Bethel Community Church had its beginning in the Fall of 1957, on Coolbreeze off of Highway 20 in Pointe-Claire, Quebec. By 1963 the congregation had grown and was able to build a little church on the corner of Dieppe and Hastings. As the church grew, a balcony (with cushy seats!) was added in 1977, then a 30-foot addition was built in 1979 for the Sunday school and nursery. Even with the additions, by 1981 it had become impossible to seat everyone in the main auditorium, so closed circuit TV was installed in the basement for the overflow, a rather unsatisfactory solution for a growing church!
A year later as many as seventy people were accommodated in the overflow, and dual services started in the new year of 1983. By 1985 the congregation had well and truly outgrown the present facilities and that September two thirds of the congregation left to begin a new work, Westview Bible Church, which stands at the corner of Pierrefonds Blvd. and St. Charles. Bethel survived a disastrous fire in 1987, which is why we tend to avoid singing the song "Church on Fire". We were kindly taken in by our friends down the road, St. Augustine's Anglican Church, until renovations were completed.
Bethel means "House of God" in Hebrew. It was the name of the place where Jacob, later known as Israel, met God face to face.