An unlikely church for an unlikely community will soon be celebrating 20 years of serving Wareham and beyond.

The Onset Four Square Church located on Onset Avenue will be celebrating its anniversary on Friday, August 24 from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Bay Pointe Club in Onset. Tickets are $30 before July 22, and $40 thereafter.

The journey to 20 years has had its shares of ups and downs.

Four Square Church started off as a small congregation with big plans in a "little red house on North Boulevard" in Onset, said Fernandes.

Then Pastor David Spencer would frequently perform music in the Onset Village Bandshell with his congregation. He would also hold "tent revivals" on Lopes Field where his congregation would gather together under a large tent for prayer and celebration.

"Through the gift of music and prayer, people started coming from all over the place," said Fernandes.

Eventually church members would need a bigger location than just the "little red house on Norht Boulevard." It would find one in a former bar located across the field from where they held their tent revivals.

The former bar and restaurant was located at 301 Onset Avenue and was known for suspicious activity and bar fights over the years.

In the seventies, it was called the "Blue Flame," and was owned by a man appropriately named "Johnny Blue Flame." After that, it changed ownership and was called the "Onset Pub."

One day, said Fernandes, the owner of the Onset Pub came over to Lopes Field during a tent revival to give a small donation.

The donation was not in support of the church, however. It was a token donation to mock the young congregation and its tent revivals, Fernandes said.

Spencer looked the owner of the Onset Pub in the eye and told him that one day the church would own his building, Fernandes said.

By 1995, the church had indeed taken ownership of the bar and restaurant.

"After we took it over, the police chief…wrote us a letter thanking us for taking over that corner," said Fernandes. "The crime rate and activity subsided after the bar closed," he said.

By the mid-90s, the church that started in a living room and moved into a bar had grown to a congregation of approximately 250 members, said Fernandes.

But Spencer eventually decided to move on and start his own church in New Bedford.

The move proved to be drastic for the church. A series of pastors followed, but without proper leadership, membership in the church dwindled.

By the year 2000, the congregation had only 8 members left. Pastor Fernandes then became senior pastor in the church.

"For me, and knowing God, it was disheartening. [But] you do what God's called you to do out of love," said Fernandes.

Or, in laymen's terms - "You don't throw in the towel when people leave and when people say what they say," said Fernandes.

Fernandes decided to start off his ministry with the spirit of humility.

One the first actions he took was to invite any and all former members back to the church for a foot washing ceremony.

Approximately 200 people showed up for the ceremony. Fernandes himself washed people's feet and anointed them with oil.

"[It was about] reconciliation…for problems that may have happened in the church over the years," said Fernandes. "It rekindled some people to come back…and they are with us still today," he said.

Fernandes began a ministry that tried to provide an atmosphere of support and acceptance, Fernandes said. That applied to everybody, even those who could not find acceptance elsewhere.

"When people have difficult lives, its hard for people to believe that other people can change," said Fernandes.

"Jesus taught us to not condemn anyone…but to apply grace and love in their life, and to allow them to change," he said.

Today, the church membership has grown to approximately 150 members.

Onset Four Square Church also opened up a satellite site in New Bedford in 2011. The site now has approximately 30 members.

And the Onset Four Square Church is still ready to grow. Fernandes is looking to leave its current site and move into a larger facility.

Programs such as bible studies, a children's ministry, and even a soup kitchen are currently conducted in a church-owned facility next door.

"We want to have everything together in one location," said Fernandes. "I'd like to have a church of at least 500," he added later.

For the time being, however, its time to celebrate. The 20th Anniversary will honor founding pastor David Spencer and feature dinner dishes like chicken marsala and stuffed sole, members dressed up in their best attire, and the good music that has been with the church since the beginning.

"We're going to celebrate the Lord and worship and dance before the Lord," said Fernandes. "A full night of thanking people - but also celebrating."

A previous version of this story incorrectly named "Johnny Blue Flame" as the person from whom the Onset Four Square Church bought its current church. Wareham Week apologizes for this error.