Our history

The first Baptist churches came into being in Europe over 400 years ago as part of the Reformation movement which swept that continent. They stood for: freedom of worship according to one's own conscience, baptism of believers only, each believer's direct access to God and liberty voluntary association of believers. These beliefs and practices were regarded as so radical at the time that many who held them were martyred.

The first Baptists came to Australia in 1831. Today there are about 65,000 members in Baptist churches in Australia and many more adherents. Each local church is autonomously self-governing. We voluntarily link together with other churches to form a Baptist Union in each state, which in turn forms the Baptist Union of Australia.

Our journey here at Tottenham Baptist Church began in 1940, when a few families relocated to West Footscray. They gathered a new Church that drew from a rich tradition of loving stories of community and mission. In 2001, the church invited the Spanish-speaking congregation, with people from various parts of Latin America and Spain to participate in its story. After many years of holding our services in English and Spanish, we have moved to present the message in English, so that we can better serve our local community.