At this year’s BFC Conference three new BFC churches were presented by Church Extension and received into the Bible Fellowship Church: Living BFC, Adams County, PA, Harmony Bible Fellowship Church, Harmony NJ – a connectional church, and Redeemer Bible Fellowship Church, Topton, PA – a BFC Berks Reginal Daughter Church.
Living Bible Fellowship Church, Gettysburg, PA
On Tuesday afternoon, Church Planter John Hanner along with elder Edward Ritter-Snyder and a group from the church were at BFC Conference to present a short video which included some testimonies from several of the members including their other elder who sent in a video from his overseas deployment. He told of how he was stationed in Kuwait and was moving to the Gettysburg area. He bought a house sight unseen and prayed for the Lord to provide a church for him to attend which lined up with what he believed. He was bracing himself to have to drive far to find what he was looking for, but the Lord had other plans. The house he purchased was only a stones throw away from Living BFC. God has lead others to the church plant in the last few years and the group loves one another and is looking forward to the future together.
Harmony BFC, Harmony, NJ
On Tuesday evening, after the ordination service, Harmony BFC was received into Conference. Elder David Heller shared the church’s history. Harmony BFC began in 1992 as Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, an independent church. The church met in rented facilities for many years and continued with great love and fellowship. During the COVID shut down in 2020, they felt it was time for a change when they were experiencing what they describe as governmental overreach. This was overwhelming to face as an independent church and they entertained the idea of joining with a fellowship of churches for mutual encouragement and support. In 2022, they began talking with Director David Gundrum and found they were a good match with the BFC. Director Gundrum helped them develop their elder board, familiarize themselves with the Articles of Faith and Principles of Order, and work through the paperwork and legal end of becoming a part of the BFC. David Gundrum also helped bring Rick Paquette on board as their pastor. Rick is from the Reading BFC. Harmony BFC is grateful for the new beginnings they’ve experienced in the past few years.
Redeemer BFC, Topton, PA
On Wednesday afternoon, Redeemer BFC of Topton was received into Conference. Church Planter Dan Hoffstetter told of New Life BFC in Oley, PA, Trinity BFC in Blandon, and Grace BFC in Reading who, as part of the Berks County BFC Region, gave people and financial support to begin this work. Dan told how they started as a core group of 30 people and today have about 130 on a Sunday morning including about 40 kids. Topton is a small town and Redeemer has a good reputation in the community especially since they set out meet the needs of the community. It’s not unusual for the Borough Office of Topton to call Dan to have the church fill a need for one of their residents. Elder Shawn Rohrbach leads Celebrate Recovery for those who struggle with addiction. Elder Steve Myers leads the children and youth programs. Pastor Larry Davies oversees discipleship programs. In all these events the gospel is forefront. Dan Hoffstetter and Redeemer BFC see graduation as just the beginning and are looking forward to what God does next.
God has blessed the BFC with these three congregations. Continue to pray for each church to grow in the Lord and to reach the lost.
