Faith Church sits on Hughes Street in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, a block or two behind Bellefonte High School's football field, and from that one location it has shaped the rhythms of faith and family life in central Pennsylvania for generations. The congregation is a member of the Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church, and it carries that identity with both conviction and warmth. Sunday mornings bring two very different worship gatherings into the same sanctuary, an extensive kids and youth program runs alongside them, and a long-running Christian preschool calls the church home as well.
Two Sundays, One Sanctuary
Faith Church holds two Sunday worship gatherings in its sanctuary at 512 Hughes Street. The early service at 8:15 AM leans traditional, with hymns led from the piano and organ and the adult choir singing familiar songs that longtime members love. The later service at 10:45 AM is the modern gathering, where the worship team raises current praise songs and the room has a noticeably more contemporary feel. Lead Pastor Andy Morgan preaches at both services.
The two services are not just back-to-back slots on a calendar. They are two recognizable expressions of the same church, each with its own music team and its own regulars, both streamed live on Facebook and YouTube so that anyone who cannot be in the sanctuary can still worship alongside the congregation. A typical service runs about an hour: announcements, music, prayer, sermon, and a closing song or two. The dress code at both is come-as-you-are; jeans and t-shirts are common, and so are suits, ties and dresses.
Holy Communion is celebrated at both services on the first Sunday of each month. The bread is gluten-free and the cup is grape juice, free from alcohol. At the 8:15 service the elements are passed through the pews in trays; at the 10:45 service worshipers are invited forward and the bread is dipped in the juice in a practice called intinction. Prepackaged elements are also available for anyone who prefers them. The church teaches that anyone who loves Jesus, wants to live a changed life with him, and seeks to become like him is welcome at the table; membership at Faith Church is not required, and neither is a particular age. Communion Sundays use the language of The United Methodist Church: the sacrament is called the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion and the Eucharist, with each name highlighting a different facet of the same meal.
Kids from Crib to Fifth Grade
Faith Church takes seriously the words of Jesus in Luke 18:16, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them." Children's ministry here stretches from age one through fifth grade, and it works to foster a personal faith in Jesus through biblically sound teaching.
For the youngest, two nursery spaces sit just outside the sanctuary. The infant nursery, through the double doors off the sanctuary lobby on the right, has a changing table, a crib, comfortable rocking chairs and a private space for nursing. The toddler nursery is down the hall in room 11 and is set up with age-appropriate toys and small chairs and tables. The worship gathering is live-streamed into both rooms so parents never miss the sermon.
At the 10:45 service, Kids Church gives children an age-appropriate space to learn about Jesus on their own level. Trained leaders walk kids through interactive videos, activities and discussion; check-in happens at kiosks in the sanctuary lobby using Planning Center, and parents pick up their children in the assigned rooms at the end of service. Children ages one through three are welcomed into a staffed toddler room in room 11 during the 10:45 gathering.
Between services, from 9:30 to 10:30 AM, Kids Sunday School meets in two age-grouped classrooms. Older kids in grades two through five gather in room 7 for a snack, conversation about their week, Bible reading and discussion, a fun activity and prayer. Younger children, pre-kindergarten through first grade, meet with Heather and Robert in room 15. They start with a circle of prayer and thanks, dig into God's word using The Beginner's Bible, and round things out with crafts, songs, play time, an occasional Veggie Tales clip and a snack.
One week each summer, Vacation Bible School takes over the church. Programs like Rainforest Falls VBS (with water, music, crafts and plenty of laughter) and the previous year's SHINE JESUS' LIGHT theme draw in kids from the wider community. The offering from a recent VBS went to support Vacation Bible Schools for children impacted by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Maddie Carty, the Director of Children's Ministry and Administration, oversees it all.
Faith Youth on Sunday Nights
Faith Youth Group exists for middle and high school students and meets on Sunday evenings. The youth ministry's goal is to encourage young people to engage life with courage, compassion and faith. Jeff Pilger, the Director of Youth and Discipleship, leads the program.
Most evenings begin with about half an hour of free time for games, snacks and connection with the youth leaders. Then the group moves into large-group games that range from low-key to high-energy, followed by a time of singing and a message from the Bible that gives room for students to share prayer requests and life updates.
