In December 1960 Dargaville Baptist Fellowship was formally constituted at a meeting of 18 adults and 13 children. Rev. Colin Ayrey of Kaikohe chaired the meeting in the Band Room.

Weekly services were held there with fortnightly prayer meetings in homes. Shortly after this a Sunday school started.

(Prior to this, regular services had been held for 34 years, first monthly, then fortnightly, with Rev. Trevor Gibbs of Whangarei and Rev. Colin Ayrey sharing alternately.)

In the ensuing years there were Bible classes, evening services and baptismal services held in the Tangowahine Stream. Support from Baptist College students was welcomed.

17 March 1963

The Dargaville Baptist Fellowship officially became the Dargaville Baptist Church with 22 members. Application was made to the NZ Baptist Union and Missionary Society for membership. The established pattern of part and short term pastoral help continued for many years.

1965

With help from a Legion of Donors grant, an old house at 185 Victoria Street was purchased for youth work. As the work expanded a hall was purchased in 1968 and moved onto the property as the youth hall.

1971

The church became more involved in giving to mission work, and that same year purchased a manse, looking forward to the day when they would have a full-time minister. Meanwhile the manse was let which proved to be a valuable investment.

Throughout the 1970s the church grew and the services transferred to the larger youth hall. A foyer was built onto the front of the hall in such a position as to serve as part of a new church building in the future.

At this time, the church grew in maturity as well as numbers with local men taking over leading many services. Home groups and an adult Bible study group began, along with missionary prayer meetings and in 1976 a weekly newsletter called “Church in Action”.

As people were led to the Lord and the congregation grew elders were appointed to deal with pastoral needs.

The church’s first full-time minister, Rev. John Twemlow, arrived in February 1980 with the original manse being sold and a larger one bought and renovated. By this time there were over 100 people attending, including about 30 members. Baptisms and membership increased markedly under Rev. Twemlow’s ministry. Although fellowship and hospitality had been a mark of this church for many years it now included church hangi.

1984

Pastor Tim Johnston took over for 5 years followed by Rev. Lindsay Coop and then in 1993 Steve Clarke who stayed for 10 years. Steve’s building skills were a great asset in building a new auditorium adjoining the hall. Many members helped, keeping building costs to a minimum and resulting in it being debt free after only a few years.

This was also a time of much community focus and in 2001 a hall was purchased in the centre of town and renamed ‘Fish Factory’ as a focus for youth outreach. mainly music was set up and continues to this day. Kaipara Parenting was also established, running courses from Parenting Inc. for the community.

2006 – 2010

This period saw Vaughan Saywell as pastor with the beginning of the national 24/7 youth programme in Dargaville High School being integrated with the youth work at Fish Factory.

Gareth Wood arrived in 2013 and served for 5 years with a focus on relational ministry.

Alpha courses were run as well as a range of targeted/themed small groups for all ages.

Then in August 2019 Edmonds Namburi was welcomed as Pastor. The church is blessed as he continues to pastor today with a ministry of strong biblical preaching. Along with his wife Sarah they both exhibit the gift of hospitality.

As a church we are grateful to God for all those who have gone before, paving the way for where we are today.