We know what it's like to feel like you're on the outside looking in - to feel out of place and like you don't belong. This deep need for community - to gather, to worship, to pray and support eachother - is what prompted the birth of Talbot Street Church.

In the early 1950s, following World War II, a group of Dutch immigrants began a new life in the countryside around London, ON. Many had left behind family and community in the Netherlands, didn't speak English and were unfamiliar with Canadian customs and culture. Searching for a place to belong, a group began gathering as a house church. As others found a place to belong in this community, it soon outgrew the house they were meeting in and they officially became a congregation within a larger faith tradition called the Christian Reformed Church.

As more immigrants began settling in the City of London, a visionary group of members saw the potential need for ministry and community, so they traded their rural surroundings for the bustle of urban life.

They called themselves First Christian Reformed Church of London.

Initially meeting in temporary locations, the church found a permanent home in 1953 when, in an act of faith, they purchased the First Baptist Church building on Talbot Street. Compelled by a vision to be the presence of Christ in downtown London, this small congregation purchased the building at a time when many of them didn't own any property themselves. The congregation continued to grow as new immigrants found community and a place to belong.

As modern life pulled many families to live outside of the downtown, the church community contemplated selling the old building and following the throngs to the suburbs. But our calling to gather, worship and serve in downtown London has compelled us, and continues to compel us, to remain and shape an evolving vision for ministry, outreach & community in the city centre.

Our building has grown and changed, our faith community has become more diverse, and our name has changed to Talbot Street Church, and yet we remain committed to serving in downtown London.

This is a place where we see great need and great hope.

This is a place where we feel called to continue growing into a community that provides a place where everyone can belong.

A mini documentary interviewing various members of Talbot Street Church, this is the story of God at work in His church on Talbot Street in London, ON. Created as part of our GROW (God Renewing Our World) campaign that raised funds for the Atrium and Ministry Centre building additions, this video takes viewers from the establishment of Talbot Street Church to 2018.