The Stroudsburg Wesleyan Church traces its roots back to tent meetings held at the present sight of the Armory Building in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania in 1915. With a sincere desire to spread scriptural holiness in Monroe County, the Reverend R.O. Parry, who was in charge of the Arlington Heights Interdenominaltional Church (now the Methodist Church), held tent meetings to spread the message of Jesus. These tent meetings were held from February through July of 1915.
During August of 1915, a tent meeting was held across the inter-borough bridge on lower Main Street. This meeting as well as the others was filled with lively singing, sound gospel preaching and the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit. The attendance was good and the response to the gospel message was very gratifying. As the tent meeting came to a close, many people who attended expressed a desire to organize a new church.
Our church was organized on August 14, 1915. Members of The Stroudsburg Pilgrim Holiness Church immediately began worshiping in Stauffer’s Hall, just across the street from the large tent. The newly organized church began growing and during the first year, twenty-four (24) new members were received into fellowship bringing the total membership to thirty-four (34) in Milton in 1917.
The church continued to grow with many revivals, missionary conventions, youth revivals and special meetings held throughout the years with results that only eternity will reveal.
In 1919, under the ministry of the Reverend W.J. Crinder, a frame Church building was erected at 208 Main Street, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1933, under the pastorate of the Reverend D.F. Price, the building was remodeled, enlarged and Sunday School rooms added in the basement.
The Reverend Raymond Simpson led the congregation in launching a building program in 1946 when a brick edifice was built. The construction was completed and dedicated during the pastorate of Reverend William Whitmore.
To care for the growing Sunday School, a commodious Youth Auditorium with additional Sunday School rooms was added under the leadership of the Reverend Edward Houston. The church and parsonage suffered substantial loss at the time of the flood of 1955. Under the faithful labors of the pastor, congregation and many friends, the buildings were restored, carpeting and new pews purchased, enhancing the beauty of the sanctuary.
Rev. Houston broadcast his church services on Radio WVPO in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania from 1952 to 1953. In 1953 the Men’s Sunday School class started the Pleasant Valley Manor nursing home ministry in Snydersville, Pennsylvania to minister to its residents. The Nursing Home Ministry continues today . In 1956, Rev. Houston also organized a Branch Sunday School at the Shaffers Schoolhouse.
Rev. L.W Drury faithfully served as Lead Pastor of our Church from 1957 through 1975. Because of his foresight, lots were purchased in 1959 at our current Fifth Street, Stroudsburg location. A new parsonage was built and occupied in 1962. During 1969, a new Church building was erected with the first service being held on May 17,1970 in our current sanctuary. Our Church also had a bus ministry from 1974 through 1975. The Lord richly blessed the Church during his leadership and on September 10, 1978 the initial mortgage was paid off 12 years early causing the congregation to rejoice and praise the Lord!
Under the leadership of Rev. John Wiktorchik who served as Lead Pastor from 1975 through 1982, the Church purchased the remaining property at our current site. We were able to add a much needed Fellowship Hall to be used for classes, youth and missionary meetings as well as fellowship. This annex building, has been named in honor of Reverend L.W. Drury, and on May 14, 1983 this building was dedicated.
Rev. Samuel Butler served as Lead Pastor from 1982 through 1993. Reconstruction of the platform in the Church was undertaken under his leadership. In 1982, the Rev. Daniel Baugess was added to the pastoral staff as Assistant Pastor to the Lead Pastor. To further reach all the needs and care for the community, a million dollar building was added to the existing Church property to be used in outreach ministries.
Rev. Dan Hall served as Lead Pastor from 1993 through 1996. Under his leadership vision for the future, The Creative Learning Center (CLC) was started in 1995. This ministry is still thriving today.
At this time in our Church the need for addiction recovery was increasing. Since God knows exactly what is needed, He sent a former addict originally from Philadelphia who said,” Early on in my call I had this overwhelming passion to pastor a church that was a safe haven for addicts to access the grace of Christ for recovery.” At 13 he began drinking, at 16 he dropped out of high school, and two years later he was stabbed to near death. He said, “That’s when Christ and I found each other…God began to rebuild the ruined walls of my broken life.” After graduating with at Bachelor of Arts in Religion Degree at Houghton College and a Masters in Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary, the Rev. Lenny Luchetti began serving as Lead Pastor in 2003 through 2010.
Local outreach that commenced under Pastor Lenny’s leadership includes the Helping Hands Food Pantry starting in 2007 and Family Promise in 2008 and both remain thriving ministries in our Church. The food pantry distributes groceries and is available on the first and third Friday of the month; Food Pantry is committed to helping low-income families through a nationwide network to achieve lasting independence. Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, 12 step program based on the 8 principles in the Beatitudes to help us with our hurts, habits or hang-ups.
From 2011 through the present, the Rev. Dana Antal and the Rev. Lynda Keefer have been serving as Co-Lead Pastors.
Local outreach and Support Groups added during their pastorate include: Grief Share Ministry , The Clothing Closet Ministry and a Before/After School Care Program, Rock Solid Care, for elementary school age children. In 2013 our church organized a Homeless Task Force and in 2014 we opened a homeless shelter operating daily from 7 pm to 6 am in the church gymnasium from November to March.
In 2020, an extensive renovation project was completed. The project included moving the Wesleyan Inn, our homeless shelter, to its own location in the lower level of the building. The shelter is complete with spacious and beautiful showers, laundry facilities, a small kitchenette, and sleeping areas with beds. Also included in the renovation were upgrades to the children’s ministry area, the preschool classrooms, a large open fellowship hall/meeting area, and an upgrade to the youth ministry area.
We are extremely grateful to offer the building for use to many community organizations free of charge. We know God has blessed us so we can bless our community with the love of Jesus. Our thriving preschool, the Creative Learning Center, has approximately 125 students on a weekly basis and Rock solid Care has approximately 30 students on a weekly basis. Through the Helping Hands Food Pantry, we provide food to approximately 450 families per month.
The Wesleyan Inn houses approximately 50 people every night during the cold weather months. The clothing closet ministry provides clothes free of charge to whoever may need them.
Together, we continue to express our Faith in Jesus through love in Unity.