The congregation of First Assembly of God Church will celebrate its Diamond 75th anniversary tomorrow with a special “Homecoming”.
The 10:30 a.m. service will feature special music, as well as special guest speakers.
Following the service, a homecoming banquet will be held with roast beef, potatoes, stuffing, gravy vegetables, tossed salad, rolls and butter and dessert.
Former pastor, Rev. Philip Cochrane will share the Sunday message. He pastored First Assembly from 1977 to 1989.
First Assembly of God was founded as the Pentecostal Church of Tyrone in 1932 by the Rev. Charles Peters.
Rev. William Menzies followed Rev. Peters, and led the congregation in building the original church structure which stands on the corner of 12th Street and Blair Avenue.
Rev. Menzies pastored from 1933 until 1935, at which time Rev. Peters returned for a second time. Since then, nine other pastors have followed in their footsteps.
All those who once attended First Assembly are given a very special invitation to join in this homecoming celebration.
First Assembly of God Church has a rich history here in Tyrone, beginning on June 20, 1932 when a tent was pitched on the Carnival Grounds in East Tyrone. Revival meetings continued throughout the summer.
By September 6, 1932, the tent was taken down and plans were made to meet in the Red Men’s Hall. Then, on September 11, the first Sunday school was conducted with 67 in attendance.
A young peoples rally was conducted at the Red Men’s Hall with several nearby churches participating on September 16 and Sunday school classes continued to grow with just under 100 members in attendance by the end of the month.
On February 15, 1933, the saints were organized as a church and set in order by the Eastern District Council of the Assemblies of God. The first church officers were: Pastor Charles B. Peters, Secretary B.F. Bennett, Treasurer D.M. Lykens, Deacon G.M. Stouffer, Deacon George Rhine, Rev. J. Roswell Flower, superintendent of the Easter District officiated at this meeting.
There were 85 charter members in February and the first pledge money was given to build a new church the following month.
On June 24, 1935, the original church building was dedicated.
Construction of the current church parsonage on West Third Street was conducted in 1969 when Rev. Wiley came to pastor at the church. With a wife and ten children, the former parsonage was too small for his family.
On January 23, 1994, the congregation of First Assembly voted overwhelmingly to build a new sanctuary, offices and restrooms, adding onto the church and utilizing the parking lot for space.
A ground breaking ceremony was held the following year on March 17, with former pastor Harold Crosby speaking.
On October 15 the new church building was dedicated to the Lord with District Superintendent Rev. Philip Bongiorno as the speaker.
The mortgage on the new building was paid off in August 2006 and an official mortgage burning service was held November 12, 2006. Newly elected District Superintendent Rev. Stephen Tourville was the speaker.
In honor of First Assembly’s 75th anniversary, everyone involved in the church, both past and present, are invited to attend tomorrow’s special service and banquet.
