Pastor Peter Rigo grew up in a loving Christian family in the Toronto area. From an early aging, loving God and helping people were his greatest passions. While his bible studies brought him to Zion Bible Institute in Providence, Rhode Island, Hamilton remained an important part of his past and of his destiny. In 2000, after starting a family in Rhode Island with his wife Peggy, the two felt a spiritual need to return to Ontario and start a church.

That August, after much prayer, they did just that. The couple began hosting Sunday services in generous libraries, banquet halls, and other churches. They eventually found a space of their own, a former bingo hall, where they flourished for three years before purchasing their very own building, previously occupied by Hamilton Gas and Light Company before becoming a scrap metal site.

It took two years, but the Rigos and their followers managed to restore the building to its former glory, a beautiful atmosphere for church services, musical performances, and special events. In its first fourteen years, wave after wave of new believers have come to to be saved and transformed by the Holy Spirit.

One Community Church has grown exponentially over time, and now has a second location in downtown Toronto. Many of the first members are now in the core leadership, including Peter and Peggy’s daughters, Rachel Shuttlesworth and Ashley Gorda, and their husbands. So far, the journey of this family-built church has seen its fair share of miracles, breakthroughs, and transforming friendships, yet Peter Rigo truly believes the best is yet to come.