Pennsylvania Conference

Story by Dustin Hall

Earlier this year, Pennsylvania Conference's Grace Outlet church (GO) moved into its own facility after 10 years of renting. God performed many miracles to provide them with a former country club building in Berks County.

Nearly 300 people attended the Community Center’s grand opening, which included a bounce house, local firefighters, law enforcement with a canine demonstration, food trucks, live music, giveaways and more. The next weekend, more than 70 neighbors attended a concert by contemporary Christian musician Josh Wilson.

Story by Katie Fellows

As the time neared closer to the start of their monthlong series, Tom Stone, pastor of Pennsylvania Conference’s Reading Kenhorst Boulevard church, welcomed 40 church and community members alike for opening night.

“The first night of the series was great,” says member Roque Rojas Jr. “I liked how the guests were a mixed group of community visitors, church members and even visiting members from other churches.”

Dennis Nowakowski, a recently baptized new church member, attended almost all of the meetings during the Final Events Prophecy Seminar. As a huge fan of his state football team, he even came on the nights his favorite team was playing.

Story by Tamyra Horst

“One in three teens struggle with anxiety disorders,” states Burney Culpepper, princial of Pennsylvania Conference's Blue Mountain Academy (BMA). “Mental health is foundational to our overall well-being, but it feels like resources and a safe space to talk about the issues we face can be hard to find. Our recent mental health weekend laid a biblical foundation that will help our students cope with this growing health issue.”

At BMA’s recent “Peace of Mind” mental health conference, students and church members from around the area discovered practical help on topics like depression and anxiety from breakouts on “Disappointment, Depression and Deliverance,” “Healing From Hurtful Habits,” “Self-Identity” and “CALM: A Recipe for Peace in Times of Chaos.”

Editorial by Gary Gibbs

This past fall, 2,237 Pennsylvania Conference members visited more than 10,000 homes to pray with people and offer free Bible studies. On that day, we united together to answer Jesus’ call to be “good Samaritans” to our neighbors (see Luke 10:29–37).

Today’s society separates us from the community around us. Visiting our neighbors is a ministry that bridges this isolation; it enables us to connect with people who need Jesus.

Shortly after one of our members left a Bible study card on the door of a home where there was no answer, we received the following message from that very home:

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

Charity Stone (pictured with family), whose husband, Tom, is a pastor at the Pennsylvania Conference Kenhorst Boulevard church in Reading and the Pottstown church, and her young family attended iThrive this summer, hoping to get “healthier at setting boundaries in order to protect the overall health of our family,” she says. “As a pastoral family, we love to serve, but sometimes it is necessary to say no to tasks or people in our sphere of ministry so that we can stock up on fresh produce, take a walk when the kids need physical activity in nature or just plain connect as a couple and family.”

She says the retreat offered a way for the family to “to prioritize our spiritual, emotional and physical health. It was really fun to connect with others at the retreat, and we learned so much,” she adds.