CRANBERRY TWP — The Rev. Dwayne Burfield of the Dutilh United Methodist Church was looking in recent months to expand the historic church's ministry.

After a real estate search in the Cranberry Township area near routes 19 and 228 and Interstate 79, Burfield said it became evident the church would have had to take on major debt to expand to another building.

So, Dutilh church officials sought other avenues to expand, including outside of Cranberry Township.

"There is some room for growth at the current church, but at some point, we were looking to grow outside the current building," Burfield said.

Then, the perfect situation arose.

Burfield learned the nearby Mars United Methodist Church was looking for new leadership.

Mars' interim pastor, the Rev. Barry Lewis, had recently retired, spurring the process to combine the two churches.

The congregations at Dutilh and Mars about three weeks ago voted to merge into one congregation with two campuses.

The merger had the majority of the support from its memberships with 100 percent approving the merger at Mars United Methodist and 93 percent at Dutilh United Methodist.

Both congregations have rich histories, with each being founded in the mid-1800s.

Church officials said the combined membership of more than 1,240 members provides synergy to expand the mission of the Cranberry-based church.

"The leadership boards of both congregations and the pastoral staff are excited about the future and the benefits of ministry together," Burfield said. "This merger will greatly enhance our ability to serve and make disciples for Jesus Christ in both communities and the surrounding area. As one church, we will have increased resources, stability and growth potential as we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Burfield said some of the benefits derived from the church merger include the increased availability of seats, the church's overall geographic reach into the communities, greater community outreach, more volunteer and grant opportunities, becoming a more multigenerational church and increasing opportunities to build outreach bridges to serve the community.

During the transition period in the next three to six months, the church's leadership will consider how the churches will be staffed and how office hours will be determined, Burfield said. However, no current staff members will lose their jobs in the merger.

The new congregation is served by Burfield, senior pastor; the Rev. Jim Gascoine, associate pastor; the Rev. Debbie Pisor, director of Family Ministries; Jill Sherwood, director of Children Ministries; and Doug Raraigh, director of Youth Ministries.

The church's committees will be created by integrating members from the committees of both churches.

Burfield said there will be some additions made to the Mars campus, including the installation of new multimedia equipment.

The new era for Dutilh United Methodist Church began last Sunday when Gascoine delivered the first Sunday message at the Mars campus at 525 Pittsburgh St.

Gascoine said the service was a very positive experience.

"They are a good group of people. We're looking to have a good future," said Gascoine, who talked about a new start and new birth during his Sunday message.

Gascoine has personal ties with the Mars Campus.

His brother, the Rev. Bruce Gascoine, served as pastor there from 1993 to 2005. His current assignment is at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Allison Park.

"(The merger is) a creative way be more active and reach out to the community," Gascoine said. "It's a very efficient way to use resources, time and people."

Although Dutilh hopes to expand programs at the Mars campus, Gascoine said the church already has a number of exceptional programs, including My School Pre-School, Angel Food Ministries and after-school programs, all of which will be available to Dutilh church attendees.

Services will continue to be held at Dutilh at 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m. Sundays. The service at Mars will be held at 10 a.m. Sundays.

Both churches will continue to operate their preschool programs.

For information about programs and services, call 724-776-1094 or visit www.dutilhumc.org.