50 YEARS AGO...
Vacation Bible School had a record enrollment of 287.
The church schedule went to a double shift at 9:45 AM and
11 :00 AM.
80
YEARS AGO...
- The church took out its first mortgage, a real estate loan for $50,000.
(With interest it was $70,000.)
- Approximately 97,796 face bricks were used in building the church. The
inside bricks, 17,070 were made by a Longview company. All work on the
church was done locally, with 6,390 bags of cement used.
- Christian Endeavor, for young people, was organized with John Hill as
leader locally and statewide.
World famous evangelist, Billy Sunday, was the guest preacher on August 3, 1924 at Longview Community Church. He was a former major league baseball player who converted to the Christian faith and, through the YMCA, helped others make a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. He came to Longview to share with his close mend, RA Long, the exciting success of the new city that was developing. Born in 1862 in Iowa, raised by grandparents and in an orphanage, ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1903, Sunday is reputed to have preached to over 100 million people and won over a million of them to Christ through his evangelistic campaign.
FAMOUS MISSIONARY AS GUEST PREACHER
At the evening service at Longview Community Church on February 19, 1943, through the work of the Cowlitz Council of Church Women, the famous missionary evangelist, E. Stanley Jones was the guest preacher. Converted as a young man to the Christian faith and having received the call to ministry, he was commissioned by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1907 to become the Pastor of the English Church in Lucknow, India. In 1917, he assumed an even larger task as a Missionary-At-Large for the North India Conference and accepted the responsibility to travel the world over to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He wrote many well-known books, preached all across our nation, and continued to raise funds to help others through his church's Foreign Church Relief Work. What a blessing it was to have him stop off in Longview.
GOVERNOR SPEAKS AT 20TH ANNIVERSARY
A large crowd turned out to hear Governor Arthur B. Langlie, the guest speaker at the 20th Anniversary Celebration of Longview Community Church. Utilizing the scriptures as the text for his comments, he noted that "no person can work against the immutable laws of God. Sooner or later every lawbreaker finds he cannot successfully oppose God. And yet we have many who are still attempting to get away with it, and they can't do it." He noted how important the Christian Church was going to be even as he reminded all there in the shadow of World War II that as the servicemen returned home they would need more than just a theoretical religion. They had already experienced faith on the fighting front and what they would be looking for was a dynamic daily' demonstration of religion in action. He laid out the challenge for the future for all who attended
RUSSIAN EXILE
SPEAKS OUT
Pastor Basil A. Malof preached at the evening service at Longview Community Church on Sunday, March 27, 1949. A stranger in this country, he was well remembered in his homeland as the founder of the first Russian Protestant Church in S1. Petersburg, over forty years ago. His church at that time seated more than 2,000 people and was filled with prominent members - military generals, university students and professors, the wife of the Prime Minister, a Grand Duchess and the Queen of Greece. Even Count Leo Tolstoy's wife was reputed to have attended and been impressed. In time, however, he was ousted from power and found safety in this nation. We were pleased to hear from him!
DR. ELTON TRUEBLOOD - GUEST PREACHER
Dr. D. Elton Trueblood was invited to Longview Community Church to carry out a special inspirational lecture series on the subject of "The Ministry Of The People." It was held November 16-18, 1969 in the Sanctuary at the morning and evening sessions. He began with the topic of "The Centrality of Christ," he then talked about "Prayer," "The Existence of God," "The Use Of The Bible," and the "Meaning of Commitment." The church was delighted to welcome this outstanding man of God - a Quaker by personal faith, Theologian, Philosopher, Published Author, and a popular Professor and Lecturer.
SPECIAL CHRISTIAN WITNESS FOR THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY
In light of the 75th
Anniversary of the planned city of Longview, the Christian Community decided
to remember its early faith commitment as a planned city by making plans
itself to have two special speakers for the whole Christian community
to hear. Longview Community Church was selected as the site for both events
with the planning of worship accompanying the speakers developed by the
local Ministerial Association.
The first guest was the Rev. James Ogelsby, Vice-President of Disciples
of Christ, who came to speak about the founding father of the city in
a talk entitled - "RA Long: Entrepreneur or Philanthropist."
He reminded us that the man who gave impetus to the establishment of Longview
was a deeply committed Christian and had those values in mind as he sought
to fulfill his dreams of a new city.
The second guest was the exciting and very popular Dr. Anthony "Tony"
Campolo. An evangelist with an enthusiastic delivery and a deep passion
for the needs of people, he delivered a very stirring message.
to a completely packed sanctuary. A Professor of Sociology and Director
of Urban Studies at Eastern College in St. David's, PA, he challenged
the audience to accept the responsibility of reaching out in Christian
love to others even as the organization he founded - Evangelical Association
for the Promotion of Education - sought to do the same in Third World
Countries. A best selling author with over 25 books in print and a television
show, "Hashing It Out," that reaches into over 28 million homes
each week, he touched the hearts of everyone there with his challenge.
It was an exciting evening!
The first wedding to be held in the church sanctuary was on June 11, 1927. Joe White & Mabel Cresor (she was 15) were married by Rev. EH Gebert. They met at a roller skating rink. They had 61 happy years together. She is now living at the Canterbury Chateau. She Mr. & Mrs Joe White has won many awards for her beautiful china painting. Mabel is registered in the Book
of Fine Arts.
Pat (Martin) Ingram was the first baby baptized in the Longview Community Church. Her baptism was the day of the church's dedication, August 29, 1926.
STILL ATTENDING AFTER 80 YEARS
Those members who have been here since the beginning in the 1920's and still attending are: Kathryn Patton, Rosella King Beckwith, Pat Martin Ingram, Guy Anderson, Harry Calbom, Jr., Kay Madders Kilbourn and John, Jr. & Burdette McClelland.
ROTATION SUNDAY SCHOOL
It's A Jungle Out There..... Let's Pray!
The staff s goal
in this second year of Rotation Sunday School is to help kids understand....
. What is prayer?
. How to pray?
. What are the different kinds of prayer?
. When to pray?
. How does God respond?
Our wonderful curriculum committee has designed some great workshops to
help kids experience first hand the power of prayer. We are also introducing
prayer journals for the kids to record their experiences. There are still
opportunities to be involved. Come visit us anytime.