Altoona Bible Church sits on Union Avenue in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and is known for three connected emphases: Bible teaching, a family-centered worship life, and carrying its message beyond the building. The congregation that began meeting in 1951 now welcomes families to worship, surrounds children with Bible-centered programs, operates ABC PreSchool, supports missionaries, and broadcasts through radio, television, Facebook, and on-demand media.
A Family Church Built Around the Word
Altoona Bible Church describes itself with the line Where the Family is Brought and the Bible is Taught. That emphasis shapes the week: adults and children study the Bible together, worship as a congregation, and take part in ministries for different ages. The church says the Word of God is fundamental to its core values and to the purpose of the local church.
Altoona Bible Church is also deliberate about fellowship. From 10:30 to 10:45, before the 10:45 AM service, the Fellowship Center becomes a place for conversation over coffee and tea. People also gather before Sunday School, and the church describes itself as a family church where Christian friendship is valued. Music, prayer, and Bible teaching remain the three central parts of worship.
Sunday at 9:30, Then 10:45
Sunday School begins at 9:30 AM for all ages. Classes provide a relaxed atmosphere for Bible study, singing, fellowship, crafts, and questions. The 9:30 gathering is followed by coffee and conversation, then Morning Worship at 10:45 AM. This is the church's main weekly gathering, with singing, worship, and faith-building Bible study and challenge from the Word of God.
Children have age-specific care and teaching during worship. A supervised nursery is available for all services, with ushers available at arrival. During morning worship, Junior Church is provided for kindergarten through sixth grade. A separate toddler class serves children ages 2 and 3, and parents may drop them off before the service begins. An evening Facebook service is also held at 7:00 PM on Sundays.
Wednesday has two overlapping rhythms. Kid's Club programs run from 6:45 to 8:15 PM, while Prayer and Bible Study begins at 7:00 PM and continues through 8:00 PM. Adults may attend the midweek gathering to pray and study the Bible, while children have their own clubs during the same evening.
Music That Spans Hymns and Praise
Music is a major part of worship at Altoona Bible Church. The service opens with prayer and musical worship led by a music worship leader. Congregational singing balances traditional hymns with praise and worship songs, supported by large screens at the front of the auditorium. The choir sits at the front, with pianists and organists accompanying on two mini grand pianos and a Hammond organ.
A typical service includes a choir presentation and one or two special numbers by vocal or instrumental musicians. Guitar, flute, and brass add to the music from time to time, and the selections range from traditional to contemporary. The music supports the service's prayerful, Bible-centered gathering.
From Nursery Through Twelfth Grade
Youth ministry at Altoona Bible Church covers a wide span of childhood and adolescence. Sunday School, Junior Church, children's clubs, youth retreats, Vacation Bible School, camp, choir, and one-to-one mentoring all appear in the church's youth life. Sunday evening Club Programs meet from 4:00 to 6:00 PM during September through May. Young people earn activity and Bible badges, go on outings and camps, and can take part in Dad/Lad and Pal/Gal relationships with an adult who encourages and prays for them.
Each June, Vacation Bible School offers a week of Bible lessons, games, activities, crafts, and snacks for children from kindergarten through 12th grade. Grace Kids Camp is typically held during the first week of August at Blue Knob State Park Camp #1 for students in grades 3 through 12. Its activities include Bible study, prayer, singing, worship, crafts, swimming, games, campfires, stories, hiking, baking, science, sports, and wilderness survival.
The church's Sunday School also uses teaching, singing, crafts, picnics, and games as part of children's growth. For older children and teenagers, the club system combines activity badges with Bible badges and offers relationships that continue beyond the Sunday gathering.
ABC PreSchool and a Christian Foundation
ABC PreSchool began in 1990 as an outreach ministry of Altoona Bible Church and serves children ages 4 and 5. It is designed to provide a safe, joyful, supportive, and enriching setting with a Christian educational foundation. Amanda Treon serves as PreSchool Director.
The curriculum develops early literacy, math, art, music, and science skills in preparation for elementary school. It also builds independence, social-emotional regulation, basic self-care, safety, community involvement, fine motor skills, and gross motor skills. Children explore the five senses through play and learn that God is the creator of all things and has a unique plan for each person. Prayer, Bible study, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and qualities such as love, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control are woven into the educational foundation.
Adult Classes, Brunches, and Shared Service
Adult Sunday School includes two classes with different settings. Ambassador welcomes adults of all ages and meets in the Education Center; Harmony welcomes ladies of all ages and meets in the prayer room. The classes meet on Sunday morning and also hold activities and get-togethers through the year. Women's Bible study usually meets on the third Saturday of the month with a brunch, examining what the Bible says about women in families, in the church, and throughout life, along with timely topics.
