About Golden Harvest
Church History
From a rented township hall in 1979 to our church home on Point Abino Road.
Our story at Golden Harvest
Our history includes changing meeting places, a Christian school, and generations of pastoral ministry. Through these years, our purpose has remained to proclaim God’s Word and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
1979
A congregation begins
Golden Harvest began in 1979 as Golden Harvest Baptist Chapel under Pastor Evan Craig. The congregation first met in the rented Willoughby Township Hall on Sodom Road, gathering there for approximately one year.
1980
A school, a growing ministry, and land for a church
In 1980, the congregation moved to a school in Chippawa, where it met for about another year. A gift of ten acres that year made it possible to begin work on a permanent church building. Golden Harvest’s Christian school also began in 1980 and continued until 1999.
Around 1981
A permanent church home
The congregation began worshipping in its new building on Point Abino Road around 1981. This approximate date follows the church’s first two years in rented meeting places. Portables were added in 1995 as the facilities developed.
1979–2000
Pastor Evan Craig’s years of ministry
Pastor Evan Craig led Golden Harvest through its beginnings, the move into a permanent home, and the years of the Christian school. His time as pastor concluded in 2000.
2001–2015
Pastor Ed Smith
Following an interval of approximately fourteen months without a permanent pastor, Pastor Ed Smith came to Golden Harvest in 2001 from Northside Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he had served as seniors pastor. During his fourteen years at Golden Harvest, the upstairs was renovated, the auditorium was completed, and the missions program began.
2015–2023
Pastor Marvin Massecar
Pastor Marvin Massecar became pastor in 2015. A former police officer, he was already well known to the congregation, having filled in at the church over the years. He served until the leadership transition in 2023.
2023–present
Pastor Ryan King
Pastor Ryan King succeeded Pastor Marvin Massecar as senior pastor in 2023, continuing Golden Harvest’s ministry in Fort Erie and the surrounding Niagara community.
2024
Forty-five years, one foundation
Golden Harvest celebrated its forty-fifth anniversary in 2024. Former pastors joined the congregation for an anniversary banquet, reflecting on forty-five years and four pastors building on one foundation: Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).
