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A HISTORY OF THE LANCASTER GRACE BRETHREN CHURCH |
Early in 1960 several families from the Harrisburg Grace Brethren Church along with a group in the Lancaster area met for a Sunday afternoon Bible Study at the Lancaster Poultry Center with Pastor Alva Conner leading. By that November the group had called Pastor Bill Tweeddale to be their first full-time pastor. His passion was to win the world for Christ through sharing the good news that Jesus saves. And He led the church to see that we have all been born to reproduce – both as individuals and as churches. The church launched their first public worship services in April 1961 and soon added its weekly radio ministry. Bu the end of that first year they were already averaging over 100 in attendance.
Because of this rapid growth, the congregation purchased property on Rohrerstown Road just south of Route 30 and broke ground in the fall of 1963. The dedication service for their original construction along with the north wing was held on August 30, 1964. And then on January 1, 1965, they chose to go self-supporting from the North Atlantic District Missions and Brethren Home Missions. Because of continued growth with attendances reaching the 250’s, they added the south wing in 1966 for additional Sunday School space, offices, and foyer.
But because of Pastor Tweeddale’s commitment that churches as well as individuals were “born to reproduce,” he led the congregation into an aggressive policy of church planting throughout the region. He believed that the New Testament concept of church growth was to divide to multiply. So interested groups from a specific area were encouraged to leave the mother church and form the nucleus of a new church.
These following Grace Brethren Churches were formed through sending families from Lancaster Grace:
1. The Manheim GBC began in 1962 with a group of about 23
2. The Elizabethtown GBC began in 1965 with a group of about 55
3. The New Holland GBC began in 1966 with a group of about 71
4. The Wrightsville (Susquehanna) GBC began in 1969 with a group of about 32
5. The Lititz GBC began in 1971 with a group of about 100
6. The Southern Lancaster (Willow Valley) GBC began in 1976 with a group of about 45
7. The Ephrata GBC began in 1980 with a group of 34 from Lancaster, Lititz and New Holland
And these two churches were assisted through consultation with the Lancaster Grace leadership.
8. The Penn Valley/Telford GBC began in 1965
9. The Myerstown GBC began in 1967
As a reflection of the impact of this approach, the Grace Brethren in Lancaster County grew from the initial group of 17 at the Poultry Center in 1960 to between 600-700 in Easter 1967 (according to an article written in the Spring of 1967). And in the year of 2003, there were an average of 2005 attending worship at Lancaster Grace and the seven churches it planted through sending families, with an additional 815 attending the two churches it helped plant through consultation – for a total of 2810.
During its forty-four years of ministry Lancaster Grace has been pastored by seven pastors: Bill Tweeddale in 1960-1969, Art Males in 1969-1973, Vernon Harris in 1973-1976, Wes Haller in 1976-1982, Bill Davis in 1983-1992, Jonathan Tompkins in 1992-2003, and now Galen Wiley beginning in March 2004. Glen Weaver has also been serving as visitation pastor since 1978. There have also been a number of men serving faithfully as youth/associate pastors through the years.
And now the church that made such an impact throughout Lancaster County in the 1960’s and 70’s is ready to renew itself through the power of Christ living in them, so they can again make a major impact in their community and their world in the 21st century. They are committed afresh to the challenge of sharing the greatest news in all the world – that Jesus saves and changes lives for this lifetime and an eternity. And they are committed to sharing this message of grace not only to those who have never accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior but also to those who have been robbed of the joy of their salvation by Satanic confusion. They are praying that the God will truly do a “God Thing” among them, so He can show off His glory through them as He does “immeasurably more than all they can ask or imagine according to His power at work within them” (Ephesians 3:20-21). How about joining in this “Great Adventure of His Amazing Grace”!!
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