In 1854, fifty-one members of the First Church, plus six more from other local churches, organized the Second Congregational Church of Winsted. They met at Camp’s Hall until a church could be built on Main St. in 1857.
Rev. Newell M. Callhoun, who was called to pastor the church in 1897, led a campaign to build a new stone church in the French Gothic style. His plan came to fruition in 1899 when the new church was formally dedicated and is still the church building to this day.
In 1957, the First Church (Baptist and Congregational) merged with the Second Congregational Church, giving a new name to the church, the Church of Christ (Baptist & Congregational). The merger didn’t last long, and many returned to the First Church. Some Baptists, however, decided to remain, so this church kept its name, the Church of Christ (Baptist & Congregational), and affiliated with both Baptist and Congregational denominations.
Though the Church of Christ had been supporting the missions and state organization of the United Church of Christ (UCC), it did not join that denomination until 1985 under the direction of Rev. Bob Martin. In 2003, several church members became increasingly concerned about the UCC’s hostility toward biblical Christianity, which led to intense debate and tumult in the church.
In 2004, the church voted to leave the UCC, and that same year, Rev. James DiQuattro retired after serving the church for nineteen years. In 2005, the church called Rev. Robert Walderman as an Intentional Interim Pastor to guide the church in a more biblical direction, with the result that the church voted in a Statement of Faith affirming the historic beliefs of Christianity in December of 2005. Also, in 2005, Daniel Cote was hired as Director of Christian Education and later ordained and called as associate pastor in 2008.
In 2007, the church called Rev. Douglas Aldrich to lead in a biblical direction. In the following years, the Second Congregational Church voted to affiliate with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC), though it left that fellowship a few years later over concerns about the direction of that denomination. The Baptist Church still retains its affiliation with the American Baptist Churches. In 2011, the church changed its name back to its founding name.
Rev. Aldrich desired to move the church in a Presbyterian direction, a direction never approved by the congregation. The matter was raised from the floor at the Annual Meeting in 2023. The Church Council voted unanimously in June of 2023 not to pursue Presbyterian affiliation. Upon returning from his summer sabbatical that year, Rev. Aldrich compelled the congregation to vote on whether to affirm 5-point Calvinism as its guiding theology with the intent of joining a 5-point Calvinist Presbyterian denomination. Viewing 5-point Calvinism as unbiblical and contradictory to the full counsel of Scripture, the church voted overwhelmingly (44 No/24 Yes) to reject 5-point Calvinism as its guiding theology. Rev. Aldrich resigned on November 12th, the day of the vote.
The church unanimously called Rev. Dr. Daniel Cote (Pastor Dan) as its senior pastor in January of 2024 to lead the church in a Bible-focused and Christ-centered direction, pursuing unity in the gospel of Jesus Christ, all that is taught in the Bible, and the essentials of the faith found in our Statement of Faith. As instructed by the Apostle Paul, the church finds its sound doctrine in the teaching of Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 6:3–5). Pastor Dan holds ordained ministerial standing with the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. In April 2024, the church hired John Costa, a graduate of Liberty University, Rawlings School of Divinity, as the Director of Youth and Families to support Pastor Dan’s efforts and to provide a full range of youth education and discipleship programs.