About Us > Our Beliefs | Mission Statement | Our Story | About Pastor

In the 1940's, students from the Peace River Bible Institute came to the Reno area to witness to the Ukrainian community. Tent meetings were held on weekends and VBS in the summer. Over time several individuals came to trust Christ as their lord and Saviour. In September of 1950, there were about a dozen believers baptized in the local river.

The first "church" meetings were held in an old granary. Later, a small structure was built and eventually moved into Reno where a porch was added. Services were mostly in Ukrainian but English was spoken when a student came from the bible school.

The first local minister was an area farmer, Harry Novak. He seemed like the natural choice in that he studied his Bible diligently. He served the church until 1986.

In Nampa, a Bible study was organized by the First Baptist Church from Peace River. As a result a small church was built in Nampa, with volunteers coming out to hold afternoon services. In 1972 the Peace River church asked the Ukrainian Baptist Church in Reno if they would consider relocating to Nampa with the idea of merging the two congregations, which they did.

A few years later the village of Nampa decided to rezone. This meant that the church would have to be moved. With only 12 people left in the congregation a bold step of faith was taken and they decided to build a new church instead. With the help of volunteers and donations from around the province, the present building was completed in 1983.

In the spring of 1993 the difficult choice was made to close the church doors. Hope was rekindled when the remnants of the Nampa Baptist Church began to talk with the pastor of Mile-0-Evangelical Fellowship in Grimshaw and The Evangelical Church leadership (EMCC).

In the fall of 1993 the church was reopened under the umbrella of the EMCC. At an organizational meeting held in October it was decided to call the new church "Nampa Gospel Fellowship" to reflect its mission and nature.

From 1993 until 2009 Nampa Gospel Fellowship was ministered to by Pastor Doug Engel. Upon his resignation in 2009 Pastor Dan Sandford came on as pulpit supply and then as full-time Pastor in July of 2010.