Location: Ogdensburg, N.Y.

Presbytery: St. Lawrence

Organization: Sept. 23, 1840

Membership: 53 communicant; 31 baptized

Pastor: Garrett Mann

Website: www.lisbonrpc.org

When the first Covenanter forefathers of the Lisbon RP Church came up the St. Lawrence River from Ireland in 1819, folklore says they were bound for Ohio but met with “an event in Providence” at Massena, N.Y. Whatever the event was, they found their way to make a home in Lisbon. After more Covenanters came, the story is that Psalm 42 was aptly sung at the first prayer meeting held in 1827: “Like as the hart for water brooks, In thirst doth pant and bray, So pants my longing soul, O God, That come to Thee I may” (Rous version). Worship was first in small “societies,” and—after a complex history of fraud, Old Light/New Light disputes, and the split of 1833—the congregation was organized on Sept. 23, 1840, with the current building being erected in 1844.

The 180th anniversary week in September 2020 was joyfully marked by the installation of new pastor Garrett Mann, who answered the congregation’s call to fill the pulpit, which had been vacant for three years. That vacancy pales in comparison with some previous ones that, all told, equal 65 years, making a third of the congregation’s history to have been without pastoral leadership. History shows God is faithful and does not abandon His people. After the congregation was reduced to a mission station in 1954, members who went to the 1958 RP National Conference were told to “go home and get to work.” And work they did! New members were added, an elder was elected, and the church was organized anew, with 18 members making out a call for a pastor. Shortly after, a parsonage was purchased.

Two people remain from the 1958 roll, one of whom is the oldest member. He and the youngest baptized member are not related, but they share March birthdays and are 91 years and 2 days apart. Since most of those people from 1958 are gone, how are there now 53 communicant members? Where did they come from? Looking through the roll, there are three main categories. Some stand in the covenant lines from the earliest members. Next are those whose story would involve them or their parents or grandparents having been a neighbor, friend, or employee of a church member who reached out and shared their love for the Lord. The third category would be those who chose to come from other places to hear Reformed, biblical preaching. This includes those who were willing to move (for some that included moving their cattle and machinery) to be near the church, or others who are willing to drive great distances through sometimes snow-filled roads to join their brothers and sisters in worship. Their 70-mile trip to church may not take longer than the seven or eight miles driven by horse and buggy in days of yore.

Why do they come? The church currently does not have many programs, but the attraction seems to be the focus on worship and fellowship. The congregation is grateful to the 25 willing and gifted preachers who kept the pulpit supplied every week of the past three years until the pandemic. And now, with a pastor to lead and equip the saints, what kind of ministries might be carried out by Lisbon RPC? The possibilities are as varied as the members and their gifts.

Four universities within a half-hour drive provide opportunity to minister to college students. At a local state prison, a former member gifted in languages ministered with Prison Fellowship to the Spanish-speaking population. Using the nearby St. Lawrence River, a boating enthusiast led a boys’ Bible and boating club for many years, ministering to both his neighborhood and church families. Many of the women have followed the Titus 2 model, teaching young brides and mothers about meal preparation and other homemaking skills and answering child-rearing and homeschool questions. Lonely people are a phone call away in their own homes or nursing homes. Bible studies, small groups, and a variety of social events that have been wiped off the calendar by the pandemic will resume, we trust. Pastor Mann started a church membership class shortly after his arrival, and professions of faith have been made. He also began leading Google Meet prayer meetings, unhindered by miles or viruses.

Prayers are appreciated for discipleship and leadership training to happen, for unity and love to grow, so that the light of the gospel can continue to shine in New York’s “North Country. ”