Our History

A Family Arrives

It began with one family. Southin and Khamphong Luangrath arrived in Canada as refugees from Laos in the late 1970s, sponsored by the St. Catharines United Mennonite Church — known locally as Linwell Church — located at 335 Linwell Road. The Luangrath family was warmly welcomed into that congregation and began participating in English-language Bible studies led by Pastor Henry P. Epp.

Word spread among the Lao community in the Niagara region. Others began to gather, and by April 1980 a small but growing group of around 20 Lao-speaking believers was meeting together for Bible study in the basement of Linwell Church.

A Congregation Is Formed

On August 19, 1980, Lao Christian Fellowship formally organized as a congregation, with support from both the St. Catharines United Mennonite Church and the Vineland United Mennonite Church. Together they helped bring Pastor Tong Chitchalerntham to St. Catharines to serve as the fellowship’s first pastor — a role he would hold until 1989.

Southin Luangrath, the founding leader whose family had sparked it all, continued to play a central role in the life of the congregation.

Growing Roots

The congregation formally organized again in 1983, adopting a constitution and directory that reflected its growing stability and identity. For many years the fellowship continued to meet at Linwell Church, nurtured by the partnership and friendship of that congregation while developing its own distinct community life in the Lao language and culture.

A Home of Our Own

In 1996, Lao Christian Fellowship purchased its own building at 79 Page Street, St. Catharines — a milestone that marked a new chapter of independence and permanence for the community. The building was dedicated on September 14, 1996, a joyful celebration of what God had built over nearly two decades.

Two years later, on May 9, 1998, Kuaying Teng and Khamphong Phommaseng were ordained, strengthening the congregation’s pastoral leadership for the years ahead.

Those Who Have Served

The congregation has been faithfully shepherded by a succession of pastors over the decades:

• Tong Chitchalerntham — 1980–1989
• Boris Sithideth — 1991–1994
• Khamphong Phommaseng — 1995–2014
• Kuaying Teng — 1994–2019
• Bounnho Phommaseng — 2023–present

Still Gathering, Still Growing

More than forty years after that first Bible study in the basement of Linwell Church, Lao Christian Fellowship is still meeting every Sunday at 79 Page Street. We worship in Lao and English, run Sunday School, support missions in Southeast Asia, and welcome anyone who walks through our doors.

We are a living testimony to what a single act of welcome — one church sponsoring one family — can become over a generation.