Our Purpose

Emmanuel Congregational Church is purposed to glorify God.

• By touching lives of individuals and families by proclaiming the love, the truth, and the power of Jesus Christ through demonstration and by word.
• By equipping our children, youth and adults to be mature and effective disciples of Christ.
• By training up leaders to facilitate the fulfillment of the aforementioned purposes in the future years.

History of Emmanuel Congregational Church, Ridgetown, ON.

Bible-Based Church Seekers Meet, January 10, 1989
It was on January 10, 1989 that a meeting was held in the Howard Township Hall to discuss if it would be viable to form a new congregation. Many people were seeking a more Bible-based church – one that did not change with the social norms of the day, but a church that stood anchored in the unchanging word of God found in our Bible. His word, which is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

After hearing a speaker give an information history of the Congregational Church of Canada, its structure and its beliefs, those listening knew that was what they were searching for, a Bible-based church anchored in the words of God with Jesus Christ as the only authority. At this meeting, a steering committee was formed to search for a location to worship.

First Worship Service, January 22, 1989
After much prayerful planning by a very committed group of people, we held our first worship service in St. Michael’s School gymnasium on January 22, 1989. On February 5, we held our very first congregational meeting.

We named the church “Emmanuel Congregational Church” – Emmanuel meaning God with Us. With the co-operation and organizational skills of many dedicated people, all the functioning bodies of the church were formed. One of the immediate goals of Emmanuel Church was to find a permanent place of worship and to this end a committee was formed to search out an appropriate parcel of land on which to build.

Land Purchased, December 1989
It was on December 11, 1989, that we were blessed to be able to purchase a 3.2 acre parcel of land at 92 Erie Street North, Ridgetown, ON.

In June of 1990, this land was dedicated to the Lord’s Service.

A building committee was formed and many hours were spent looking for the right builder for the church. Then on April 1, 1991, the congregation took a step out in faith and retained Don Hawkey Construction Company as the builder of the church. Mr. Hawkey only constructed churches and virtually all churches built by his company came in under budget due to his built-up buying power and his requirement of a minimum commitment of 1000 hours of volunteer work from the congregation.

Groundbreaking Ceremony, April 15, 1992
Finally on April 15, 1992, we had a groundbreaking ceremony with many people joining us in this service of “Building for the Lord”. We could finally see that the vision of a church building could be a reality. It took many hours of time, talent, money and prayer to make this possible.

Construction of the church began on May 6, 1992, and the construction site was a beehive of activity with many volunteers showing up each day to lend their help.

4000 Hours Of Volunteer Labour Completes Building In 4 Months!
We held our first worship service in the new church building on September 6, 1992. Amazingly, it had only been four short months from beginning of construction until completion.
God had truly blessed us. Mr. Hawkey said that this was a result of our congregation putting in an incredible 4000 hours of labour to help in the building of the church. As a result, the cost of the church was greatly reduced.

The sanctuary and church facilities were dedicated to the Lord on September 20 with the unveiling of the cornerstone which reads

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
           1 Corinthians 3:11

Emmanuel Unwaveringly A Church Based On The Unchanging Word Of God!
And so continues the story of Emmanuel Congregational Church, a church looking to God for wisdom and direction, a church based on the unchanging Word of God.

Emmanuel Congregational Church is NOT a perfect church – there are no perfect churches because we are imperfect people. It is a church that seeks out God’s will and strives to come to a better understanding of how God wants us to serve Him.