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About Us

Our Mission          Staff         

Beginnings

Founded in 1792 by 14 families in what is now the Sinking Spring Borough, the cornerstone for St. John's Evangelical Presbyterian Reformed Church was laid on May 3, 1794 on the southeast corner of the building. The original building, which is still part of the present structure, was forty-eight feet wide and fifty-six feet long.

1800’s

The Reformed Church believed in the education training of the young. In this matter it has always taken great pride. For the purpose of training the minds of the young they initiated the construction of a school building on August 11, 1804. In 1817, a large pipe organ was purchased contributing to the worship and life of the church. In 1852 a 151 foot high church tower was dedicated that housed a bell weighing 1,473 pounds. In 1854 a formal arrangement allowed a local Lutheran joint use of the church. Renovations in 1884 added a spacious chapel , a vestibule to the west end of the church, a curvilinear for the pulpit and frescoes covering the interior. In 1896 the Lutheran congregation separated from St. Johns and an agreement was made to deed part of the property west of the church.

1900’s

In 1905 the church stepped into the twentieth century with the addition of electric lights. A major remodeling of the church occurred between May 6, 1923 and June 22, 1924. During this time, the congregation accepted an invitation to worship next door at the Lutheran Church. On August 29,1926 a terrific storm swept over the area. Strong winds blew the steeple down through the sanctuary roof where it had stood for almost 74 years.

Work began immediately to reconstruct the church and work was completed by May of 1927. On May 20, 1962, a new education wing was dedicated. St. John's became a member of the Evangelical and Reformed Church in June of 1934 and finally in 1961 it was absorbed into the United Church of Christ. The church celebrated its 200th anniversary in 1992.

2000’s

In January 2002, St. John's became an independent church affiliated with The Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches. The name and appearance of the church have changed over the years but its mission of serving God has remained the same. Now in our third century of ministry here in Sinking Spring, we look with pride at our past and anticipate many more years of service to the Lord. From the fourteen original families we now number nearly 600 families who call St.John's their spiritual home.

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Our Mission                                         Back  to Top

Jesus replied: ‘ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22: 37 - 39

We seek to follow the laws of God’s word as perfectly displayed through Jesus Christ. We gather as a body to give praise and adoration to God. Each member of the body, whatever age or life-situation, is to be valued and encouraged to use the gifts that God has given to build up our Church.

Whoever has my commands and obeys them,
He is the one who loves me.
He who loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I too will love him and show myself to Him. John 14: 21

We live as Jesus’ disciples growing in our relationship with Him and knowledge of Him through prayer, preaching, teaching, studying and fellowship with other believers. As “doers of the Word” we apply God’s word to our daily living in the society in which He has placed us.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus
giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3: 17

We believe that it is necessary for the word of God to be faithfully communicated. We want to be knowledgeable and active in sharing the Gospel with our friends and others in our community. We also desire that God would raise up people from St. John’s to take the Gospel to other places around the world and support them through our prayers, practical care and financial giving.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28: 18 – 20

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Staff                                                        Back  to Top

Reverend Robert S. Ziehmer - Senior Pastor

(rszmatt107@yahoo.com)

Robert spent the first ten years of his life on a small farm in Michigan. Subsequently, the family moved to California and then to Oregon where Robert completed high school. He was raised in the United Methodist Church and was very active in choir and youth activities. The summer before his senior year of high school, he was invited to attend a Young Life camp in California. It was at that camp when he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and that was the same night when he felt called to ministry.

Robert is 36 years old and married to a wonderful wife named Emily. They have two children. Elena is a ten year old who loves to express herself through art and writing. Her other loves are ice cream, Star Wars, her Wii and Nintendo DS, and animals. She wants to become a veterinarian when she grows up. Elena is a very bright student who earns high marks in all her classes. Benjamin is a two year old who loves Disney animated movies, classical music, his trampoline, cookies (he has a cookie dance), mom’s hugs, and walks with dad in the wagon.

Robert graduated from Northwest Christian University in Eugene, OR with a BS degree in Youth Ministry. He served as the student body vice president and received the university’s highest honor, the Kendal E. Burke Award which is determined through student and faculty votes. Robert completed his Master of Divinity studies at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, IN and he is an ordained Christian Church Disciples of Christ minister. Robert has gained extensive experience as a Youth Pastor for 4 years and as a Senior Pastor of 10 years. Partial evidence of his effective ministry came in the form of being recognized as one of the churches with the largest increase in new members as well as his receipt of the Minister of the Year award in 2007 for the Southwest Region of the Christian Church. Robert has additional experience in small group ministries, mission trips and outreach programs. The Lord has blessed Robert with various gifts, most notably preaching and leadership. Robert is passionate about powerful preaching and connecting people to Jesus Christ. He strives to cultivate spiritual maturity, equipping believers for gifts-based ministry and mobilizing them to service. These qualities will certainly help St. John’s to realize our mission.

Click the play button on the player to listen to Reverend Ziehmer's first service

 

Will Ogle - Director of Christian Education & Youth

( xplodsj@yahoo.com )

Will's passion is to see all the generations of the church come together to worship and adore Jesus Christ and then turn around and take His love, joy, and peace to the rest of the world. He is humbled and honored to have the opportunity to teach the Word of God, lead in worship, and serve in the community with such an amazing group of students, children, volunteers and parents.

Will has served as the Youth and Christian Ed. Director here at St. John's since 2004. He is originally from the Baltimore, Maryland area, with stops along his life's journey in Naperville, Illinois; and Richmond, Virginia. At the age of fifteen, after attending church his whole life, Will realized he had been trying to fool everyone into thinking he had it all together-when in fact, he was one person at church and a different person entirely at school. Tired of living a lie, Will embraced the truth of the gospel and committed His life to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Will attended and graduated from James Madison University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and Religion. While attending JMU Will was very active in the leadership for Campus Crusade for Christ. It was also during his time at JMU that he met his fantastic wife, Clare. The two were married in 2004 and Clare is a tremendous asset to Will's ministry. One of their favorite things to do is open their home to the youth for dinner, hanging out or Wii Rockband sessions.

Some of Will's hobbies include: playing guitar, playing hockey and soccer, playing Wii, making Youtube videos, reading, watching movies, listening to music, improv comedy and eating at Chick-fil-a.

(Feel free to email Will if you would like to know more info about him, or you can spy on him through Facebook.)

Office Hours Monday-Friday , 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM & 1-3:30 PM

Office Phone (610) 678-1446, Fax 610-670-6303

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