Emmanuel Community Church (formerly Elmira Christian Center) is a gospel-centered church in Elmira, NY, committed to glorifying the triune God by worshiping and making disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

About ECC

Since 1944, ECC has seen God’s faithfulness and grace as we have labored together as a church in Elmira to proclaim, preserve, and display the gospel, the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). We are not just a building or an event but a people, sinners saved by grace. We are a local expression of the universal body of Christ that transcends space, time, and denomination. Our church is full of imperfect people—people who are weary and need rest, who mourn and need comfort, who are tempted to feel worthless and wonder if God cares, who sin and need a Savior—and that should make you feel all the more welcome.

A Reformed, Baptist, and Evangelical Church

As Christians, we are part of the one, holy, catholic (“universal”), and apostolic church of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. At ECC, we joyfully affirm the core beliefs and practices taught by the Bible, expressed in the creeds, and held by all orthodox Christians throughout the ages. Yet within this larger stream of Christianity we can further be described as a Protestant church that is Reformed, Baptist, and Evangelical.

Reformed means our theological heritage and identity is that of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. We affirm the five solas of the Reformation—that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, and that the church is to always be reformed according to Scripture alone.

Baptist means we affirm the distinctive contributions of the Baptist tradition as a renewal movement within the one true church. These distinctives include regenerate church membership, believers’ baptism, congregational governance, and religious liberty. We are a church that is ruled by Christ, governed by its members, led by its elders, and served by its deacons.

Evangelical means we are committed to the authority of Scripture, the centrality of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the urgency of evangelism, and the world-changing implications of the gospel. It is a global and multiethnic movement that transcends any one location or one-sided political connotation.

For more information, check out our Statement of Faith, theological distinctives, the Creeds and Confessions we joyfully affirm, and our “church statements” page.

Our Church Mission

At ECC, we want the gospel we proclaim to create a gospel culture. A gospel culture exists when a church lives as though Jesus truly is the King of the world, as if they have experienced the loving kindness of God. It’s when the doctrine of God adorns our lives, and the beauty of the new creation in Christ is portrayed before a watching world. This is what we strive to cultivate as we carry out our mission.

As a Christian church in Elmira, our mission is to make disciples of the risen Lord Jesus and change our communities with the good news of what God has done in Christ, his Son. We gladly share this same Scriptural mission with all true Christian churches. But how do we do this? Simple: We are a church joyfully devoted to doctrine, fellowship, prayer, and witness, which is the pattern of the church we see in Scripture (cf. Acts 2:41-42). In other words, we seek to be centered on the word of the risen Lord Jesus (doctrine), transformed by his love (fellowship), and dependent upon his power (prayer) because we are ultimately committed to his glory (witness).

Our Church Networks and Associations

We believe it is vital for churches to cooperate and associate with other like-minded churches to fulfill the Great Commission, whether formally through denominational affiliation or informally through association with church “networks.” For more information about the churches, associations, and ministries we support, check out our affiliations.

Join us Sundays

We gather every Lord’s Day to worship at 10:30am and have classes at 9:30am. Our church is located at 237 East Miller St, Elmira NY, 14904, on the corner of Miller and Falck streets. Everyone is welcome to attend!