Berlin Christian Fellowship: Fifty years of good work
By Denice Rovira Hazlett
June 21, 2012
1388
I am convinced of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion. Philippians 1:6.
About sixty years ago, Evangelist George R. Brunk II and his brother, Lawrence, of Denbigh, Va., started traveling around North America, stopping in Mennonite communities like Goshen, Ind., Johnstown, Pa., Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, and Harrisonburg, Va. In each town, they would bring semi-trucks and a team of people, set up a giant tent, big enough to hold 6,000, and folks would come from miles around to fill it. Wherever the Brunks stopped, there they would stay, sometimes for as many as four weeks, preaching the gospel every night in an effort to bring revival to the church and the Good News to non-Christians.
About fifty years ago, The Brunk Brothers Revival Campaign brought their tent and their message to the little town of Sugarcreek, where a handful of men, most who worked at the local brickyard, Belden Brick Company, found their seats inside that tent--and found a stirring in their hearts, one that would call them to embrace a deeper belief in God and make a major move in their lives.
These young men, most in their twenties, newly married or with young families, and rooted in the Amish or conservative Mennonite culture, were swept into this revival movement. For many of them, this radical message of the Christian faith, of following Jesus, of yielding to the Holy Spirit and being cleansed of sin, was one they had never heard, at least not quite like Brunk was preaching it. Brunk issued a challenge to get right with Jesus, gave an altar call, and, one-by-one, men, women and children slipped their hands into the air, accepting Brunks invitation to make peace with God.
One of those men was John E. Schrock, who committed to seek out the basic Christian principles of what made life work by studying the Bible and believing what he read. Schrock became a spiritual leader to the brickyard workers and others who were seeking a new kind of faith. He, along with his wife, Marie Schrock, Abner and Esther Yoder, Henry and Ida Yoder, Owen and Elsie Schrock, Chris and Esther Yoder, Milo and Kathryn Miller, and Freeman and Ann Miller, left the only way of life theyd known to follow Christ. Many of these new believers were baptized in the Doughty Creek when it was so cold, a thin layer of ice had formed on its surface. From that, a new community of believers was born.
People came from Hartville, Canton, Akron, and beyond to be a part of this new worship experience, says Bernie Torrence, administrative pastor of Berlin Christian Fellowship, then a musician and businessman from Canton moved by Schrocks profound and grace-filled way of sharing his faith. A group of us would come in caravans from Canton. Those of us who werent believers were loved into the Kingdom by this very simple Amish people.
That worship experience, in the early days, was called the Tabernacle, and it met in storefronts all around Sugarcreek and Shanesville before finding a building of its own, a little white church in Berlin (now Berean Bible Church) built in 1962 by the hands of its members, then just 20 families. The Tabernacle became Berlin Gospel Tabernacle and, later, Berlin Gospel Fellowship.
It was a little garage church, Torrence says of those early days. Music and worship were the most vital part, much different than other churches of that time. In those days, people would bring mandolins, guitars, and bass guitars to worship together. It was very organic.
Since then, a few things have changed, like the relocation in 1984 to their current building on County Road 201. Several pastors, from Schrock, who passed away in November 2011, to the teams of Tom and Velva Pendergrass, Robert and Ellen Lange, Tim and Christina Troyer, and James and Carol Yoder, and now, Bill and Jayme Miller, have worked alongside Pastor David Stutzman and his wife, Sara Mae, to bring Gods message. And the worship has changed to include a praise band, now led by pastor of worship and ministering arts Nathan Madison, who calls the experience eclectic modern.
We present a lot of modern songs on a regular basis, like Chris Tomlin and Hillsong, and well occasionally bring out hymns and choruses, Madison says. We try to have a heart not just for styles, but for what is authentic and helps people connect with God.
The gathering of believers is now known throughout the community and around the world as Berlin Christian Fellowship (BCF), with local as well as international ministries like LaRed, a faith-based, nonprofit organization created by Schrock in 1989 with a vision to bring Kingdom values and principles to churches, businesses and organizations in more than 40 countries, all pouring forth from what Torrence calls a little church with a mega-ministry.
On Sunday, July 1, BCF will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a special service from 10-11:30 a.m. Hollywood actor and comedian Nate Torrence will present a message based on Philippians 1:6. The morning will also include a special childrens time for infants through grade six and a pre-service fellowship time with coffee and donuts beginning at 9 a.m.
As a church we believe in the year of Jubilee, Bernie Torrence says, so we are so excited to see what the next 50 years will hold. Because, indeed, I am convinced of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion.
