Our Story
Celebrating 70 Years of “God With Us”
As with every congregation, we owe an abundance of thanksgiving and gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ and His faithful disciples of years past for their dedication, sacrifice, and generosity towards this Kingdom work.
The “Paisley project,” as it was originally known, came about because of the tenacity of the Port Elgin pastor, Rev. Alf Rees. With absolutely no denominational funds to purchase a building, Rev. Rees held the first services of the Immanuel United Missionary Church in August 1952, meeting first in the auditorium of the Community Centre and later in the Town Hall. A Sunday School quickly developed as an accompaniment of the afternoon preaching service, and by the spring of 1953, there was great interest in securing a church building of their own. Through the generous gifts of the congregation, the unused building of the Orange Hill United Church in Gorrie was purchased, dismantled, transported, and rebuilt in June 1953 on the current property.
For the first decade of its life and ministry, the “Paisley project” continued to grow under the leadership of the Port Elgin church. Finally, in 1967, we called our own first pastor, Rev. Cecil Rosenberger, and officially gained autonomy. With this increasing growth, it was necessary to expand our facilities, which led to our first addition, dedicated on November 5th, 1967. This expansion included classrooms, an “Upper Room,” and a new entrance.
Evangelism and missions work has always been near to the heart of the Paisley church. Ministers like Rev. Henry J. Runhart, Rev. Bill Page, and Rev. Bill Richardson each cast a great vision to see lost souls transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it showed in the well-attended Sunday gatherings and midweek programs. By the mid-1980s, it was clear that the first building program had not been enough! So, on December 10th, 1989, our second addition, complete with a brand-new sanctuary, was dedicated to God’s glory.
With a denominational merger in December 1993, the church took on the name, Immanuel EMC, gaining the term, “Evangelical.” This has always been fitting, as our mission has always been to reach our community for Jesus. And, praise God, we have reached many!
Under the leadership of Rev. Mark Chester, Immanuel EMC adopted a Scripture as a promise for our church on July 1st, 1995. From Isaiah 44:3 (NIV), the “Paisley Promise” reads, “I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessings on your descendants.” Although we have not seen the complete revival of our precious village, we have certainly seen much fruit in the lives of our neighbours over these many years of perseverance and love.
One such labour of love is our Food Bank ministry, which began under the name “Loaves and Fishes Food Cupboard” in 1997, through the hard work of the Missions Committee and its newest volunteer, Mrs. Carol McCulloch. As both Food Bank Coordinator and our Administrative Assistant, Carol has served many hundreds of people with the utmost wisdom, dedication and compassion, and only Heaven knows the eternal impact the Food Bank has made!
As our original name, Immanuel, suggests, God has been with us every step of the way; and, in His mercy, He has blessed us with many shepherds and servants to help us along this journey of faith. There are too many names to count, but a few special mentions are long-time Elders and Deacons: Joe McCulloch, Larry Grice, Roy Scott, Ron Wells, Pete Koenig, Jim Walker, and Paul Bellamy; as well as many faithful Sunday School teachers and ministry leaders: Alice Grice, Bill and Debbie Kranenburg, Donilda Finch, Nadine Wells, Bertha Scott, Evelyn Lageer and the many members of the Caldwell family.
The longest-serving pastor of the Paisley church was Rev. Tony Geense (2006-2021), who introduced the AWANA children’s program that our ministry would be known for in the community. Our Christmas parade floats, complete with “life-size” model cars, would go on to win several local prizes. It was in the last year of Pastor Tony’s ministry in Paisley that the name of our church was changed to Paisley Missionary Church.
Just like every congregation, our church was deeply impacted by the pandemic of 2020, shutting down for much of the year. But the greatest trial we had to face was the life-threatening accident which led Pastor Tony to retire. But Jesus has promised that He will build His Church. Through His own sovereign plan, God brought to us a recent Bible college graduate named Zack Thornton. Since the pandemic, we have been renewing our commitment to church unity, our passion for God’s Word, and our desire to see the Spirit’s transformation of sinners into saints. Back in 2023, the Elders and Pastor Zack decided on a new mission statement to inspire our work: “To direct our community to Jesus: the Way, the Truth, and the Life!” May God grant us the strength to fulfill this task.