As told by Dayle Medgett, son to Basil Medgett, second pastor of Ndola Baptist Church
The church was started as a free church (non-denominational). I believe the first pastor was Maurice Darroll (1952 to 1954). At least he was the pastor before my dad, Basil Medgett (1954 to 1960?). Darroll was the one that transitioned the church from non-denominational to Baptist and he also built the first building which he describes as 20’ x 50’ with two ante-rooms and a stage. At the end of December 1953 he says the attendance had an average of 40 - 50 people. He received a call to Durban where he went in May 1954. I don’t know what happened to him after that.
Basil Medgett had been an associate pastor at Salisbury Baptist Church (now Central Baptist Church) working in Umtali (now Mutare) and he married my mother in May 1954 and moved that month to start work in Ndola. He pastored there until moving to start the Bible College at Fiwale Hill and be the director of the Lambaland Mission in about 1960. From there he went to Lusaka.
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As told by by Rita McIver, member of Ndola Baptist Church from July 1949 – Dec 1959
When I arrived in Ndola in 1949 the Baptist Church building was used by the Copperbelt Free Church and a Sunday School was held each Sunday morning and the evening service was led by men from different denominations under the umbrella of the Copperbelt Free Church. We had a very good Sunday School and the teachers were mostly folk, like me, who had come from the UK, SA, Rhodesia(Zimbabwe), or local Christians.
The church (see photo above taken in 2010) was built either in the l920’s or early 30’s by the Rev. Arthur Cross but when the Bwana Mkubwa open cast mine closed down about 1934 (I think) the church no longer operated as most the people had left the area. In 1952 the Rev. Maurice Darroll and his wife, Mona, and their 3 sons, Brian and twins David and Peter (I’m not sure if Peter was the name of the other one), came from Bulawayo to open up the Baptist work again and he asked all of us if we would be willing to support him in the Baptist work he had come to begin – which we all did. (If I remember correctly a few ex-Brethren people who were Sunday School teachers at the time decided not to join the Baptist work). A morning service was commenced and the Sunday School grew. Covenanter classes for teenage boys and girls were commenced.
The small original church building remained as it was, but Maurice Darroll instigated the building of the hall behind the church. Of course it was quite small but we were delighted to have a building in which to have Sunday School and Young People’s Meetings (and parties). It had a stage (concrete) with two small rooms behind which could be used for S.S. classrooms.
We didn’t have much money and Maurice Darroll helped a lot with the building, in fact during the construction he fell off the roof – fortunately he didn’t appear to suffer any serious damage. Later we decided to move the front door entrance and I think the vestibule was enlarged a bit and the entrance was then put on the side of the vestibule.
There was an old manse on the property next door to the church and it was decided to pull this down and two semi-detatched flats were build on the land. Maurice Darroll lived in the one closest to the church and Derek and Barbara Harris rented the other one and lived there until they left at the end of 1958.
Barbara Harris and Sylvia Michaelis ran the Covenanter class for the teenage girls – quite a good number of them – all those years, and this was held in the lounge of the Harris’ flat. I had a piano which was in the flat and the girls really enjoyed those meetings and the singing. Incidentally, one of those girls happened to come across Barbara Harris in Johannesburg recently and introduced herself to her and she was amazed to hear how this lady, then Margaret Porteous, is now the wife of a Baptist Minister in Johannesburg – Rev John Buchanan. She later went to the Baptist Theological College and obtained her Bachelors degree. At present they attend the Honeyridge Baptist Church. You might find this interesting.Its always wonderful to hear what happened to children and young people we have taught in Sunday School.
The Sunday School was run on the old British type of Sunday School – with anniversaries with the children doing special items, parties, visits to Fiwale Hill and other places for the Sunday School outing each year. A Youth Club was started on a Friday evening and mid-week Bible Study was held on Wednesday evenings. Thursday evening was choir practise and under the leadership of a Salvation Army gentleman, Ken Durman, the choir gave some excellent evenings of song to a packed church regularly. I played the organ – first an old pedal organ then a new Whurlitzer was bought.
Above are members of Ndola Baptist Church meeting in a tent during extensions to the main church building in 2010. Photos taken by Matthew S. Harmon
In 1954 Maurice Darroll received a call from Bulwer Road Baptist Church in Durban and left and Basil and Katie Medgett took over immediately about May 1954. Basil remained until about 1958 (not sure of exact date) and went to Fiwale Hill mission station. After that Walter Marsh (I think) took over. I left not long after to go back to the UK because my father died, and then I returned to Lusaka and got a job with the City Council as City Treasurer’s Secretary.
