This page includes a short outline of the history of our church. For a more detailed account please read “God in the Midst: The History of Ballymena Baptist Church from 1859-2009”. Copies are available in the church. 

Ballymena Baptist Church was established following a spiritual revival in the wider Ballymena area in 1859. The congregation met in a loft over a row of stables in Broughshane Street, which required walking through a stable yard and climbing a steep ladder to gain access. By October 1860 the church had grown to 90 members and Sunday congregations averaged four to six hundred. 

As the numbers grew, the need for a permanent and more suitable meeting place became obvious. With support from the Baptist Irish Society and Sir Shafto Adair, a new chapel able to seat 500 people was built and opened in August 1861. The new site was 200ft long and 90ft wide, stretching between Mount Street and Hill Street. In July 1863 the church joined the newly formed Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland. 

In 1965 a new church hall suite was erected alongside the original building containing main and minor halls, a pastor’s vestry and kitchen. Two years later, a gallery able to seat 180 people was added to the church. 

In 2005 plans for a new church building were approved by the church. Work began in March 2007 and was completed in June 2008. The new building was opened by Mrs Molly Small on 17th June 2008.