Evangel Church is rich with history, and has been in existence for over 150 years in Holton, Kansas. The church has been a foundation of our community since Kansas first became a new home for settlers from the east in the late 1800's.

Originally the congregation met in members’ homes. As the congregation grew, the need arose to build. The first small, wooden church was built in 1871, bringing together the members for the common purpose of providing sanctuary, both physically and spiritually.

On September 6, 1925, the congregation gathered for a special ceremony to lay the cornerstone in the third and current site of Evangel.  Placed in a box inside the cornerstone was a Bible, the church discipline, the history of the congregation, the names of department heads, the officers and the names of the Building Committee, the church membership roll, the Sunday School roll, the names of builders, the program of the 50th-anniversary jubilee, a booklet of church plans, the building fund constitution, and a block cut from the altar rail of the old church.

Our church started with German-speaking immigrants who worshipped first in German and then in German and English.  Now, part of what makes up Evangel is a new set of immigrants who speak Spanish.  With our Nueva Vida bi-lingual service on Saturday nights, we feel our heritage of being a bi-lingual church continues in a different and Spirit-filled way.

With more than 150 years behind us, we run the race set before us for what God has in our future.  The heritage of our past is always with us, and it is the Spirit of God who leads and guides us into the future.

To learn more about the complete history of the Evangel Church, read "Proceedings of the Evangelical Association-One Hundred Ten Years of Service of the Evangelical United Brethren Church at Holton Jackson County, Kansas 1858 thru 1968" by Dr. Joel Hutchins and Pauline Jensen, which can be found in the Evangel Church library.