Hanover
Fellowship is a God-sized success story!
In early
2004, a few area families decided to start a contemporary
church that embodied sound Biblical doctrine and a welcoming
atmosphere. They enlisted the help of other Southern Baptist
churches and missions organizations, and by fall of that year,
Hanover Fellowship was born!
In the
first three years, HFC grew nearly 500%, continuing to grow
today -- an amazing testimony to what God has done in our
midst! Here's a timeline of our development:
|
January
2004
-- Initial meeting to determine interest in starting a
new church (Bill Gunter called to help begin Awana
and establish a strong focus on children's ministry) |
|
March
2004
-- Family Bible study and Awana begin
|
|
May
2004
-- Chuck Cruise called as pastor |
|
August
2004
-- The group (approx. 20 people) decides on a name and
meets with their new pastor for worship |
|
September
2004 --
Monthly
public worship begins at the South Hanover YMCA |
First
baptisms (2 children at Lake Marburg) |
|
|
|
 |
December
2004
-- Shelba Uhrin begins to lead worship
|
|
June
2005
-- Weekly worship begins; our
first Kindness Outreach (water giveaway); Eric Warner
joins the staff of HFC
|
|
November
2005
-- As attendance nears 80, worship moves to the Hanover
Movies |
|
December
2005
-- Incorporation as a non-profit in PA |
|
June
2006
-- The constitution and bylaws were accepted by the membership |
Now, with
a sizeable worship attendance and thriving programs for children
& youth, Hanover Fellowship is no longer the small church
it was a couple of years ago. We now have a full praise band
and use professional sound and lighting systems. However,
as we grow, we continue to strive to keep the small, family
"feel" to our church.
HFC
is an active church! See our Ministries page to check
out all we're up to. Not only do we actively participate in
local, regional and international missions, but we cooperate
with the 41,500 churches in the Southern Baptist Convention
to send over 10,000 missionaries worldwide with the gospel
message of Jesus Christ.
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