A Bible Fellowship Church in the Lehigh Valley
Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church gathers each Sunday morning on South Cedar Crest Boulevard in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a short drive from Lehigh Valley Hospital on the western edge of the Lehigh Valley. With one worship service at 10 AM and an adult education hour called Discipleship Institute at 8:45 AM, the church runs a Sunday schedule that serves as an entry point for first-time visitors and longtime members alike. The congregation belongs to the Bible Fellowship Church (BFC), and the church's printed mission lines out its self-understanding in three sentences: to glorify the Triune God by exalting Him, edifying and equipping His Church, and evangelizing the world with His Gospel.
What Sunday Morning Looks Like
Visitors will find a single, blended worship service at 10 AM. Greeters stand at the doors to direct newcomers to the Worship Center, and a Welcome Desk sits just inside the main lobby to answer questions. The order of service opens with a warm welcome to guests and a brief round of church-wide updates, then moves into congregational singing - a blend of rich traditional hymns and uplifting contemporary music the church describes as glorifying God. A time of corporate and intentional prayer follows before the sermon. Preaching is biblical and expository, drawn from a text of Scripture and applied to daily Christian living.
Dress at Cedar Crest runs the full range - from jeans and a t-shirt to suits, ties, and dresses - so newcomers can wear whatever feels comfortable. Reserved parking spaces for first-time guests sit by the Worship Center under the portico on the far side of the building, and families with children are encouraged to park by the Children's Ministry Entrance near the flagpole.
Nursery care is available during the entire 10 AM service for children ages 0 to 3. The Baby Nursery (ages 0 to 1) is in Room 105, the Young Toddler Nursery (ages 1 to 2) is in Room 106, and the Toddler Nursery (ages 2 to 3) is in Room 107. Every nursery volunteer holds up-to-date Pennsylvania clearances. Children in PreK through 3rd grade stay with their families in the Worship Service until the sermon begins, then are dismissed to Children's Church - called Blast Off (PreK to Kindergarten) and Skyrocket (1st through 3rd grade). Parents who prefer to keep their children beside them for the whole service are welcome to do so. A nursing mother's room is located in the lobby across from the bathrooms outside the Worship Center, and an overflow area in the Hub outside the lobby lets families step out with a fussy child while still watching and listening to the service.
A van ministry offers rides to those who cannot easily get to church on a Sunday morning. Riders are asked to call the church Monday through Thursday to schedule pickup for the following Sunday.
Built on the BFC Articles of Faith
Cedar Crest is a member congregation of the Bible Fellowship Church, and its doctrinal commitments follow the BFC's Articles of Faith and Biblical Principles for Living. The 28 Articles walk through Scripture from start to finish. They begin with the doctrine of the Bible, which the church confesses to be the inspired, infallible Word of God, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, and the supreme and final authority of faith and conduct. Articles 2 through 5 lay out the Trinity, identifying the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one God in substance, equal in power and glory.
The Articles go on to teach creation by the Triune God, the fall of Satan and the corruption of the human race through Adam's sin, the bondage of the human will apart from God's grace, and the free election of a people for salvation. They hold that salvation is God's work alone, received by grace through faith, secured by the blood of Christ and the imputation of His righteousness. Justification, sanctification, and the perseverance of the saints are spelled out in Articles 14 through 17. Baptism, which the church practices by the immersion of the professing believer, and the Lord's Supper, observed as a proclamation of Christ's death until He returns, are treated as ordinances without saving power in themselves.
Church government, drawn from Article 18, is led by a plurality of qualified elders and supported by deacons who care for the practical and physical needs of the congregation. The Articles look ahead to a future bodily resurrection, a personal and visible Second Coming of Christ, the millennial reign of Christ, the great white throne judgment of the unregenerate, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost alongside the eternal dwelling of the redeemed with God in a new heaven and a new earth.
Mission and the Ten Core Values
Around the church's three-call mission sit ten core values that spell out how the mission is pursued week by week. They are worship of the Triune God in spirit and in truth, both privately and corporately; complete dependence on the Holy Spirit as the agent of redemption; prayer in families and in gathered services as worship through adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication; preaching and teaching that is faithful to Scripture and centered on Jesus Christ; biblical leadership through a plurality of qualified elders and deacons; discipleship grounded in the Great Commission and aimed at mature, Christlike hearts and lives; fellowship as the unity believers already share in the New Covenant; care for believers who face weariness, confusion, and hardship; covenanted membership in a local body; and outreach in obedience to Jesus Christ, declaring the gospel with urgency and compassion from neighbors to unreached people groups.
