Bare Memorial Church of God on East Main Street in Roaring Spring is known for roots reaching to 1872, family-centered Sunday worship, and its mission, “Making disciples who make a difference.” The Churches of God General Conference congregation centers its work on Bible-centered messages, worship led by musicians, discipleship, fellowship, and service to others.
A Family-Centered Sunday at 10:30
Sunday School classes begin at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays, and Sunday worship begins at 10:30 a.m. Worship is offered in person and on Facebook. The gathering is geared toward the entire family. A relevant, Bible-centered message is intended to help people connect with God, and a group of musicians leads worship each week with piano, organ, and/or an instrumental ensemble. People may dress however they feel comfortable. The service typically lasts a little less than one hour.
Children are welcome to stay in the sanctuary with their parents. Younger children who want to play or need a break can use a staffed nursery with trained volunteers. A fellowship time after the gathering includes snacks and drinks. The church is at 508 East Main Street in Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania.
From the Morrison's Cove Circuit to the Five Points
Bare Memorial was founded in the spring of 1872 by the East Pennsylvania Eldership. Until then, the congregation had been part of the Morrison's Cove and Stonerstown Circuit, established shortly after Elder John Winebrenner, founder of the Churches of God, delivered a series of sermons at a camp meeting in Henrietta in 1849. The Roaring Spring church grew from an early circuit closely connected to the beginnings of the Churches of God.
The original meeting place was soon outgrown, and a larger building was constructed nearby in 1881. Fire destroyed it in 1889. The church then built its third structure at “The Five Points,” the intersection of East Main, Spang, and Church Streets. As the church grew and expanded its ministry, that building was enlarged and improved over the years.
A new Sunday School wing was financed in 1928 by Mrs. Ella Bare Garver, Mrs. Anna Bare Eldon, and Mr. and Mrs. E.G. Bobb, in honor of Daniel Mathias Bare. The church has been known as Bare Memorial Church of God since that addition. Bare is remembered as a “difference maker,” and his example remains part of the church's aim to make a difference in personal, family, community, national, and worldwide life.
Three Values That Shape Bare Memorial
The mission of Bare Memorial is “Making disciples who make a difference.” Its vision calls the church to make disciples whose lives affect others locally and globally, connect with future generations, and help them continue God's work wherever he leads. Three values express the church's practical direction:
- Connecting to God and others.
- Growing in the Word of God and applying it to life.
- Serving God by reaching out to others.
The Church Council is the congregation's governing body. Its voting members are elected by the congregation at the annual Congregational Meeting, and church business is transacted through the council. Its work follows parliamentary customs, the polity of the Churches of God General Conference, and the spirit and teachings of Christ.
Lead Pastor Steve DiBiase
Lead Pastor Steve DiBiase is an ordained pastor in the Churches of God General Conference. He earned a B.S. in Bible and Pastoral Studies from Lancaster Bible College in 2004 and an M.A. in Theology from Liberty University in 2017. His ministry has included service as a youth pastor and support staff pastor in Churches of God congregations and in other churches outside the conference.
DiBiase produces The Restored Life podcast to reach and teach people about the gospel. He says, “I love serving God's people, meeting them where they are and discipling them.” He also emphasizes the importance of preaching God's Word while helping disciples mature in their faith.
Primary, Junior, and Wednesday's Midweek Mashup
During Sunday worship, families may keep their children with them in the sanctuary. Younger children who prefer to play or need a break are welcome in the nursery, which is staffed by trained volunteers. Primary Church is designed for children ages three to five and uses stories, games, and crafts suited to their age. Junior Church serves elementary-aged children with a fun, kid-centered setting where they learn about Jesus and becoming His disciple.
Bare Memorial uses ORANGE curriculum for its children's ministry. Its guiding image is that the light of the church, represented by yellow, combines with the love of the family, represented by red, to create an orange environment for children's growth. Take-home material gives families a way to reinforce the lesson throughout the week, and the Parent Cue app offers additional support.
Midweek Mashup meets Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. for children up through fifth grade. Songs, games, skits, and other activities teach practical lessons grounded in the Bible. The character traits emphasized include gratitude, kindness, integrity, and patience, with the aim of helping children grow in faith and live it out.
Children can also continue learning through “Read with Miss Bobbi,” the church's YouTube ministry, along with children's worship music and take-home activities.
Bible, God, Salvation, and the Church's Practice
The Bible and God
Bare Memorial teaches that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the church's only rule of faith and practice. Its fuller description calls the Bible inspired and infallible. The church encourages people to seek, ask questions, and discover the truth of God's Word personally, believing that proper interpretation comes through the Holy Spirit. Churches of God does not endorse any particular translation, but Sunday services read Scripture from the New International Version.
God is described as eternal, three persons in one God, both knowable and unknowable, and holy. Jesus Christ is affirmed as pre-existent, incarnate, truly human, and wholly God. He is Savior and Lord, and the church looks to his death, resurrection, and ascension as central to the gospel. He will return to receive his people. The Holy Spirit is God, can be known and experienced, and works in the church through sanctification, spiritual unity, spiritual fruit, and spiritual gifts.
Humanity and Salvation
Humanity has importance to God and is created with a sinful nature, but people also have the potential for a new nature in Christ. Human beings are free moral agents who are accountable for their choices and free either to accept Christ or turn away from God. Salvation comes through regeneration, or new birth, in response to God's offer. Bare Memorial teaches justification by faith in Christ rather than by obedience to the law or by works of personal righteousness. Sanctification is both instantaneous and progressive, and believers are called to lives of holiness.
The Church and Its Practices
The church is understood as God's called-out people with distinct rights and responsibilities. It should serve both God and humanity and apply New Testament principles to its life. Baptism is an ordinance essential for obedience to Christ, an outward symbol of inward grace practiced by immersion among those who profess faith in Christ and commit themselves to following him. Feet washing is celebrated as a reminder of the Incarnation and the church's calling to serve one another.
Communion, or the Lord's Supper, recalls Christ's atoning death, proclaims hope, and is open to all Christians. In child dedication, parents present their children for God's blessing and remain responsible for their spiritual nurture, while the congregation shares that responsibility. Bare Memorial also looks to the Second Coming, the bodily resurrection of believers, judgment, the final triumph of God's Kingdom, and the mission of God's people to serve as salt and light.
Fellowship, Volunteers, Giving, and the Sermon Archive
Bare Memorial describes fellowship as more than casual conversation. The congregation comes together through a relationship with God through Jesus, and that fellowship includes prayer for one another, encouragement, and care. Ministry is also presented as a shared responsibility that depends on the time, energy, resources, and gifts volunteers offer.
Giving is described as an act of worship. Donations can be made through online giving or mailed to the church at 508 East Main Street in Roaring Spring. The church connects faithful and willing giving with caring for others and supporting its ministry.
The sermon archive includes messages from Pastor Steve DiBiase and other speakers, with subjects drawn from biblical books and topics such as prayer, fasting, baptism, fellowship, communion, feet washing, the Holy Spirit, love, patience, kindness, self-control, and other elements of Christian faith and practice.
At Bare Memorial Church of God, the emphasis remains on connecting to God and others, growing in the Word and applying it to life, and serving God by reaching out. These commitments link its 1872 beginning to its continuing work in Roaring Spring.