our history

2006-2012

During the spring of 2006 Tim Paquette drove through the North Thompson Valley and discovered an opportunity to plant an evangelical church in Clearwater, BC. Tim and Katrina Paquette, already affiliated with the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada, and already involved in FEBC’s Fellowship Pacific (BC and Yukon region), sought the support of the FEBC for a church plant in Clearwater. After much consultation and prayer the Church Planting Commission of FEBC accepted the call for the new church and pledged their spiritual and financial support. Tim and Katrina Paquette, with a strong heart to move their family to Clearwater, accepted the position.

The fledgling church first met during the summer of 2006 at 24E Old North Thompson Highway.

Our purpose is to love God, love man and make disciples, so that Clearwater, the North Thompson Valley and our world may know that Jesus Christ is Lord. Our strategy is modeled in the life of Jesus, who lived balancing the ministries of teaching, reaching, exalting, equipping and serving God and mankind for the purpose of making disciples. With dependency on God, the church focused its ministry on the youth in Clearwater through school involvement and weekly youth ministries. By the blessing of the Lord, the church grew in number, conversions and community involvement. During these five years of Pastor Tim’s ministry as church planter, Clearwater Community Baptist Church became an independent congregation with the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches in Canada.

Believing that the work of “planting” was complete, Tim Paquette resigned as Pastor in the spring of 2011 and handed the reigns over to the current Youth Leader in Training Student, Wayne Richardson. Wayne & Tracy Richardson served the church faithfully from 2009 to 2012 and invested their time and energy in both the congregation and youth ministries. Interim Pastor David Crouse of Kamloops helped Wayne during this time frame also. Realizing that the church needed a local, full time senior pastor the leadership team began a Pastoral Search.

2012-2014

Pastor Mike Kiewitt and his wife, Laurena, answered the call to ministry in Clearwater and served the church from September 2012 to August 2014. During this time, CCBC developed further as a distinct congregation. The Kiewitts found the adjustment from urban to rural living a difficult one and resigned for a return to urban ministry.

2015 – Present

Once again, the young congregation found itself searching for a Pastor. The search led to the calling of Doug Spinney, along with his wife Lorrie, began their ministry in the spring of 2015.They continue to serve the church at the time of this writing in September of 2020.

The original church building the congregation had been renting this entire time was sold by its owner, and it was decided that the church would search for another location. The best available option for CCBC was to rent the multi-purpose room of the local Yellowhead Community Centre. During the Corona Virus Global Pandemic declared in March 2020 the church was forced to continue meeting online only. The provincial guidelines that were put in place after the reopening of the facility forced the congregation to seek another meeting place for more space. The current location the congregation is now renting is at the Elk’s Hall on 72 Taren Drive, Clearwater, BC.

Our History compiled by Leona Madland and Angela Upton