Discipleship Institute: Sunday School for Adults
At 8:45 AM each Sunday - between the opening prayer time and the 10 AM worship service - the church runs Discipleship Institute, its adult education hour. DI is set up as a trimester system with fall, winter, and spring terms, and each class is built around the church's commitment to helping believers become more like Christ in every facet of life. Topics rotate, and classes are taught by pastors, elders, and church members. Recent and upcoming offerings have included How People Change by Paul Tripp and Tim Lane, a study on Work/Life Balance built around John Mark Comer's The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, A Theology of Exercise and Physical Stewardship, a Christology course titled The Eternal and Incarnate Son of God that traces the Messiah across the storyline of Scripture, and a Membership Class that walks through Cedar Crest's theology and expectations of members. Childcare is provided during Discipleship Institute for ages from nursery through 5th grade, with separate Middle School and High School classes as well.
Children's Ministry from Nursery through Fifth Grade
Cedar Crest runs an active Children's Ministry for kids from birth through 5th grade, led by Sarah Klase as Director of Children's Ministry.
On Sunday mornings, children's programming begins at 8:45 AM during Discipleship Institute, when Sunday School classes for PreK-Kindergarten (Blast Off) and 1st through 3rd grade (Skyrocket) meet. Both classes use Lifeway's Bible Studies for Life curriculum built on the Levels of Biblical Learning - ten doctrinal categories that include God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Bible, Salvation, Creation, Church, People, Family, and Community and World. The aim of Skyrocket is to prepare kids for a smooth transition into the worship service when they graduate.
Children's check-in opens at 9:45 AM (earlier for Sunday School at 8:15) and is staffed right inside the flagpole entrance. First-time families are encouraged to register in advance so staff can welcome their children smoothly. A matching parent tag is required for pickup; if another guardian is collecting the child, they must carry the matching tag. If a family forgets the tag, they will be asked to show ID.
On Wednesday evenings during Family Night, children PreK through 5th grade join Kids Clubs from 6:30 to 8 PM. The clubs walk children through the New City Catechism over two-year cycles, with each grade level exploring the same Question and Answer at the same time. Lessons pair doctrinal study with one of ten Christian virtues - Awe, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Honesty, Hope, Humility, Joy, Love, Perseverance, and Trust - aiming for heart-level formation rather than mere behavior change. PreK-Kindergarten meets in Room 108, mixed K-1st in Room 107, 2nd-3rd grade girls in Room 147, 2nd-3rd grade boys in Room 143, 4th-5th grade girls in Room 144, and 4th-5th grade boys in Room 145.
Every adult who works with minors at Cedar Crest completes Pennsylvania child abuse, state police, and (where applicable) FBI fingerprint clearances, and reads the church's Child Abuse Prevention Manual each year.
Student Ministry for Grades 6-12
Cedar Crest Student Ministry, led by Cameron Webb, exists to come alongside parents in making student-aged disciples of Jesus Christ in the Lehigh Valley. The ministry serves grades 6 through 12, with separate Middle School and High School Sunday School classes during the 8:45 AM Discipleship Institute hour.
The weekly youth group gathers Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8 PM. The evening opens with free time in the gym, where students play games and hang out, then moves into sung worship, a Bible lesson, and small group time broken out by grade and gender. On the last Wednesday of every month, the youth group splits into separate boys' and girls' meetings. Every student checks in upon arrival.
Each fall the ministry offers a Fall Retreat, a weekend of paintball, horseback riding, and small group time, and each summer students are encouraged to consider short-term missions or staff roles at camps such as Victory Valley. Parents can connect their teenagers to a mentor, apply for baptism through the church's adult or student application, and submit a yearly permission form through Church Center.
Ministries for Men, Women, and Senior Saints
The Ministry to Men, overseen by Chris Von Holt, gathers men for Bible studies from September through May, with hikes, wing nights, breakfasts, and an annual campfire around the calendar. Two weekly studies anchor the ministry: Rise Up, a Tuesday morning study at 6:15 AM that has walked through 1, 2, and 3 John, and a Wednesday evening study during Family Night that has worked through Sinclair Ferguson's Lessons from the Upper Room. Mentorship is built into the program, with men encouraged to sign up both as mentors and as mentees.
