A ‘New’ Old Church Changes Focus

“What’s the difference between the old church and the new church?” a member who hadn’t attended the Pottsville church for 15 years asked Pastor Alex DuBee while visiting during an evangelistic meeting.

“We are now doing the mission of God,” DuBee replied.

“I’ll never leave the church again,” she responded.

The Pottsville church now not only has a newly built facility, but a new focus. Members voted to be a part of the Faith for Family (F4F) initiative in 2018. Lisa Arosarena was assigned as their Bible instructor, fol- lowing up interests generated by a mailing the church sent to the community, while also building relationships within the community and with members who were no longer attending services.

Lillian Torres, the conference’s assistant evangelism director, partnered with members through every step of their evangelism preparation, providing training, encouragement and resources.

More than 100 people attended the F4F series with evangelist Mark Fox. Eleven people have joined the church as a result of these meetings. Some 15 people regularly attend a new members class on Sabbath mornings. The church has created a discipleship process that includes mentoring, training and equipping people for ministry. They’ve also established a cooking school in response to needs identified in the community and among new members, as part of their intentional plan to focus on health and wellness in 2020.