History |
| The Reedsport Church of God dates back to home prayer meetings with members of the North Bend Church of God that began in 1946 in the home of Kenneth and Velma Van Tassel. By 1957 a building fund of several thousand dollars had been saved, and on August 11, 1957, four families met together in the rented Union Hall for the first Church of God service in Reedsport, under the temporary pastoral leadership of state evangelist Edgar Busch. The Rev. Herman Donner began traveling from Coquille to pastor the church in 1958, and soon accepted a permanent position as pastor. In 1960 the congregation purchased a corner lot in town and converted the small brown house that stood there into a sanctuary and classrooms. |
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In 1963, the churches of Oregon adopted Reedsport as a state project. The Rev. Bob Cantrell and his wife Bonnie became pastors of the church in 1964, and money was raised from within the congregation and the state to begin constructing a new building. Volunteers from more than fifteen congregations came to assist with the construction, and Pastor Bob sacrificed two fingers on his right hand as he worked during the first year of his pastorate to erect the new church building. On March 28, 1965, the first services were held in the new building. |
| The first fifteen years of church life in the new building were indelibly marked by the ministry of the congregation’s pastor, Bob Cantrell. Under his leadership, the congregation grew from 18 to 25 on an average Sunday morning to between 125 and 200. He became the community’s pastor and our church the community church, attracting people from all backgrounds and denominations to our congregation and serving as the attending pastor at weddings, funerals, and hospitalizations for those in the community who otherwise had no formal connection to a church. He served the church until his resignation in 1979. |
| Since 1979, the Reedsport
Church of God has had five senior pastors: the Rev. Tom Herringshaw, who served
from 1979 to 1982; the Rev. Ken Gill from 1983 to 1989; the Rev. Ward Rogers
from 1989 to 1995; the Rev. Dr. David New from 1995 to 2003 and currently
Rev. Allen Chaney. Youth pastors and associate pastors with an emphasis on youth have included Paul Dishman from 1981 to 1985, Fred Hazen from 1987 to 1988, Matthew Klaus from 1993 to 1999, Matthew Sumner from 1999 to 2000, and Keven Dickerman from 2000 to 2003. |
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updated 05/18/2008