For our 60 year anniversary 2016 we got good coverage in the Hartlepool Mail
Chris Cordner wrote on 16 August 2016 under the headline “West View Baptist Church and its international links“.
It’s been a fascinating 60 years for the West View Baptist Church. And today, Memory Lane completes its look into the history book of the church which has made such a difference
to parishioners. Our aim is to attempt great things for God and expect great things from God David Butler, spokesman for the West View Baptist Church Down the years, the church has developed its fundraising initiatives. In the late 1990s, it started an overseas aid fund and organised two trips to Serbia to give humanitarian aid to refugees of the civil war. It also fundraised closer to home when, in 1998, initiatives were held to support the Building Fund including summer and Christmas fairs, and officials producing their own Worship CD.
There was sadness along the way when founder members Bob Loach and Elsie Nicholls died. The international links continued when 10 Ukrainian students from the Hope Now ministry visited the church and a delegation from Birmingham, Alabama stayed for seven days. It led to a return trip for Hartlepool youngsters to the USA.By 2000, average attendance to the Sunday service was 72 and there were 15 baptisms a year by 2002.In the years that followed, highlights included outreach projects, rallies, and summer camps – and a period of “real growth, spiritually and in numbers,” said spokesman David Butler.
The future, he said, was something to look forward to with excitement and with an excellent membership that wants to serve God
On the 17th Chris Cordner under the headline “Who remembers these names from 60 years of the West View Baptist Church?” wrote:
These are exciting times for everyone connected to West View Baptist Church. Cuppas, cakes, and a chance for a reunion are all on the way to celebrate the 60th anniversary. Spokesman David Butler said: “The church has been in existence for 60 years and it is still going strong. It has been refurbished and it has been transformed with new roofing, porch and new facilities.”It all adds up to great facilities which will hopefully be seen by an influx of extra people wanting to help celebrate the diamond anniversary. The church has been in existence for 60 years and it is still going strong. It has been refurbished and it has been transformed with new roofing, porch and new facilities. But this is also a time of reflection on all the people who helped shape the church through the decades, going back to the 1950s.
In the late 1950s, 40 people flocked forward for the women’s weekly meetings at West View Baptist Church. Add to that the 200 followers who attended the Sunday school and t
his was a church that was going places even in those early days. The first management committee consisted of Laurie Bean, Bob Loach, Syd Nicholls, Arthur Low, Nellie Loach and Jack Walton. By 1958, Nellie led the Young Wives club and Bob Patten took over as Sunday school superintendent. The landmarks just kept on coming and by 1960, a Girl Guides Company had been formed by Elsie Nichols. By 1963, Syd Nichols was appointed as secretary and Bob Patten to”ok over the Boys Club. In 1969, the church extension was completed and by 1978, the Baptistry was installed. Within a year, West View Baptist Church was welcoming a very special addition to the team when Tom Coppler from Modesta, California was appointed Youth Pastor. The 80s saw plenty of comings and goings with the youth leadership taken over by Malcolm Patten and Ian Harrison, Marjorie Wheatley appointed as secretary, and Esther Butler s treasurer. By 1987, the Parent and Toddler Croup was started with the West View Residents Association under Sue Wilson and Lynn Fletcher.And two years later, Sandra Morris was appointed as Treasurer. By 1992, Malcolm Patten was ordained as a pastor in a ceremony at Tottenham Baptist Church.