very early days 1994 - 2003
London Christian Fellowship origins started as a Salvation Army congregation in 1994 under the name of “EastWind Community Church” planted by Kevin and Cathi Kennelly. For nine years, Eastwind was a vibrant growing missional church that was meeting the spiritual and practical needs of the people in the east end of London Ontario.
new beginnings 2003 - 2014
London Christian Fellowship still under the leadership of Kevin and Cathi Kennelly started the summer of 2003 as a non-denominational church with support from many friends at New Covenant Ministries International. We met from home to home and park to park. Those early days were exciting as we ventured out exploring what God had in store for us as a church. We were an eclectic bunch of people who simply loved Jesus and loved each other. As we organized we went from meeting in a community hall to spending the next couple of years at the London Public Library in downtown London.
In 2006, London Christian Fellowship found a home at the London Christian Academy where we met and grew for the next couple of years. In 2008, LCFI made a move to an industrial unit on First Street. We quickly outgrew the first unit we occupied and moved to a larger unit until 2011. That year God really challenged LCFI by leading us to move from the comfort of having our own space to once again occupying a school gymnasium and to move to the north end of London where we meet at Masonville Public School.
2013 was a particularly difficult year for LCFI as Kevin Kennelly, while ministering in Asia came down with Acute Pancreatitis. After a month in hospital in Hong Kong, Kevin spent the next 4 months battling the disease that finally took his life on November 14 that year. Kevin has been greatly missed, he was a great father, mentor, spiritual leader and friend. Kevin laid the foundation of a church that loves Jesus and loves each other as a family.
2014 – 2017
In mid 2014 after seeking the Lord in prayer, LCFI moved to a pastoral leadership team model. Under this new structure, the pastoral team included Cathi Kennelly, Jason & Elisabeth Heffren and Jeremy & Katy Males. Under this structure, LCFI continued with the mission to gather people, equip them for ministry and deploy them into God's harvest field. Cathi stepped down from leadership in 2017 and remained an active part of the ministry team at LCFI until 2019.
2017 - today
LCFI started the transition to a house church model from the traditional model of church in 2016. At LCFI, we believe the Church isn’t a building—it’s people. That’s why we gather in homes throughout the week in what we call house churches. These small, close-knit groups reflect the early church in the book of Acts, where believers met in homes to worship, learn, pray, and share life together.
House church allows us to stay real and relational. It’s a place where you’re known by name, where conversations go deeper, and where spiritual growth happens through community, not just programs. We share meals, support one another, study the Bible, and encourage each other to live out our faith in everyday life.
This model keeps us focused on what matters most: loving God, loving people, and making disciples—right where we live, work, and serve.