The History of Wedgwood Community Church

What is known today as Wedgwood Community Church started back in 1907 as Green Lake Baptist Church. In the course of its more than one hundred years of existence, our congregation has built and worshiped in three different buildings in three different locations under four different names.

In 1907, a small group of believers in northeast Seattle desired to covenant together and establish a church of its own. Under the leadership of the Rev. Dewitt C. Ellis, fifteen charter members formed a church body known as Green Lake Baptist Church. Its first meeting place was a rented building called Kidd's Hall near Green Lake Station at the corner of 5th Avenue NE and NE 72nd Street.

After a fired destroyed the building in 1921, a new brick building was erected at 9th Ave NE and NE 75th, and the church name was changed to Calvary Baptist. In the 1950s, when development of Interstate 5 threatened to demolish the building, the congregation built yet another new building, this time in the heart of the Wedgwood district on the corner of 30th Ave NE and NE 82nd Street, where it stands today. The new church became Wedgwood Baptist Church. In 1994, the church name was changed to Wedgwood Community Church to reflect the diverse Christian background of the Wedgwood neighborhood.

Since 1907, more than 30 pastors and interim pastors have shepherded our congregation, and in November of 2012, the Reverend Wim Mauldin was installed as our newest spiritual leader.

As we look back over our history, we see times of triumph and times of struggle, and we realize that we have benefited from both. As a church body, called to serve and witness for our Lord, we cannot relive our past, nor can we forecast the future. We must catch the moment and work to make the future a rewarding one for the cause of the Kingdom. If the past is a prologue for the future, then we are equal to the task.

The original church articles of incorporation stated that the purpose of the church was "Formed for the maintaining of the public worship of Almighty God, to propagate and spread the Gospel, and to observe the ordinances and the teachings of Jesus Christ." It was then -- and remains today -- our primary goal.

Our Vision Statement

Wedgwood Community Church is called by God to be a place of connection: Connection with God, connection with each other, and connection with our community. We will achieve this vision with a foundation of prayer and by the grace of God, under the power of Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit.