About Us
Lisle Memorial Baptist
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A God empowered and grace-filled community of Christians whose lives overflow to impact our web of relationships, our communities, and the nations of the world, in order to advance God’s kingdom.
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Scripture
We believe the Holy Bible is fully and uniquely the inspired Word of God and is the only sufficient and authoritative rule of faith and practice.
The Trinity
We believe in One God eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
God the Father
We believe He is the Creator and sustainer of all things.
God the Son
We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His Virgin Birth, His sinless life, His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, His return in power and glory. He is the only Savior of the world.
God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, equal with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgement. In believers He acts to seal, indwell, fill, guide, teach, and empower them to do God’s will.
Salvation
We believe in the salvation of lost and sinful people through regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Salvation is by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ.
The Church
We believe Christ Jesus is the head of the Church. We believe the Church to be a voluntary organization of believers and its mission is to meet regularly, to worship God, fellowship with one another, observe the ordinances of the New Testament, and spread the gospel.
The Eternal State
We believe in the resurrection of the saved to eternal life, and the lost to eternal damnation.
Ordinances
a) Water Baptism - We believe in believer’s baptism by immersion in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. b) Lord’s Supper - We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration of His death until He comes and should be preceded always by solemn self-examination.
Satan
We believe in the personal existence of Satan, whose intent is to supplant God and frustrate His purpose, and whose ultimate end is eternal punishment.
Lord’s day
We believe and choose, in accordance with God’s Sabbath principles, to worship on the first day of the week and consecrate it as the Lord’s day.
Mission
We believe that it is the responsibility of all believers to do their part to win the lost, and to spread the gospel of Christ in all the world.
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Our values help identify what is most important in the life of our church and which defines and directs our ministries, influences our actions, our decision making and our budget.
Vibrant Worship
We are committed to have worship experiences that are Holy Spirit inspired, creative, and authentic.
Healthy Community
We are committed to nurturing a fellowship that is warm and inviting with small groups as a primary means to deepen relationships and to foster caring and sharing.
Bible Based
We are committed to the Word of God as the final authority for faith and practice and it is to be taught/preached with relevance to everyday life.
God Dependent
We are committed to rely on God in private and corporate prayer as we conceive, plan, and carry out the mission of the church.
Mobilized Members
We are committed to nurture the spiritual growth of members so that they are equipped and empowered to obey the Great Commission.
Holistic Family Ministry
We are committed to strengthening individuals and families with a strong children and youth program in order to foster health-physically, socially, academically, economically, and spiritually.
Community Presence
We are committed to have a visibility that is not just a building but in ministries that impact and make a tangible difference in the immediate community.
Strategic Partnerships
We are committed to network with other churches, organizations, and institutions that will enable us to better serve the community to advance the kingdom of God.
Our Story
Lisle Memorial Baptist Church, founded in 1980 in north west Toronto, is a local church committed to see lives changed and the community transformed. Presently most of the members background are from the Caribbean.
Why the Name?
The church is named to honour George Lisle (1752 - 1826), former slave, Baptist minister, and missionary to Jamaica. Lisle was owned by Henry Sharp when he was converted by Rev. Matthew Moore in 1777. Moore encouraged Lisle to preach to the other slaves and was instrumental in starting two Baptist churches. In order to seek freedom from slavery, George, his wife Hannah, and their four children migrated to Jamaica in 1782. Within seven years, George Lisle had baptized five hundred people and by 1814 churches were formed in several parishes. He was greatly involved with the education of the slave population and founded schools for the slaves as he planted the churches. There is now a strong Baptist presence in Jamaica due to the zeal of George Lisle.
The Founding Pastor - Rev. Kenrick Sharpe
The name, Lisle Memorial Baptist Church, was chosen by its founding pastor, the late Rev. Kenrick Sharpe, a Jamaican, who later migrated to Canada. After completing his theological education, he was ordained a Baptist minister and served in a church in Cambridge. It was from this church that Rev. Sharpe, his wife, Mervina; his twin sons, Samuel and Joseph and daughter, Helen, left to go to Nigeria as missionaries with Sudan Interior Mission (SIM).
It was while serving in Nigeria that Rev. Sharpe received a Christmas card from a lady in Malton. Inside the card, she wrote 'There are so many people in Toronto from all over the world and there is no one to help them, and to share the gospel with them, especially West Indians. I wonder if you would consider coming to Toronto to minister to them”.
'This card really spoke to us, and we became burdened for our own people. It was during our home furlough that the Rev. Eustace Meade asked if I would be willing to help get work started for the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec. We told him we would pray about it. The Lord spoke to us and we agreed to go to Jane and Finch as a family to start the new work from scratch'."
Thus began LMBC in 1980 with a nucleus of members from First Baptist Church led by Rev. Meade and Ossington Avenue Baptist Church led by Rev. Arthur Hirtle. Rev. Sharpe and family laid a good foundation for the work and faithfully served until 1984, before returning to SIM.
Place for Worship & Ministry
The church first met at Gosford Public School in a leased space, then later to another leased space at Jane Junior High (now Brookview Middle School). This unique leasing came to an end when the school needed more space because of the increase in student enrollment. In October 1994, the church bought a building at 95 Eddystone in the Jane Finch area. The building was named Lisle Memorial Multi-Centre to reflect the multi-purpose use to serve the church and the community. Due to some challenges, the building was sold in 2003; there was a three-year lease agreement with the purchaser that allowed the use of part of the building until 2006. Subsequently, Yorkwoods Public School was used as the place of worship from September 2006 - December 2019. In November 2019, the church was able to purchase another building at 2400 Finch Avenue, West, Unit 10. The first worship service was held on New Years Eve, 2019. The renovation of the building is now completed and it is being used for worship, meetings, administration offices, and community outreach.
Affiliations
LMBC is affiliated with Toronto Baptist Ministries (85 churches in the GTA) Canadian Baptist of Ontario and Quebec, Canadian Baptist Ministries which has membership with the Baptist World Alliance and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
LMBC is also a member of the Jane-Finch Coalition of Churches (representing different denominations).