Women's Ministry, directed by Jackie Loew, holds two weekly Bible studies. A Tuesday morning study at 8:45 AM reads the New Testament in a year using John MacArthur's 52 Weeks Through the Bible, and a Wednesday evening study during Family Night works through Paul Tripp's How People Change (book and workbook cost $10). The Cedar Crest Quilters meet Tuesdays at 11:00 AM in The Hub to make baby quilts for first-time mothers and to support Cedar Crest missionaries. Younger and older women are paired through a Titus 2 mentoring program.
Senior Saints, led by lay elder John LoRusso alongside Associate Pastor Jules Hull, focuses on adults in their retirement years with monthly Thursday luncheons featuring missions speakers, instrumental music, sing-alongs, Operation Christmas Child Shoebox projects, and other enrichment activities.
Life Groups and Family Night
Cedar Crest's small group ministry is called Life Groups, and the church describes them as one of the best ways to build relationships and grow in Christ. Life Groups consist of 6 to 14 people who meet in homes (and sometimes on the church campus) throughout the Lehigh Valley, typically in the evenings, twice a month. They are organized for members primarily, with regular attenders who have been coming for at least six months and are pursuing membership also welcome. Guests may visit a Life Group to see what it is like. Each group figures out its own approach to childcare, and a Childcare Reimbursement Form is available on Church Center for those who need it.
Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8 PM are Family Night at the church, with programming for Kids Clubs, the 6th-12th grade Youth Group, Men's and Women's Bible Studies, and shared fellowship. Family Night does not include Adult Life Groups, so Life Groups gather on most other days of the week instead.
Worship Ministry
Worship at Cedar Crest leans on a blended style of congregational singing supported by a Music Team of vocalists and instrumentalists who rehearse on Saturday mornings and briefly before Discipleship Institute on Sundays. A Tech Team handles slides, sound, and the live stream, working with tools like ProPresenter and operating cameras for online viewers. Worship Ministry is led by Luke Walters, Director of Worship Arts, who describes the church's philosophy of worship as heartfelt, biblically based, and centered on the glories of God, the wonders of the cross, and the joy of the gospel of Christ.
The Sunday service is livestreamed on YouTube and made available afterward through a Sermon Library on the church's YouTube channel and a podcast called Captivate & Conform, hosted by Chris Von Holt and Loren Skinker. CD copies of the most recent sermon are available by the Welcome Desk on Sunday mornings for those without internet access.
Local Outreach: ESL, Sports, Street Evangelism
The church's Outreach Ministry, led by Director of Outreach Nathan Trommler, runs several programs in Allentown and the surrounding Lehigh Valley.
English as a Second Language (ESL) classes meet Monday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the Education Wing (Door 3, near Lehigh Valley Hospital) during the school year. Levels include Foundations, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Upper Advanced, with one-to-one Conversation Helpers. Textbooks cost $30; classes themselves are free and open to any adult in the community.
Community Sports gathers adults age 18 and up twice a week in the Activity Center. Monday nights from 6:30 to 9 PM feature Volleyball, and Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 9 PM feature Basketball. Each evening includes a short Bible teaching along with playing time, and a short waiver is signed by new basketball participants on arrival.
Street Evangelism meets every other Saturday from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, with teams heading into Allentown's streets and parks to share the gospel and listen to neighbors' stories.
The Cedar Crest Food Bank, coordinated by the Deacons, helps feed over 2,000 local families each year. Families in need may call the church office to set up a pickup on the first or third Thursday of each month from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. A Helps Team, organized through the Deacons, sends volunteers to assist church members with short-term physical needs such as rides to doctor appointments, light housekeeping, grocery shopping, moving and hauling, basic home maintenance, and yard work.
Global Outreach: Chad Project, Missionaries, Church Planting
Overseas, Cedar Crest focuses on church planting and church revitalization through a roster of missionaries and partnerships that includes Jon and Melissa Eager with Africa Inland Mission among the Sandawe of Tanzania, Alex Hartranft with AIM among the K people of Western Chad, Daniel and Elisabeth Hunziker with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Tanzania, Tony and Joanna Murrin with International Tribal Ministries in Bolivia, Emmanuel and Esther Shilikale in Tanzania, the Sioukiuroglou family with Fellowship International Mission among refugees in Greece, and other field missionaries and partners serving in Bolivia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and North Africa.
The Chad Project is a particular emphasis. In early 2020 a survey team from Cedar Crest traveled to Chad and adopted the K people group of Western Chad, joining a church-planting team with Africa Inland Mission in the country's Mo-Town area. The project supports an Oasis Center where English classes, sports, and other trainings open doors for gospel conversations, and a fund that enables the team on the ground to learn the heart language, build relationships, and plant local churches.
