Presbyterianism had been growing in Ulster from the early 1600's. The Lagan Presbytery had been formed but all was not well. Presbyterianism was not well accepted by the then Established Anglican Church so much so that the Bishops in Ireland, and indeed the then Government tried everything in their powers to persuade Presbyterians to join their Church. The laws of the time were designed to compel everyone to adhere to the doctrine of the Established Church. Fair means and foul were applied to try to stunt the growth of Presbyterianism and those who refused to give up their beliefs were often punished by excommunication or imprisonment. Many people also faced financial ruin because of the fines imposed on them by the Bishops Court. Indeed the Bishop of Derry at the time, Dr William King, even had leaflets distributed rebuking Presbyterians and trying to prove that such practices as the 'sign of the cross' and 'sponsors of baptism' were Devine and Spiritual.

These actions 'wore down' many congregations and many people became dissatisfied with their ministrations in the Synod of Ulster. They began to look to Scotland, where many of them had originally come from, for ministers whose teachings were more in keeping with that which they had become accustomed to. A few years earlier, some ministers had left Scotland after Parliament had deprived them of the right to elect their own ministers. They became known as ' The Seceders ' and their fame for standing up for the ' rights of the people ' soon reached Ireland. The laxity of doctrine and discipline that prevailed in many congregations in the Synod of Ulster along with the increase in population led to a number of new congregations being formed by the Seceders.

The third ' Secession ' congregation to be formed was Crossroads. It was formed in 1781 after the then minister of nearby Monreagh, Rev. Patrick Davison, offended some of his congregation by preaching doctrine which they did not approve of. He was also one of the few ministers of his time who leaned towards Unitarianism with the Established Church. A number of people left Monreagh and, being joined with families from Derry who favoured the Seceders, formed the congregation of Crossroads and applied to the Secession Synod of Scotland for a minister. Two years later ( 1783 ) the church building was erected and Rev. Walter Galbraith was brought to minister there and also to the Seceders of Derry on the understanding that whichever of the two places was able to supply a stipend to support him first, would have him as sole minister. As was expected, the city won and Rev Galbraith became minister of the Secession Congregation of Derry, now Strand Road Church, Londonderry.