Rev. Donald Mackay
1938 - 1943, Pastor
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. MacKay
was educated at Wheaton College and the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Pastor
MacKay began his ministry at Philpott Tabernacle on June 5, 1938. Dr. Philpott presided at
a reception for Mr. and Mrs. MacKay and their daughter with about 1,000 in attendance. Mr.
James MacFarlane opened the service in prayer. Mrs. L. Maddick and Mr. James Bell provided
music for the evening.
The keynote of Rev. MacKay's ministry was
certainly his work as a "Pastor" to his people. As many can still testify, this
kindly gentleman's comforting presence did much to raise the spirits of those still under
the shadow of the Depression, and later, the War Years.
He became widely known for his daily
broadcasts of Bible themes. The Sunday evening services were broadcast. Reports were
received of listeners in Montreal, Toronto, Buffalo and Rochester. In July 1938, Pastor
MacKay requested the board to sanction the introduction of a new type of bulletin with a
weekly message from the Pastor printed on the back page. These bulletins were very popular
and were sent to missionaries, shut-ins and many non-Christian friends and family members.
During his ministry the congregation was
also involved in outreach. This included continuing responsibility for the Bartonville
Mission as well as the Bridgeview Survey Mission which had been started by Mr. J.
MacKenzie, Mr. W. Thompson and Mr. A. Hathaway. The open air services continued during the
summer months. In 1939, a Soldiers' Christian centre was opened at 399 Sherman Avenue
North to provide a quiet place for soldiers to read or write letters. A telephone was also
provided for making local calls.
In March 1941, a Boys' Brigade company was
started at Philpott Tabernacle. Many of our current members have fond memories of this
outreach to the community and of their time spent in this Brigade.
Mr. MacKay left Philpott Tabernacle on
January 24, 1943 to become a Chaplain in the American Air Corps. After that time, he held
several pastorates in the United States.
Rev. MacKay wrote many articles and
published several books including Unfeigned Faith. He also served as editor of the Wheaton
College Alumni magazine from 1958 to 1961.
Throughout his life, Mr. MacKay's interest
in missions was evident. He served as the executive vice-president of the Association of
Baptists for World Evangelism, in charge of the Far Eastern Fields, and as well as their
candidate programme. He was on the Board of Directors of the following organizations:
Conservative Baptist Missionary Society, Sudan Interior Mission, Africa Evangelical
Fellowship and Word of Life Fellowship.
Rev. and Mrs. D.J. MacKay had one daughter
and two sons, one of whom was taken to be with the Lord at a young age only a few weeks
before the family moved to Hamilton.
During the summer of 1941, Mr. Leslie
Flynn was a summer assistant. His primary responsibilities were for the morning
meditations radio broadcast, the open air work and the Young Peoples' organizations. Rev.
Kennedy looked after the work at Bartonville Mission as an assistant pastor during the
summer of 1942.
The board appointed Rev. John Millar as
the interim pastor to lead the congregation until a new pastor was called.
- Dr. Peter W. Philpott, 1896-1922, Solid Bible Teaching
- Rev. James MacFarlane, 1923-1926, Evangelism
- Dr. Hottel, 1926-1928, Christian Education
- Dr. Louis Talbot, 1929-1932, Love
- Dr. William Ward Ayer, 1932-1936, Organizational Development
- Rev. Donald Mackay, from 1938 to 1943, Pastor
- Dr. Peter Hoogendam, 1943-1956, Bible Teaching
- Rev. Alex B. Stein, 1957-1975, Outreach
- Dr. Arthur Paterson Lee, 1976-1979, Brotherly Love
- Rev. Lewis H. Worrad Jr., 1981-1992, Bible Teaching