The church was started as a free church (non-denominational). I believe the first pastor was Maurice Darroll (1952 to 1954). At least he was the pastor before my dad, Basil Medgett (1954 to 1960?). Darroll was the one that transitioned the church from non-denominational to Baptist and he also built the first building which he describes as 20’ x 50’ with two ante-rooms and a stage. At the end of December 1953 he says the attendance had an average of 40 - 50 people. He received a call to Durban where he went in May 1954. I don’t know what happened to him after that.
Basil Medgett had been an associate pastor at Salisbury Baptist Church (now Central Baptist Church) working in Umtali (now Mutare) and he married my mother in May 1954 and moved that month to start work in Ndola. He pastored there until moving to start the Bible College at Fiwale Hill and be the director of the Lambaland Mission in about 1960. From there he went to Lusaka.
*************************************************************
As told by by Rita McIver, member of Ndola Baptist Church from July 1949 – Dec 1959
When I arrived in Ndola in 1949 the Baptist Church building was used by the Copperbelt Free Church and a Sunday School was held each Sunday morning and the evening service was led by men from different denominations under the umbrella of the Copperbelt Free Church. We had a very good Sunday School and the teachers were mostly folk, like me, who had come from the UK, SA, Rhodesia(Zimbabwe), or local Christians.
The church (see photo above taken in 2010) was built either in the l920’s or early 30’s by the Rev. Arthur Cross but when the Bwana Mkubwa open cast mine closed down about 1934 (I think) the church no longer operated as most the people had left the area. In 1952 the Rev. Maurice Darroll and his wife, Mona, and their 3 sons, Brian and twins David and Peter (I’m not sure if Peter was the name of the other one), came from Bulawayo to open up the Baptist work again and he asked all of us if we would be willing to support him in the Baptist work he had come to begin – which we all did. (If I remember correctly a few ex-Brethren people who were Sunday School teachers at the time decided not to join the Baptist work). A morning service was commenced and the Sunday School grew. Covenanter classes for teenage boys and girls were commenced.
The small original church building remained as it was, but Maurice Darroll instigated the building of the hall behind the church. Of course it was quite small but we were delighted to have a building in which to have Sunday School and Young People’s Meetings (and parties). It had a stage (concrete) with two small rooms behind which could be used for S.S. classrooms.
We didn’t have much money and Maurice Darroll helped a lot with the building, in fact during the construction he fell off the roof – fortunately he didn’t appear to suffer any serious damage. Later we decided to move the front door entrance and I think the vestibule was enlarged a bit and the entrance was then put on the side of the vestibule.
There was an old manse on the property next door to the church and it was decided to pull this down and two semi-detatched flats were build on the land. Maurice Darroll lived in the one closest to the church and Derek and Barbara Harris rented the other one and lived there until they left at the end of 1958.
Barbara Harris and Sylvia Michaelis ran the Covenanter class for the teenage girls – quite a good number of them – all those years, and this was held in the lounge of the Harris’ flat. I had a piano which was in the flat and the girls really enjoyed those meetings and the singing. Incidentally, one of those girls happened to come across Barbara Harris in Johannesburg recently and introduced herself to her and she was amazed to hear how this lady, then Margaret Porteous, is now the wife of a Baptist Minister in Johannesburg – Rev John Buchanan. She later went to the Baptist Theological College and obtained her Bachelors degree. At present they attend the Honeyridge Baptist Church. You might find this interesting.Its always wonderful to hear what happened to children and young people we have taught in Sunday School.
The Sunday School was run on the old British type of Sunday School – with anniversaries with the children doing special items, parties, visits to Fiwale Hill and other places for the Sunday School outing each year. A Youth Club was started on a Friday evening and mid-week Bible Study was held on Wednesday evenings. Thursday evening was choir practise and under the leadership of a Salvation Army gentleman, Ken Durman, the choir gave some excellent evenings of song to a packed church regularly. I played the organ – first an old pedal organ then a new Whurlitzer was bought.
Above are members of Ndola Baptist Church meeting in a tent during extensions to the main church building in 2010. Photos taken by Matthew S. Harmon
In 1954 Maurice Darroll received a call from Bulwer Road Baptist Church in Durban and left and Basil and Katie Medgett took over immediately about May 1954. Basil remained until about 1958 (not sure of exact date) and went to Fiwale Hill mission station. After that Walter Marsh (I think) took over. I left not long after to go back to the UK because my father died, and then I returned to Lusaka and got a job with the City Council as City Treasurer’s Secretary.
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