On December 10, 1958, the Northern Ontario University Association was established under the direction of Reverend Dr. E.S. Lautenschlager, the minister of St. Andrew's United Church. During this time, efforts were being made to establish a university in the Sudbury area and St. Andrew's, together with seven Knox Presbyterian parishes throughout Sudbury and in partnership with the Roman Catholic faith, worked to establish Laurentian University.

The Presbyterians and St. Andrew's Church determined that a religious college was needed and by the fall of 1959, funds were being raised for the building of Huntington College. The college was named after Reverend Silas Huntington, Sudbury's first resident pastor for the Methodist faith. The new college officially opened in 1960 with St. Andrew's minister, Reverend Lautenschlager, as President of the institution.

• The Need for a New Church