While Discovery Church may seem like a relatively new church body, it has a deep history in Elgin. In 1972, Pastors Joe and Margaret Alarcon began Templo Calvario Church to help reach the growing Hispanic community in the Chicago suburbs. In doing so, they launched one of the first bilingual churches in Elgin. The church community thrived, despite meeting in temporary locations for it’s first 5 ye
ars. Templo's first permanent location was destroyed by a racially motivated arsonist in 1978. One year later in 1979, Templo Calvario finally found a home at 270 E. Discovery Church launched in 2007, when Pastor Joe and Margaret’s son Dan Alarcon took the first step in launching a new mission and vision that had been long stirring in the church body. The church sold its buildings on Chicago Street, changed its name, and began meeting at Elgin Community College to reach a new generation. In 2012, Discovery began meeting at 200 Prairie St, in a former restaurant and bar. In December 2015, Discovery was able to purchase the building it had been meeting in for nearly four years! Discovery is excited about the future, because we know that the best is yet to come!
