Our district is witnessing a surge in church planting efforts, with nine church plant projects currently in some stage of development ..read more

“God gave me a sentence that I couldn’t shake. I heard Him tell me, ‘Spring Grove is the bridge to Hanover ..read more

by David Dixon, Executive Director, Eastern PA Alliance District On April 2, 2023, Nate Howard, our District Superintendent, walked through the doors of Missio Dei Alliance Church in Shamokin Dam and set up a small circle of chairs in the lobby. Soon a little over a dozen people arrived to discuss whether to close the doors of their church for good. As they prayed together on that Palm Sunday, they concluded that Jesus was not done building His church in Shamokin Dam. Two men in the group, Chris and Cody, stepped forward to say they would lead the small group until next steps could be figured ..read more

Scott Wills is pastor at Diamond City Alliance Church in Wilkes-Barre. We asked IF HE COULD Write About a unique way GOD has Directed Their Church to reach hurting people in Their community. I think we would all acknowledge that there is an addiction issue in our country. Experts now refer to an “opioid epidemic,” with the number of opioid-related deaths rising at staggering rates since the 1990s. According to the latest statistics from the CDC, there were 107,306 fatal drug overdoses in 2021. Of those, 73,453 were from opioids. Around 700,000 people have died from drug overdose since 2000, an ..read more

For more on the vision behind the Philadelphia Church Planting Initiative, read First Steps Towards Church Planting in Philly. Written by Church Planter Scott Newcomer Somehow, it has already been about eight months since Mhei and I began this church-planting journey here in South Philadelphia. We began last September to lay the groundwork for an eventual church plant and it has been an exciting (and at times, challenging) experience. We continue to take our vision from Luke 4:18-19. While the following provides a general update, there are many God stories that I’d love to share if you’re inte ..read more

Praise God that 17 new international workers were appointed by the U.S. C&MA Board of Directors in February 2024. Among those workers are Jacob and Sarah from our Eastern PA district! We asked Jacob to write about God’s calling on their lives. When Sarah and I first met about a decade ago, we were Alliance missionary candidates planning to head out as singles. That all changed. Our Story After we were married, we were sent to France in 2013 for a year of language study and then to Guinea to serve among one of the larger people groups. We divided our time between engaging those who had nev ..read more

God continues to amaze us with how He is answering the prayer for more workers. Still a bit surprised as we write this, Terry and Ruth Smith are returning to pastor one of our churches in Eastern PA. As many of you know, Terry is a former pastor and superintendent in our district and current Alliance Vice President for Church Ministries. Read more of the story from Terry Smith. In July 2023, I made a passing comment to Nate Howard that I might need a church to pastor in a couple of years. Of course, I was referring to the time at the conclusion of the Alliance president’s tenure. However, in ..read more

If we took every church that currently existed in Eastern PA and pushed them to their limits in terms of leaders, programming, or building capacity, we wouldn’t come close to reaching the 9.2 million people in our district who still need the Gospel of Jesus. This is why disciple making through church planting is essential. May we each commit ourselves and our churches to being disciples that make disciples.  As of today, we have five developing church plants in our district reaching the communities of Harrisburg, York, Upper Darby, Scranton, and Lock Haven. We want to share stories from ..read more

Because of your church’s partnership, $174K was awarded in 2023 by our district to help develop workers, churches, and communities. We want to celebrate and report back on the Kingdom impact. Experiencing Alliance Missions with Envision With a short-term trip grant, Fairlawn Community Church and Common Places joined together to visit Envision NYC. The trip exposed the group to new cultures and religions, and they were able to interact with immigrants and hear their stories. Since their trip, they continue to pray for the women they met who are working towards their citizenship and continue to ..read more

BY DAVID DIXON, EPD DISTRICT TEAM Of the 9.2 million people who live in the Eastern PA District, 45 percent live in the city of Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs. In our district, we also have 87 Alliance churches. Of those 87 churches, 10 of them are located amongst the 4.2 million that live in Philadelphia and its suburbs. This disparity, among other factors, led DEXCOM in May 2022 to commit our district to the Philadelphia Church Planting Initiative—the goal is to see three new churches planted in the city limits of Philadelphia by the end of 2026. Our first step was to listen and le ..read more