and nicely appointed…The Doxology was sung frequently in those days. It had been decided to call the new church, Temple Baptist Church, largely due to the memories we had of Gilbert Wilson, who had come from Temple Baptist Church in Detroit. It was a good name, and though our little building did not look much like a ‘Temple’, it became a hallowed spot for many people in those early days.”[2]
From such humble beginnings, the church would grow to a membership of 800 before Dr. MacBain moved to Toronto to assume the pastoral responsibilities at Forward Baptist Church.
Dr. MacBain would become instrumental in the amalgamation of the Union churches and the Independent Baptist churches in 1953. He would be elected as the Fellowship’s first President and go on to serve with distinction in various capacities, retiring as Secretary of the Foreign Mission Board with which he served for many years. He was still preaching into his 90th year and passed into the presence of the Lord just shy of his 100th birthday in 2016.
There are many stories yet to be told. In 2001, Rev. Fred Vaughan published the first of three volumes highlighting the lives of some of those who, like Dr. MacBain, have been significant in the movement called the Fellowship. These volumes, Fellowship Baptist Trailblazers, are currently being updated. The updated edition of Volume One is expected to be available in Fall, 2025, with the other two volumes to follow at a later date. A fourth volume, highlighting stories from the last quarter century, is also expected to be released in time for the Fellowship National Conference in November 2025.
[1] W. H. MacBain, The Story of Temple Baptist Church, A Tree Planted by the River, (Temple Baptist Church, 1986), p 1-9
[2] ibid