Laramie RPC

Location: Laramie, Wyo.

Presbytery: Midwest

Organization Date: Not yet organized. The work of church planting was begun in January 2007 under the auspices of Midwest Presbytery with the special interest and support of the Colorado RP congregations.

Membership: None yet; about 20 adherents

Church Planter: Bob Hemphill

Web Site: www.laramierpc.org

History

The Wyoming border is about 100 miles from Westminster, Colo. During the 2001-02 school year, a couple of Wyoming students attended the Westminster congregation periodically and said they wished there was an RP church in Laramie, where one of them attended the university.

Laramie is home to the University of Wyoming, the only four-year college in the state. Young people from all over Wyoming come to Laramie for their education. There are also students, grad students and professors from many other states and from around the globe.

As some of the elders in the Colorado RP churches considered this and other facts about Wyoming, such as there being only five or six Reformed churches in the whole state, there being no Presbyterian and Reformed church in Laramie, and there being wide open opportunities for growth and church planting in all of the mountain states, these elders began to pray about Laramie and other locations as possible sites for church plants.

In the fall of 2006, a proposal was made to the Midwest Presbytery, and Bob and Cheryl Hemphill volunteered to go to Laramie to begin the work.

The Geneva College choir kicked off the first RP missionary efforts in Laramie with a concert in March 2007. Soon after, Bob and Cheryl found a home and settled in the town. Their cousin, Ryan Hemphill, came to help as a summer pastoral intern; and a nephew, Sam McCracken, found a construction job for the summer.

In the fall of 2007 worship services were begun in the Hemphill home. Matt Stewart and Lorelei Trout, Reformed Presbyterians from other parts of the country, were accepted into grad school and settled in Laramie to help with the work. The Colorado churches committed that first year to sending people almost every weekend to encourage the small group meeting in Laramie. In 2008, Adam Wing and Valerie Swigart found jobs and also moved there to help. Evie Hemphill, daughter of Bob and Cheryl, was accepted into grad school.

Slowly the small group has begun to grow. Two RP mission teams have helped in the outreach work. In October 2008, the group began meeting at a Seventh Day Adventist church on Lord’s Day mornings. At present they average 17 people at worship.

Current Ministries

Lord’s Day morning worship is the most significant weekly event in the life of the congregation. Here we join corporately to praise and thank God, to listen to His Word preached, to offer our united prayers to Him and to fellowship with one another. Many Sundays those attending worship stay and eat together.

Sabbath evening Bible studies have mostly been for the group, but have on occasion attracted others. Subjects studied include the meaning of a Reformed church, the functions of a biblical church, the reasons for psalmody and a cappella singing, and a survey of the Bible.

On Wednesdays the Hemphills host a supper for students and other young adults. Church members occasionally hand out brochures about the church, advertise special events when they have them, and all are encouraged to get to know people and to get involved in their community. The group seeks to have the personal witness complement the corporate witness, and vice versa.

Prayer

The group has experienced the blessing of many Christians around the country and world praying for them. They would ask that those who have been praying keep praying, and that others would commit to praying for this work of God.

Specifically pray that all the regular adherents might be faithful in their walk and witness for their Lord. Pray also that God will lead them to those who need to hear the gospel and help them boldly, clearly and lovingly proclaim it. Pray that by God’s blessing they might be able to organize as a congregation with elders by the latter part of this year and lay a strong foundation.