History

Faith Assembly of God, now situated at 4870 Cove Mountain Road, had its beginnings in Rodman, a small town (now extinct) just outside of Roaring Spring where the New Enterprise Stone and Lime Co. plant now stands.

 

In the fall of 1933, Rev. David M. Nissley arranged for tent revival meetings, which lasted about 8 weeks, to be held in Rodman. During these meetings, storms blew the tent over twice, which made Rev. Nissley realize that a building was  needed.

 

During the winter of 1933-34, lumber from a number of different sources became available, and a building called the "Tabernacle" was started. It measured 56' x 96', seated 1000-1200, people,  and  was completed  on July 8, 1934  at a total cost  of approximately $690.00. 128 days of labor were donated by the Nissley family, friends, and neighbors.

 

On September 23, 1935, the church was organized and rules were adopted to be governed by the Assemblies of God. The members also voted to name the church "People's Tabernacle" and to have Rev. D. M. Nissley, the founder, as their first pastor.

 

In 1945, a fire at the People's Tabernacle forced the congregation to find another place in which to hold services. They rented a meeting room on the second floor above Kephart's Hardware Store, located at 445 Main Street in Roaring Spring. From there they moved to the second floor of the I.O.O.F. building (next to Hites' Furniture Store) at 269 Main Street.

 

A decision was made in 1946 by the church board to purchase the old Hamer' s Bakery property at 731 East Main Street. Half of the bakery was torn down, and the other half was remodeled and served as the parsonage.

 

Ground was broken in 1949 for a new church on this lot. The men and women of the church plus friends donated many hours of labor and materials. One of the church members donated trees from his farm, which were cut down by the men of the church, hauled to a sawmill, sawn, and then used in the framing of the new building. In 1950, the congregation held their first meeting in their new church.

 

In 1960, a brick home adjacent to the church property was purchased. This became the new parsonage, and the  old  parsonage  was tom down.

 

The congregation continued to grow which necessitated the building of additional facilities. It was decided to build a two-story wing onto the side of the original church building. The first floor of the wing would be the new sanctuary, and the basement would house Sunday School classrooms. This wing was started in 1968, completed in 1971, and dedicated in 1972. Here again, the people of the church contributed many hours of labor, which together with generous giving, made it possible to bum the church mortgage in 1975.

 

In 1980, property (a house and vacant lot) adjacent to the church became available and was purchased by the church. The house served as a fellowship and meeting center with a small library and thrift shop upstairs. It now serves as a parsonage. The vacant lot provided additional parking space.  A gym was built onto the parsonage in 1983.

 

A two-story building (attached to the gym) was added in 1994. The lower level accommodates a kitchen and the upper level serves as a meeting room.

 

After a 17 week revival in the year  2000, it became necessary to build a larger building to accommodate the growing congregation. Twenty acres of farm land on Route 164 was purchased and a building project was launched. In January 2004, a new facility was dedicated. The property at 731 East Main Street was converted to the Youth Ministries Center.