Location: Meadville, Pa.

Presbytery: Alleghenies

Membership: 26 communicant; 15 baptized

Organized: 2003

Pastor: Lucas Hanna, installed July 2010

The story of the Covenant RPC of Meadville begins, as all good stories should, with a bang. Pastor Jeff Stivason was removed from his position at New Lebanon Community Church, and the Lord used that trial to bring about a new work. Pastor Jeff had been attending the RP Seminary while serving at New Lebanon. His preaching came to reflect his Calvinistic convictions, which were not approved by the local leadership. Shortly after leaving, Pastor Stivason came under care of the Presbytery of the Alleghenies, which commissioned him to plant a congregation in Meadville. There were a few people from New Lebanon who believed that Pastor Stivason was right about sovereign grace, and they eventually came to worship with the new church plant. However, the story of Covenant RPC of Meadville is not the story of a Reformed “hostile takeover.” It is the story of how the Lord uses friendships, work acquaintances, and family members to call those who are His.

In September 1998, worship services began in the Days Inn of Meadville, with the help of Rev. Dean Smith. Covenant was particularized on May 3, 2003, when elders Mike Clark and Bob Stivason were ordained, along with help from Dr. Bob Copeland.

On our (Lucas Hanna and family) first visit to the Meadville congregation, we had the pleasure of asking for testimonies from most members. Two points stuck out: 1) every member of the congregation is a first-generation Reformed Presbyterian; 2) many members have come to know the Lord through the work of this congregation. It was a blessing to hear how mightily the Lord had used the ministry of Pastor Jeff Stivason in the lives of so many.

Between 2006 and 2009 the Meadville congregation was without a pastor. These years had their share of difficulty. The Lord’s grace has been sufficient, and three years later we are a body committed to the Lord and one another, bound by a desire to honor our Father and see the kingdom of His Son extended. We might not be accused of being a large church, but the Lord has generously blessed us with children who make up over a third of the attendance at morning worship.

We have the joy of meeting together for worship each Lord’s Day morning, and we began evening services on Sept. 5. Two Bible studies meet each week (north at the church building and south in Cochranton) to make attendance easier for those in geographically diverse locations. The women of the congregation have been getting together for Bible study and discipleship for years, and will continue to meet for discipleship this fall.

The congregation enters upon a new chapter in the Lord’s plan, no longer a church plant but still a congregation working to establish its presence in the community. In years past outreach ministries have included a clothing bank, a book pantry, and outreach efforts in the park. We pray and seek what needs in the community the Lord might desire us to meet presently.

In God’s good providence, the leadership has been informed that we may lose the use of our building as early as January 2011, to make way for an adjacent business. We are praying that the Lord would give us wisdom as we decide where we will meet for worship, and that we might do effective outreach during our time of upheaval.

Prayer Requests

• Please pray for the session of Covenant RPC of Meadville, as we have many decisions to make.

• Ask that the Lord would restore to us the joy of salvation, so that sinners might be taught by us.

• Seek the Lord’s blessing, that He would strengthen the families and open the eyes and hearts of our children.

• Please pray that we would so love each other that outsiders would give glory to God.