You may find this hard to believe, but Sheboygan was once a seaport with several ocean-going coal ships parked in the river.  Where the Blue Harbor resort now stands was a large coal operation.  The condos located on the rotary at the entrance to the South Pier district are in the former headquarters of the coal operation.  Our congregation traces its roots to being a ministry to maritime families of the area.

In 1942 Pastor Ellis Mooney became the spiritual leader for this fledgling fellowship.  Two core values emerged that still define the church today:

1) A solid commitment to Biblical truth -- the Bible is God's revelation of Himself and His will to us, and is therefore the infallible guide for all areas of Christian living.

2) A deep concern for those in the area and beyond who do not yet have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

The church built its first building on South 9th Street.  True to its commitment to reaching those in need of a relationship with Christ, the entire main floor of the church's small two-story building became a youth center.  The ministry was called Campus Life.  Later Campus Life expanded to its own building on Superior Avenue (now the Hmong Community Center) and then moved to its current location on South Business Drive. The church's services were held on the second floor of the original South 9th Street building.

As God brought more and more people to the church, the facility became inadequate.  In 1976 the church took the bold move to purchase what was then a grocery store on North 15th Street.  Our present sanctuary is the former grocery store.

Our congregation is thankful for the wisdom, insight, and faith displayed by that group of people who followed God's leading to plan beyond their self-interest to provide for the church far into the future.

God continued to bring people to the church.  It wasn't long before what seemed like such a large building became inadequate to keep up with the work God was doing in people's lives.  People from every walk of life were finding a new, personal relationship with Jesus Christ and became part of the church family.

God began to tug on the hearts of the congregation and its leaders to make further provision for His work to continue in the region.  The church needed to take yet another step of faith.  In 1989 the congregation more than doubled the square footage available for ministry by adding office, gym, student, and education space at the current location resulting in today's almost 60,000 square feet.

Jesus Christ continues to call people of our region to Himself in saving faith, and the church continues to grow.  At the time of this writing, between 800 and 1,000 people attend weekend services and come from every part of Sheboygan County.  About 300 children and students participate in Wednesday evening activities.  The church reaches out to the community through both on-site and off-site children's programs, ministry to parents, musical drama productions, and through the people of the church who carry the truth of God to the workplace, schools, and community activities in which they take part.

Once again God is bringing more people to Himself and to the church than our current facility can handle.  The people and leaders of the church currently are praying, asking God to show us what steps He wants us to take to provide for future ministry in His name in our community.  As our current location is land-locked, options for future growth are being explored.  You can follow our progress by visiting the future facility page of this website (requires username and password available to anyone regularly attending the church).

Through the years Pastor Terry Parks, Pastor Ed Kaylor, and interim Pastor Turner Tallaksen have each brought a unique style of leadership to the church while maintaining the legacy of a deep commitment to Scripture and to reaching the community and beyond.

In 1996 Dr. Gary Hylander became Senior Pastor.  In addition to maintaining the church's commitment to the centrality of the Bible, Dr. Hylander brought a new level of theological depth to the weekly teaching ministry.  The church offers many different opportunities for practical help in applying the truth of God's Bible to daily living -- all anchored in the weekly sermon directly from a passage of the Bible, with sufficient depth to assure continued growth in Christ.