About OPBC: History

The work of Orrell Park Baptist Church was started in 1910 by an Anglican, Rev. J.R. Jardine. A tent was erected amidst cornfields on the site of an old manor house in the area which is now Northfield Road. Within two weeks the tent had been blown down and the worshippers beat a hasty retreat to the old stables on Dove Road nearby. Arrangements were then made to meet in Aintree High School, a small private school on Orrell Lane, also close to the original tent site.

Rev. J. R. Jardine (1911).

Plans were soon underway for a temporary building. The present site on the corner of Whinfield Road and Moss Lane (where the current buildings stand) was chosen and fund raising began. In 1911 a "temporary" building was erected which served the church for almost 60 years, during which time it was known as the "Tin Church". From the early 1930s to the mid-1950s, the church experienced difficult times when the membership sank to a mere handful.

Robert Fisher.

The faithful few struggled on, with Robert Fisher and Arthur Owens being remembered with particular regard. Robert Fisher and his wife, Ann, first came to the church in 1914. He served as an elder from 1932 to 1986 and without him the church would have been shut down. Arthur Owens took the role of Superintendent in 1948 following the threat of closure. He oversaw all the ministry with Mr Fisher, and worked with the young people. While he was at Orrell Park Baptist, until 1956, the youth work became the largest in Merseyside.

In the late 1960s the keen youth work in the church led to an additional building being erected to serve as a youth centre, opening in September 1967. By 1970 the church had grown sufficiently to contemplate a new building and in that same year the old "temporary" building was pulled down and a new one built. At the beginning of the 1980s further building work saw an extension comprising two further halls which, along with the church sanctuary, make up the present configuration.

Today's church is a friendly community of around 150 people, about 60 of whom are church members. We thank God for His faithfulness towards us.

Orrell Park Baptist Church Pastors

J R Jardine 1910-?
S Venn 1914 – 1930
Carr ?
W J Isbister 1959 – 1962
W Pemberton 1965 – 1983
W R Cullen 1986 – 1999
D Willis 1995 Appointed Youth Pastor
D Willis 1999 Appointed Acting Pastor
W Williams and D Willis Sept 2002 Appointed Team Pastors