Our History
The history of Grace Apostolic church,where we started.
Grace Apostolic Church was born in the heart of Carlton Rigg and so, he felt the urge to consult the late Pastor Stevens to establish an outreach program in the Scarborough area. As a result, Bro Peart and family joined and gave Bro. Rigg their support. Prayer meetings began and were held in the basement of the Peart’s residence at 23 Romuslus Drive in 1985. Several families totalling 20 persons took the initiative to join the Outreach Program. Some were consistent while others were spontaneous.
The presence of the Lord was rich in the services and being assured that they were heading in the right direction and, outgrowing the basement, they decided to move to a different location in 1986.
In 1986 services were held at George B. Little School in the Horton Park and Progress area in Scarborough . The Presence of the lord was overwhelming and the spirit of God also moved in a rich and mighty way. It was during this period that the move in Scarborough experienced the first Good Friday Service.
The response to this service was tremendous and the service was packed beyond capacity and the Lord moved in a mighty way.
The school however, had some disadvantages. It was expensive and time constraint restricted the move of God.
In October of 1986 the church moved to 3739 Lawrence Avenue, East at the Bridge Club which became known to members as the “Upper Room.” At the Bridge Club, we shared the facility which was a great disadvantage however, after six (6) months of sharing, Grace became the sole tenant.
During 1987 – 1994 the church experienced the move of God in a mighty way. Pastor Rigg had gotten an impression from the Lord that a principalic power needed to be broken in Scarborough in order to get a breakthrough.
Bro. Coughlan, an evangelist from New Brunswick helped with evangelism. It was at this point that Bro. Castro, now Pastor Castro joined and introduced the principles of fasting along with his wife. They fasted for fourteen (14) days. Having fasted for fourteen (14) days, came a great revival, the church grew and the membership multiplied.
A number of local evangelists helped in keeping the spiritual momentum. It was in the Upper Room that the Lord solidified the bases and there was a great outpouring of the Holy Ghost, and many were baptized in Jesus name. The church experienced many miracles; one significant miracle was, the healing of Bro. Marques’ son from a broken rib.