The church choir includes men, women, and young people and shares in song each Sunday morning. During December, the whole church boards a bus to sing Christmas carols at the homes of shut-ins and at rest homes, followed by food and hot chocolate. The Dad/Lad and Pal/Gal ministry gives adults a way to mentor a child who attends Kid's Club through prayer and shared activities.
Locked Out in 1951, Building a Church
Pastor Henry F. Kulp came to Altoona in December 1945. In 1948 he began broadcasting live church services from 28th Street Church of the Brethren. On Wednesday, November 14, 1951, a sheriff's padlocks kept the congregation out. The group met for the first time in the Howard Avenue Armory on November 18, then gathered at the Church of the Open Door for prayer meeting and choir practice on November 21. The charter for Altoona Bible Church was secured at that gathering.
The constitution was adopted on March 20, 1952, establishing an official board and deacon board. Groundbreaking came on April 13. With no financing in hand, members bought bonds with money borrowed on home mortgages, life insurance, and other means, stepping out in faith to fund the building. The cornerstone was laid on November 9, 1952, and the first service in the new building took place on July 19, 1953. A first telecast of Life of Triumph followed in January 1954, and the first missionary conference was held that April. A wrap-around building was dedicated in 1968, and tape ministry began in 1973. The HFK building's roof collapsed under snow in February 1994, and the rebuilt building was dedicated that November.
Educational and camping ministries grew alongside the congregation. The preschool began in September 1990, and the first Grace Kids Camp took place in August 1995. The succession of pastors includes founding pastor Henry F. Kulp, interim pastoral service by Pastor Spooner, senior pastor terms for Pastors Jon Bekemeyer, Joel McGarvey, Ken Peeble, and Stewart W. McClelland, and the appointment of Pastor Aaron J. Harris as pastor in July 2021 and senior pastor in September 2022. Pastor McClelland returned as interim pastor in March 2024.
Broadcast Ministry Since 1948
Radio has been part of Altoona Bible Church's outreach since 1948. The morning worship service is heard live on WRTA 1240 AM and rebroadcast at noon on WJSM 1110 AM. Joy in the Morning, a Sunday morning program of music, stories, and a short study from the Word of God, began in 1957 and has produced more than 3,500 programs. It airs at 8:30 AM on WRTA 1240 AM and WJSM 1110 AM and 92.7 FM.
The church extends its morning worship through local television and Facebook livestreams, while recordings remain available on demand. People who cannot attend can watch the Facebook livestream or review messages in the broadcast archive. This on-air, live, and on-demand ministry has grown alongside the in-person congregation.
Missions from Altoona to the Wider World
Altoona Bible Church supports Grace missionaries and organizations in regional and global settings. A separate Missionary Board organizes and oversees the church's mission outreach. The annual missionary conference, held since 1952 and usually beginning on a Saturday night and ending the following Wednesday night, includes testimonies, field reports, worship, fellowship, small groups, activities for children, and times for games and gym nights.
Local Missions Outreach Projects, or LMOP, gives adults and young people ways to serve locally. The group is overseen by the Missionary Board and has organized a free fall festival, Absolutely Free Car Wash, ministry at assisted living homes, church cleanups, door-to-door outreach, yard work for church members in need, a Christmas parade, and work parties. These projects pair personal evangelism with direct service and fellowship.
Giving can be made by credit card or electronic bank transfer through the church's giving platform, by bank bill pay, or by check.
What Altoona Bible Church Believes
The church states its essential beliefs directly:
- The entire Bible is inspired by God, without error, and has plenary authority.
- There is one God, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- The Lord Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is both true God and true man.
- Human beings are saved by grace through faith. Personal effort cannot earn salvation; salvation is the free gift made possible by Christ's complete payment for sin on the cross.
- The believer has eternal security.
- The church in this dispensation is the Body of Christ, distinct from the prophesied earthly kingdom of Christ.
- The mission and commission of the Body of Christ is to proclaim reconciliation and preach Jesus Christ according to God's revelation, entrusting the church with the gospel of God's grace.
The church presents this list as a set of basic biblical truths rather than an exhaustive account of everything it holds, while emphasizing salvation, the authority of Scripture, and the mission of the church to proclaim Jesus Christ.
A Church Built to Connect Generations
At 3017 Union Avenue, Altoona Bible Church connects Sunday School, worship, preschool, children's clubs, adult fellowship, local outreach, missionary support, radio, television, and livestream media in one church life. Its story stretches from a locked meeting room in 1951 to a congregation that teaches the Bible, gathers families for worship, sends its people into the community, and carries its message beyond Altoona.