No. 50 - Church of Christ Margaret Street Launceston - From Mission Tent to Factory

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This church on Margaret Street Launceston, was built in 1898 for the Catholic Apostolic Church. In1913, it was purchased by the Church of Christ, which had been active in the city since 1884. The Church of Christ was formed in August 1884 after an advertisement was placed in The Examiner calling for 'Disciples of Christ' to start a new church. With nine member, meetings were initially held in various private homes and halls. A mission tent was erected on the corner of the Kings Way and Brisbane Street in 1913 and almost 300 people “committed their lives to Christ”.

Reporting on the 50th anniversary of the church’s founding, The Examiner noted that:

“ The church made slow progress until 1912, when an Evangelistic mission was held… As a result…the church became strong enough to purchase a building in Margaret Street, built by the Catholic Apostolic Church, and almost immediately the building had to be enlarged, and the church has made steady progress”.

The Margaret Street Church served the congregation for more than 80 years. During this time there were about six extensions to the chapel because of expanding numbers. Other branches of the church were established in the North, including a church at Invermay.


The church moved into a former factory site in Frederick Street in 1994. It later acquired the former Coats-Paton’s Factory in Glen Dhu and after major renovations; it was formally reopened as the Door of Hope Centre on November 29, 2003.

The building on Margaret Street remains a church and now operates as the Bible Salvation Assembly.



Photo Duncan Grant 2018

Photo Duncan Grant 2018

The Church before the extensions following its purchase by the Church of Christ in 1913

Examiner Wednesday 17 August 1898
The Door of Hope Church whose ancestor is the Church of Christ. Photograph: Duncan Grant 2018


SOURCES
Examiner Wednesday 17 August 1898

The Examiner 8 March 2014

Mercury Friday 19 October 1934

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