We are Christians that gather in the name and to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our desire, by the grace of God, is to glorify His worthy name. The Word of God is the authority that by grace and in simplicity we seek to obey.
In The Beginning:
The story of the Saint John assembly (local church) begins with a man who had a vision. A vision to see New Testament churches planted and prosper in the Lord. George Heidman was commended from Dominion Gospel Hall, Orillia, ON, in August 1950 and moved to New Brunswick in 1952. In May 1953, he felt led to preach the Gospel in the city of Saint John. He and his wife Frances moved there, renting an apartment. Mr. Heidman immediately began preaching in King’s Square, the large park in the center of Saint John.
After some time in this, he had gathered enough interest to start a well-attended Bible study in the home of James O’Neil. Later, Don Murray offered the use of their home two nights a week for meetings. Mr. Heidman borrowed chairs from the YMCA and took them to the Murray’s home each week and then carted them back again. A good number of people attended these meetings each week. After a time, they felt they should stay in Saint John and start a Sunday School and a Bible class on Sunday mornings. Frances taught Sunday School in the kitchen while George had Bible studies in the living room. Gospel meetings began on Sunday nights in the large living room of the McCavours. Tract distribution was done regularly at the City Hospital, sanatorium, King’s Square and other various places. In 1954, the first Lord’s Supper of the Saint John assembly was held in the Heidman’s living room, with Mr. and Mrs. Donovan, Mr. McCavour, Fred Comley and the Heidmans meeting together to Remember the Lord.
In June 1954, Joe Donovan gave the assembly two lots of land next to his home on Courtenay Avenue on which to construct a building for meetings. Others from Moncton and Fredericton came to work on the hall as well. The Brock Avenue Gospel Hall in Toronto donated light fixtures. Another assembly donated all the chairs that were needed and shipped them to Saint John. Thus the Saint John Gospel Hall building was finished.
The Gospel Hall was opened in February 1955. George Heidman’s father, August Heidman, preached the first message. Mr. Henry Fletcher of Toronto was at the opening and held Gospel meetings afterwards; a number professed to be saved. Mr. McNeil came often from the Moncton Gospel Hall and was a valuable mentor for George Heidman. Christians from the Mispec area made up a great part of the Saint John meeting. Men in the assembly would drive to Mispec to pick up children for Sunday School. The assembly grew as Christians from assemblies in Scotland came over to work in the Drydock. They were a help in the assembly both preaching the Gospel and ministering the word of God.
To this day, the assembly is a thriving family of God’s people working tirelessly to spread the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ.