Our History

Back in the early 60’s the Seventh Day Adventist Church moved from Parliament Street, to number 5 Westbourne Road. The new church had to accommodate the growing congregation. Pastor Ray Kent was invited from Australia to run an evangelistic campaign from the Crispin Hall at the bottom of Mount Road. Pastor Alf Birch was pastor of Westbourne Road at the time. These meetings ran for a year and many people joined the church.

The Cape Conference offices at this time were also in Port Elizabeth, run by Pastor Denis Baird. They were situated up the road in a double-story old home, on the corner of Buckingham Rd and College Rd. Meals on Wheels was started and run from Westbourne’s little kitchen by Mrs Baird. A massive revamp was done in the 1970s led by John Ives. The entrance was changed to make room for the sound room at the back of the church. Much later the sound room moved upstairs and the room at the back of the church became the cry room. The church was re-carpeted and the blue curtains were hung. The words JESUS IS LORD were removed from the wall behind the baptismal font. The paving at the entrance and the three rooms off the hall were added at this time.

The organ was installed on the balcony but later the keyboard was moved downstairs. In the new millennium, the metal gates and fence were installed and the garden was revamped. Kabega Park, South Hills, and Upper Hill Churches grew from Westbourne Rd Church, so the church continues to grow.