Our History

Early Days

The history of Cumnock Congregational Church began in 1836 as the desire of a group of dedicated Christians to worship God according to independent or Congregational principles.  A few members of the Kilmarnock Congregational Church residing in and about Cumnock, on account of the distance from the Church, decided to form a Congregational Church in Cumnock.  The first meeting of the new Church took place on 28th November 1838, a proud and treasured moment for the twelve founder members.

From these humble beginnings, the Church which started at the Black Bull Close Hall,  purchased a building on the north side of Cumnock Square, in 1847,  as a place of worship.  This building had been previously used as a Parish School and the Town prison,  in recent times, this site became the Clydesdale Bank.

The membership increased to the hundred mark and it was a great cause for rejoicing, together with triumph and justification for the faith and vision of those founder members, when the doors of the present building were opened for the first time on 18th February 1883 at a total cost of £1660.

Our Ministers

Ministers who have served since our foundation in 1838. 

Click on the links for further information.

"In the presence of God and of Jesus Christ, I give you this charge : Preach the Word."

2 Timothy 4: 1-2

The War Years

Ministers Mark Robson (1913-1934) and James Drife (1934-1950) bore the burden of pastoring the church during the war years. Both men would bid farewell to many men in their congregation, some of whom never returned home. There are 2 plaques at the main church door honouring the members of our church who gave their lives. The names of these men are read aloud during worship every year on Armistice Sunday in memory of the sacrifice they made.

Remembrance WW1

The Great War

Remembrance WW2

World War 2

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

John 15:13

Centenary Celebrations

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord!'"

Psalm 122:1

In 1983, the church commemorated 100 years of worship and witness in the church building. A week of special events was organised and enjoyed by the members to celebrate links to the past and the life of the church in the present. 

A centenary booklet of photographs and church history was produced. In it, the minister, Matthew Sullivan wrote:

"It is interesting to know that we are linked to the past not only by Faith, but by a Church structure. Every pew, every seat, the floor on which you rest your feet, and the pulpit have a story to tell of people who have worshipped, sung and preached in this joyful place. Here, generations of young people have been taught. Here, lives have been influenced, shaped and changed. Here, people have found Christ."

Church at Worship - Past

church worship past

Church at Worship - 1983

church worship 1983achurch worship 1983b

"Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations."

Psalm 90:1

Music

Music has always played a great part in the life of the church. When the present church building was opened, a harmonium was purchased for £24. William Hunter was appointed as 'harmoniumist' and it was his unrelenting campaign for the installation of a pipe organ. This came to fruition in 1894 - Mr Hunter was appointed organist.

church organI

In 1938, Miss Hunter, daughter of William, took over the organ and continued in office until her marriage in 1970.  Of exceptional musical ability, she brought the praise in worship to a very high standard and she secured for the choir and church a reputation for musical excellence. 

Miss Hunter David

In this photograph, Miss Hunter is seen holding her godson, a very young David Sullivan. She would not know at this point that he would become a future organist in the church!

After Miss Hunter, Mrs J Mellis played the organ for a short time and then Mr Bob Walker took on the post of organist and choir master for a few years. In 1978, at only age 13 years old, David Sullivan began to play the organ for the church and accompanied both Youth and Senior Choirs. David brought a freshness and versatility which is seldom found in one so young. Mr John Merry led the Senior Choir at this time, until his death when David took over the choir as well. David continues to lead the music ministry in the church and is much appreciated by the church and community.

"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song."

Psalm 95:1-2

Historic Files

We are currently cataloguing and scanning a number of documents, photos & newspaper articles as well as digitising old audio files and videos to provide a comprehensive list of files that document our history. 

Clicking the following headings will take you to separate pages with this content.


Moving Forward

Throughout our history, our church has always been active in Preaching the Word, Worship, Fellowship, Evangelism and Mission. Music has been a key component in our Worship and our Children's and Youth Work of vital importance in ensuring the continuation of a multi-generational community of believers.

In 2020 we, in common with the rest of the world, were prevented from meeting in person due to the COVID pandemic.  Our many organisations and activities were halted and the church doors were closed. The pandemic demonstrated the need for invention and innovation to move forward!

We quickly turned to our YouTube Channel and Facebook page to join people together virtually and bring Worship into their homes. Our Ladies' Bible Study continued to meet virtually via Zoom and our church organist, David, embarked on creating music videos, of the type commonly used by choirs and musicians at the time,  to engage our members in virtual congregational singing. Our minister, Ross, would preach to his phone camera in an empty church and by Sunday we were able to take part in Sunday morning Worship at home. When the church was able to re-open it was with stringent restrictions which directly impacted our ability to function. This has undoubtedly had a detrimental impact on our Fellowship and many of our organisations. 

However, with much prayer and determination, we are building our church and moving forward once again. Our Sunday School is beginning to see growth, our Choir is once again becoming more active in our Worship, our BBs and Guides, although reduced in number, remain active in the community, we have a number committed members who meet to pray each week at the Prayer Meeting and we are once again committing to a diary of events and activities to encourage Fellowship within our membership. There is a lack of young people & teenagers within our congregation and Youth Work is something we recognise that we need to rebuild. However, we currently have around 140 people actively involved in our church (ABM 2025) and we trust that Christ will lead us forward.

Jesus told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Luke 10:2