Baptist women and the mission to newcomers
In the early 1900s, thousands of immigrants were arriving in Canada, bringing new languages, cultures, and hopes for a different life.
In 1903, Baptist women were challenged by a simple question. More than 7,000 Chinese people were living in Canada, “within a stone’s throw of Christian churches,” noted Baptist women’s leader Carrie Holman. “Has God not sent them to us,” she asked, “that from us they might learn of Him?”
Some women began responding in practical ways. In 1909, Agnes Roberts opened her Toronto home on Sunday evenings to teach English and share the Bible with Chinese immigrants—the first known Baptist outreach to Toronto’s Chinese community.
Others soon followed similar callings. In 1912, Emily Weir—recently widowed—felt drawn to serve Slavic immigrants in Toronto. Supported by Baptist women, she visited homes and gathered women for classes in cooking, sewing, and English. “To reach the women,” she wrote, “we must first gain their confidence and love.” Those she visited affectionately called her “the good smiling lady who knocks at our door and says, ‘Come to a meeting.’”
By 1919 Baptist women were ready to appoint their first official female home missionary. Anna Phelps opened a mission to immigrants from Eastern Europe on Royce Avenue in Toronto. Within a few years, the growing community formed the First Polish Baptist Church, Canada’s first Baptist congregation for new Canadians.
Through open homes, practical care, and deep faith, Baptist women helped newcomers find both community and hope in their new country.