Our Story

Lisle Memorial Baptist Church, founded in 1980 in north west Toronto, is a local church committed to see lives changed and the community transformed. Presently most of the members background are from the Caribbean.

Why the Name?

The church is named to honour George Lisle (1752 - 1826), former slave, Baptist minister, and missionary to Jamaica. Lisle was owned by Henry Sharp when he was converted by Rev. Matthew Moore in 1777. Moore encouraged Lisle to preach to the other slaves and was instrumental in starting two Baptist churches. In order to seek freedom from slavery, George, his wife Hannah, and their four children migrated to Jamaica in 1782. Within seven years, George Lisle had baptized five hundred people and by 1814 churches were formed in several parishes. He was greatly involved with the education of the slave population and founded schools for the slaves as he planted the churches. There is now a strong Baptist presence in Jamaica due to the zeal of George Lisle.

The Founding Pastor - Rev. Kenrick Sharpe

The name, Lisle Memorial Baptist Church, was chosen by its founding pastor, the late Rev. Kenrick Sharpe, a Jamaican, who later migrated to Canada. After completing his theological education, he was ordained a Baptist minister and served in a church in Cambridge. It was from this church that Rev. Sharpe, his wife, Mervina; his twin sons, Samuel and Joseph and daughter, Helen, left to go to Nigeria as missionaries with Sudan Interior Mission (SIM).  

It was while serving in Nigeria that Rev. Sharpe received a Christmas card from a lady in Malton. Inside the card, she wrote 'There are so many people in Toronto from all over the world and there is no one to help them, and to share the gospel with them, especially West Indians. I wonder if you would consider coming to Toronto to minister to them”.

'This card really spoke to us, and we became burdened for our own people. It was during our home furlough that the Rev. Eustace Meade asked if I would be willing to help get work started for the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec. We told him we would pray about it. The Lord spoke to us and we agreed to go to Jane and Finch as a family to start the new work from scratch'." 

Thus began LMBC in 1980 with a nucleus of members from First Baptist Church led by Rev. Meade and Ossington Avenue Baptist Church led by Rev. Arthur Hirtle. Rev. Sharpe and family laid a good foundation for the work and faithfully served until 1984, before returning to SIM.

Retired Pastor - Rev. Audley Goulbourne

Rev. Audley Goulbourne assumed pastoral leadership in 1987. He continued in this role up until his retirement. Rev. Goulbourne and his wife Yvonne still resides in the Jane Finch community. He is committed to seeing the church having an external focus, reaching out to the lost, the little, and the least. Under his leadership, HOPE (Holistic, Outreach, Promoting, Empowerment) For You Community Services was formed. It is a non-profit organization with the mission to provide holistic services in a safe, stable, and multi-cultural environment to enable families to have a hope-filled, healthy, and productive and enhanced quality of life. Rev. Goulbourne was also instrumental in the formation of The Jane/Finch Church Coalition to mobilize the churches to work together and with organizations, the police, and educational institutions to foster transformation in the Jane- Finch area. After 35 years of faithful ministry in December 2022, Pastor Audley retired from the pastorate of Lisle but continues to do work with Hope 4 You Community Services.

Place for Worship & Ministry

The church first met at Gosford Public School in a leased space, then later to another leased space at Jane Junior High (now Brookview Middle School). This unique leasing came to an end when the school needed more space because of the increase in student enrollment. In October 1994, the church bought a building at 95 Eddystone in the Jane Finch area. The building was named Lisle Memorial Multi-Centre to reflect the multi-purpose use to serve the church and the community. Due to some challenges, the building was sold in 2003; there was a three-year lease agreement with the purchaser that allowed the use of part of the building until 2006. Subsequently, Yorkwoods Public School was used as the place of worship from September 2006 - December 2019. In November 2019, the church was able to purchase another building at 2400 Finch Avenue, West, Unit 10. The first worship service was held on New Years Eve, 2019. The renovation of the building is now completed and it is being used for worship, meetings, administration offices, and community outreach.