The church supports planting and revitalizing efforts closer to home, including Citylight Bible Church in East Allentown, the HOPE Community Church in Allentown pastored by Emmanuel and Laura Suarez, an Arabic-speaking church plant in the region led by Joseph and Thanna Moussa, and One In Christ Bible Fellowship Church in Elkton, Maryland. The Outreach Ministry also supports Tim and Kaylena Radcliff in their work to revitalize CROSSRoads Mission Church in Elverson, Pennsylvania. Faith Commitment giving covers roughly one-third of the church's worldwide outreach budget and supplements what is given locally each Sunday.
Becoming a Member and Getting Baptized
Cedar Crest takes a structured four-step approach to membership: take the Membership Class, get baptized as a believer if you have not been, complete an elder interview, and come forward on Membership Sunday. The Membership Class covers the gospel, the doctrinal beliefs of Cedar Crest, the expectations of a member, and the spiritual gifts God has given each person to serve the body. The class is offered three times a year in three formats - Sunday morning during Discipleship Institute, Wednesday evening during Family Night, and a two-day weekend intensive that includes lunch. Childcare is provided.
Baptism is offered to anyone who has put faith in Christ and not yet been baptized as a believer. Adults apply on their own, while a parent or guardian applies on behalf of a student who has completed or will complete the church's mentorship study in time. After the application is reviewed, the candidate records a short video testimony that is shown at a Baptism Sunday service.
Pastoral Leadership and Church Government
Cedar Crest is led by a four-pastor team alongside a board of lay elders and a body of deacons who serve as servant leaders.
Jason Hoy is the Lead Pastor. He came to faith in Christ through the witness of his wife Jennifer, served for years at Calvary Baptist Church in Allentown and then as Pastor of Congregational Care at Ebenezer BFC in Bethlehem from 2006 until 2013, before pastoring Ephrata BFC and being called to Cedar Crest in mid-2021. He is a graduate of Reformed Baptist Seminary with additional coursework at Westminster and Biblical Theological Seminaries.
Chris Von Holt is the Senior Associate Pastor overseeing adult ministries and the curriculum taught throughout the church. A Maranatha Baptist University graduate with continued study at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Reformed Theological Seminary, he joined the staff in 2016.
Jules Hull is the Associate Pastor of Congregational Care, with a B.S. in Bible from Philadelphia Biblical University and an MDiv in Pastoral Counseling from Liberty University. He was ordained by the Bible Fellowship Church in October 2020.
Cameron Webb serves as Assistant Pastor and Student Ministry pastor, holding a degree in Camp and Outdoor Adventure Leadership with a minor in Biblical Studies from Liberty University.
Nathan Trommler serves as Director of Outreach and is an elder intern. With an MTS in history, theology, and biblical counseling from Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, he came to Allentown from a ministry in Scotland focused on church planting in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Luke Walters directs Worship Arts. A long-time attendee of Cedar Crest since 2007, he holds a B.A. in Biology from DeSales University and an M.A. in Worship Studies from Liberty University, and joined the staff in 2017. Loren Skinker serves as Director of Communications, Jackie Loew as Director of Women's Ministry, and Sarah Klase as Director of Children's Ministry.
Giving and Staying Connected
Cedar Crest treats giving as an act of worship, and members and visitors can give in three ways: in person by dropping a check or cash in the Offering Box at the back of the Worship Center, online through the Church Center app, or by texting GIVE to 855-934-1739 followed by a dollar amount and optional fund designation such as "GIVE $25 core." Three funds are typically offered - Core Ministries (the recommended place for regular tithing, supporting day-to-day operations, staff salaries, and facility upkeep), Faith Commitment (additional giving that supports about one-third of the worldwide outreach budget), and the Deacons Benevolence Fund, which enables the Deacons to meet physical needs in the church and the Lehigh Valley community.
The Church Center app serves as a digital hub. Members and regular attenders can give, register for events, sign up for Bible studies, check in their children, and access the sermon library, weekly bulletin, podcast, and church directory. The directory itself is opt-in and member-only for privacy reasons.
Sermons are archived on YouTube (Cedar Crest BFC Sermon Library), distributed through the CCBFC Sermons podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and discussed weekly on the church's own podcast, Captivate & Conform. A weekly email newsletter is available through a sign-up on the church's main page, and the church maintains a partnership with Ligonier Ministries that gives members free access to Ligonier Connect's teaching library.