|
"People helping people follow Christ"
[ Our Faith]
[ Our
History ]
[ Our Location ]
[
Special Events ]
[ Missions Activities
]
[ Pastor's Message ]
Additional Links
[
The Bible ]
[ Church Finances ]
[
1992 Reunion Program
]
[
Back Home ]
|
|
Historical Highlights
Our church was
founded and built by Reverend Jakob K. Elmer[1] on the east corner of Vick Road in
1900. For the first five years, Reverend Elmer, of Swiss descent, presented the Word of God
in German to the local German-American community.
In 1913, the
Mother's Club of
Liberal, which met once a week, saw the need for a Sunday
School in the community.
Sunday School was
held in the old
Liberal
Schoolhouse on Molalla Avenue under the leadership of
G. W. Plumer, the conference missionary. The church building on Vick
Road was moved to the present location in 1914. Special services were
held by Reverend G. F. Liening with many saved and set on fire for the Lord.
Skipping forward
to 1946, the church was incorporated under the name of the
Liberal Evangelical
Church. Because of the union of the Evangelical Church with the Church
of the United Brethren in 1946, supplementary Articles of Incorporation were
issued on April 10, 1947. The resulting new name for our congregation
was the Liberal Evangelical United Brethren Church.
On June 18, 1950,
the church celebrated its 50th anniversary during the pastoral ministry of
Austin Chamberlain. During the Easter Season of that year, the Lord
touched the hearts of the members to give towards a new church
building. Pastor Walter Sauer took the proposal before the board and
within two weeks, a total of $4,585 was pledged for the project. The
official ground-breaking ceremony was held April 29, 1951.
As a result of
faith, prayer, and hard work, the congregation was able to move into the new
church building on April 4, 1953 and held the first services on Easter Sunday
- April 5th. The building was dedicated, fiscally debt free, but deeply
indebted to God.
On February 5,
1957 at a special congregational meeting, plans for a new parsonage were
approved. The old parsonage was sold and moved to another lot behind the
church.
Pastor McGavin and his family moved into the new parsonage in August of 1958
thanks to the dedicated work and donations made by many people.
When the union of
the Evangelical United Brethren denomination and the Methodist denomination
took place, our congregation voted to keep with our conservative roots and
become part of the newly formed denomination of the Evangelical Church of
North America (ECNA). On March 25, 1968, we became incorporated as such.
In 2007, we chose to separate from the ECNA denomination and again become an independent church. Although we are independent, we do adhere to our conservative, evangelical roots.
Twenty-nine
pastors have served this church over the decades. Many people have found
the Lord and grown in faith of our Lord Jesus Christ through the ministry of
the church in this community.
We are a small but dedicated congregation praying for revitalization.
To this day, we are the only church building for miles. We are easy to
find and if you are from the surrounding area, you probably travel past our
facility daily. If you are in search of a church home, desire to hear
the Word of God brought to life, and don't feel comfortable in modern
"mega-churches," maybe you will feel at home with us. We look forward to
your visit!
Notes:
-
Jakob K. Elmer was born
on April 4, 1860 and died on June 8, 1941.
|