200-year-old church endures changes, floods
EVANS CITY — Gospel Life Church has endured floods, relocations and a pandemic in its 200 years of existence.
On Saturday, the church — located at 242 S. Washington St. — marked those 200 years with food, music, a history room and games in the afternoon followed by a dinner and an anniversary service Saturday night.
The Rev. David Trepanier, the church's pastor since 2011, said the church was founded as Amana Baptist in 1820.
“We were going to celebrate last year, but it was the COVID year, so we postponed it for a year,” he said.
“It's the Lord's grace we are keeping the church faithful over the years,” he said.
According to church history, Amana Baptist Church was formed with 25 charter members on March 22, 1820.After meeting in members' homes, the church purchased a lot and built a wood-frame church in 1854. In 1882, its name was changed to First Baptist Church of Evans City.A new church was built up the street from its present location in 1890 with the help of a $200 donation from Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller.In 1952, the congregation purchased the old Presbyterian Church at its present address. In 1970, the old church was razed and the present church was built.
Trepanier said the church changed its name to Gospel Life in 2018.“We are Baptist in theology. It reflects really our passion,” Trepanier said of the name change. “We are passionate about the Gospel. We figured this would be a good way to reflect who we are.”The congregation grew to 150 members. A number of new ministries were added.Keith Reagan of Saxonburg, who grew up with the church, was named ministry director in 2020.“I let him do all the hard stuff,” said Reagan of Trepanier. “I oversee all the other ministries: men's and women's ministries, in-home small group Bible studies, children's ministries, support teams and the youth ministry.”The church has had 50 pastors, including the Rev. Norm Hirschy, who served from 1927 to 1962. The church's building holding classrooms and offices was named after him.The church has also supported a number of missionaries.Trepanier said, “We have missionaries in Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Germany and Ohio. Right now, we have nine active missionaries and five retired missionaries we support.”
In recent years, said Trepanier, the church has weathered periodic flooding from neighboring Breakneck Creek, the most recent in 2019.The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw the church responding with remote services and as many as four socially-distanced Sunday services with 25-person limits.The church's anniversary celebration continued Saturday evening with a 5:30 p.m. dinner attended by 115 people, including former pastors and missionaries. That was followed by a commemorative service featuring Scripture and prayer, former pastors reflecting on their tenures and a dessert reception.“Like any good Baptists, we like to eat,” said Trepanier.As for the future of Gospel Life, he said, “I would like to see us connect with the community better.”And the church, Trepanier said, is wrestling with options to deal with its flooding issues.
