Initially called Sharon Pentecostal Church, TPA was established just before the Spring of 1935 with several families that had previously been holding services in their homes. The first building to house the church was an old candy shop that they bought and renovated. By the late 1930s the church had begun to outgrow its building and construction of a new church began in 1941 on Lakelse Avenue. During the time in this new location, there was a great emphasis on Sunday School and young people's ministries.
Following the end of WWII, the church's numbers dropped as soldiers departed the area; however, the area was wrought with spiritual movements with rallies and tent meetings happening regularly. The church again outgrew its building and new property on Lazelle Avenue was purchased in 1952. The 1950s ushered in the growth of a new women's ministry that would become a pillar of the church for decades. The first Sunday School pick-up ministry was also started by a man in the church and in 1961 the church's first bus was purchased. Later in the 1960s, the church's camp property on William's Creek was purchased and built on.
Throughout the 1970s, the church continued to grow as new ministries started and the camp property was developed. A new property was purchased and a building permit was issued in 1979 for the building of a new church on Eby Steet, where we are located today. In the 1980s the church, in its new building, grew rapidly with Sunday School attendance reaching above two-hundred students. The young people's ministries also grew greatly and regular youth ministry began to develop.
The 1990s brought about a new type of culture for the church to encounter and impact. Various new youth opportunities were available with conferences happening all across BC and a camp facility to run summer camps for the youth of Terrace and the surrounding cities. Community outreach had always been a focus for TPA, but new types of events allowed the church to have a greater reach in the community. The Drive-Thru Nativity was a highlight of the 2000s for many people and Church in the Park during our local annual Riverboat Days festival was another staple for the churches of Terrace.
In 2010, TPA celebrated its 75th Anniverary and stepped into a new decade. The 2010s were wrought with much change for the church with many shifting ministries and people. This was also the time that several of the young people who had grown through 1990s and 2000s youth programs began to step into places of leadership in the church. This decade was one of strengthening for the church family and was filled with opportunities to serve and give back to the church that had poured so much into the community for the past 75 years.
2020 began with high expectations of healthy growth and change for TPA; however, the world was blindsided by a global pandemic that would change the way that community functioned. Amazingly enough, the church met the challenges brought by Covid-19 with eagerness. Services transitioned to an online platform, youth meetings happened on video-chatting programs, and face-to-face ministries seemed to come to a standstill. Despite the difficulties of the times, however, the church has used this time to update its facilities and build more of a community presence online. We are expectant of what God will do in the decades to come.
Here you can download a more detailed historical account of the church from 1935 to 1985.
75th Anniversary Video