Hopewell Christian Fellowship celebrates its 40th anniversary and its church rebuild on Sept. 28.
In February 2014, the Elverson church experienced a roof collapse due to heavy snow. That section of their building has now been rebuilt.
“We did not miss a single Sunday morning service – we held Sunday services even without our own building,” writes Anita Wissinger of Hopewell Christian Fellowship.
“The roof collapse brought our congregation together – everybody pitched in to help over the four months we were out of our building. The community at large reached out to us in a tremendous way – the local churches, the schools and businesses in the community were so supportive. We felt the power of people coming and working together,” said Wissinger. “The construction crew and those involved in inspections worked hard to get us back in our building – we were rebuilt in four months.”
What the rebuild revealed to them is, “The church is NOT the building,” she writes.
“Hopewell is vibrant, family-oriented, God-centered, relational, a contemporary church with traditional values and biblically based teaching,” said Wissinger. “In a recent survey, our congregation completed, Hopewell’s strengths were God’s empowering presence, God exalting worship (the style of worship), and Loving, caring relationships that make people feel welcome – a part of a family.”
At Hopewell’s 40th Anniversary Celebration at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28 “all ages will gather together to celebrate God’s work and faithfulness over the past 40 years and to look to the future for what God has in store for Hopewell. There will be many of the former pastors returning for this special celebration,” she said.
Hopewell Christian Fellow, located at 2286 Hopewell Road, Elverson, invites the community and anyone with a past connection to Hopewell to attend the anniversary celebration. The 10 a.m. morning service will highlight the past history of the church, recognizing the various contributions to its history. Featuring the theme “Back to the Future,” the celebration includes video interviews, music, communion and prayer. A Fellowship Meal will follow the morning service.
In the evening, at 7 p.m., churches from the Hopewell Network will join them for a Jubilee Celebration – a service of worship and praise. Former worship leaders will be involved on the worship team – leading worship. There will be a special service and activities for children preschool to 6th grade, she said.
“The celebration will be a time to look back at 40 years of ministry and honor those who played a part in it, as well as to look forward to the next chapter in the church’s history,” writes Wissinger.
“Hopewell Christian Fellowship, which has its roots in the Mennonite church, is presently part of the Hopewell Network of Churches. In addition to serving the local area for forty years, Hopewell has sent out members of its congregation to plant over a dozen churches in the area, including three churches in Reading, plus others, such as Petra Christian Fellowship in New Holland and Spring City Fellowship. This anniversary celebration is an opportunity to thank God for all His provisions to Hopewell these past 40 years,” she writes.
“We are celebrating 40 years of the church’s presence and impact in this community. We are looking at the past and looking forward to the future and what God will be doing in the years to come,” said Wissinger.
When asked about some challenges of the past 40 years, she said, “Over the last 40 years, we made a significant move to leave the Mennonite denomination and form a new network of churches – the Hopewell Network. We have added on to our building three times – three larger sanctuaries to keep up with church growth without tremendous debt. We have endured economic changes.”
Reflecting over the past 40 years, she said highlights include “the number of people who have come to know Christ as their Savior through the years and the number of churches planted and started from Hopewell.”
There were nine direct church plants.
Other highlights include “Hopewell’s innovative worship from the beginning and continuing today; the couple who owned and operated the Elverson Bar began to attend Hopewell and went from bar owners to pastors. This congregation, which was originally Hopewell Mennonite Church, became Hopewell Christian Fellowship (2002), and joined with many of the outreach churches to form the Hopewell Network of Churches. The Hopewell Network currently includes eighteen churches in the United States, plus an additional forty-one congregations in Kenya, Haiti and Mexico.”
