After the Toleration Act, the Nonconformist bodies, amongst these, the Congregationalists, began to build places of worship. Some early examples of these meeting houses still exist and can be seen at Walpole, Suffolk (now in the care of the Historic Chapels Trust), and the Old Meeting House, Norwich. The buildings were plain and often unpretentious. By 1710 it is estimated that there were about 380 Congregational churches.

Famous Congregationalists at this time included people such as Isaac Watts, the hymn writer and educationalist, whose hymns are still sung across the English speaking world to this day. Phillip Doddridge, a hymn writer and scholar and John Howard, the prison reformer.

During the Evangelical Revival, men such as Welsey and Whitefield preached across the land, and this enthusiasm touched the Congregationalists. By 1811 there were some 799 Congregational churches. Many of Whitefield's churches became Congregational, as Whitefield was a Calvinist as were most of the Congregational churches at this time. Whitefield, unlike Wesley, failed to organise his churches and their gradual drift into Congregationalism seemed natural.

Most of the English Presbyterian churches which did not become Unitarian also moved towards Congregationalism. Famous Congregational churches such as the King's Weigh House Chapel, started out life as Presbyterian churches.

The Evangelical Revival gave the Congregationalists a sense of their responsibility for evangalisation. This required co-operation between the churches. As William Carey, the Baptist had founded the Baptist Missionary Society, some Congregationalists, such as David Bogue of Gosport, called for the formation of a missionary society. As a result of his advocacy, the London Missionary Society was formed on the 21st September, 1795. It consisted not just of Congregationalists, but of evangelicals of various churches. The Society's object was to send abroad, "the glorious gospel of the blessed God", converts being left "to assume for themselves such form of church government as shall appear most agreeable to the Word of God".

It was soon realised that to be effective in evangalisation at home, there had to be co-operation between the Independent Congregational churches. To this end associations of churches were established in various parts of the country, sometimes linking churches together across whole counties. Some of these associations linked Baptist as well as Congregational churches such as the Bedfordshire Union of Christians. Soon most of England was covered with county Congregational Unions or Associations. By 1830 there were some 1,600 Congregational churches.