Once a month the youth ministry shifts into Community Night, an event designed for inviting friends. Past Community Nights have included a Christmas Party in December, paint parties, movie and makeover nights, and trips to Get Air trampoline park. There are also trips beyond Bellefonte: a winter weekend in Manheim, PA for the Zeteo Winter conference, summer camping at Impact, and a summer missions week. Updates go out by text through the Gloo platform, and parents can receive a parents-only weekly email as well.
One recent addition is the Cheering Section, an effort by youth leaders to fill the stands for student activities. Parents can fill out a form letting leaders know when a student has a marching band parade, sporting event, art show or dance recital, and each week a small group of students and leaders will try to be there to celebrate. It is the kind of pastoral attention that has become a hallmark of the youth ministry.
The Heart of Faith: Three Relationships
Faith Church teaches its people to think about the Christian life as a rhythm of three relationships: relationship with God, relationship with the church, and relationship with the world. The congregation calls this the 3R pathway, and almost every ministry at the church connects back to one of those three. Small groups and Sunday school grow the relationship with God and with other believers. Service teams grow the relationship with the world by taking the love of Jesus into Bellefonte and beyond.
The newest members of the congregation are invited into this rhythm right away. Heather Royer, the Guest Service Coordinator, is the person whose job is to greet first-time guests, walk them through what to expect, and help them find a small group, a Sunday school class, or a place to serve that fits their gifts and stage of life. One small but telling detail: every week Faith Church receives a "new here" form, it donates ten dollars to the FaithCentre Food Bank in Bellefonte in honor of that guest.
Music Across Generations
Music is one of the threads that ties the congregation together. Carol Hunt has played the organ and piano at Faith since September 1984 and directs the adult choir alongside her co-coordinator of music ministries, Linda Hoffman, who arrived in 1979. Linda directs the handbell choir and the Christmas Choir and often leads singing at the 8:15 service. The two of them have shaped a music program that has served generations of Bellefonte families.
Meridyth Lanza, a vocalist and keyboardist who joined the worship team in 2022, now directs the modern side of that ministry. She oversees song selection and arrangements for the 10:45 service, coordinates and schedules musicians, leads rehearsals and Sunday worship, and is developing the worship team further. Outside of Faith, she is the Education Program Coordinator at the Penn State Facilities Engineering Institute, and she holds a degree in church music from the University of Valley Forge.
For anyone who has watched music ministry change across decades at Faith Church, the combination is striking: a 40-year veteran at the organ, a handbell choir led by a director who arrived in 1979, and a young modern worship team coming up under a director who is only a few years into her role. It is a deliberate expression of the church's blended character.
Small Groups and Study
Faith Church takes seriously the idea that the Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. Small groups study the Bible, build relationships, and provide a place to work through the ups and downs of life and faith together. The congregation describes the feeling this way: "you are not supposed to go it alone."
Groups meet in homes, at the church building, or online, in come-as-you-are settings of every kind. A typical gathering runs about ninety minutes and includes study, friendship, prayer and conversation. The curriculum is shaped by each group leader and is usually based on a book or video series. No previous small-group experience, Bible knowledge or special preparation is expected; the only requirement is to bring yourself.
Jeff Pilger, who oversees the small-group ministry along with youth, is the point person for anyone wanting to get connected. The church's small groups are open to people of any age or station in life and are one of the main ways newcomers plug in beyond Sunday morning.
Where Worship Meets Mission
A faithful Sunday gathering at Faith Church is only the beginning. The church supports a wide network of local, regional and global partnerships, including Bridge of Hope, Centre Safe, the State College Pregnancy Resource Clinic, Sowing Seeds in Belize, Meat Canning with the MCC, the Centre County Orphan Care Alliance, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Centre County, the American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region, the Bellefonte Youth Center, Mission Central and the Mission Central HUB in Bellefonte, the Neighborhood Center, the United Methodist Benevolent Homes of the Susquehanna Conference, the United Methodist Home for Children, the Sierra Leone Initiative, UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief), and United Methodist Student Day and Native American Ministries Sundays.
Local mission work at Faith takes several hands-on forms. During Local Mission Work Week, volunteer teams tackle home repairs, cleanup projects, meals and encouragement for families in need across Centre County. The Toolbox Ministry handles small home repair jobs in the Bellefonte area: leaky faucets, hanging fixtures and bigger projects for neighbors who need a hand. Leader Roger Schwartz coordinates both efforts.
The Garden Ministry occupies a corner of the church property near the water tower. Over the summer, volunteers weed, water and harvest vegetables that are shared with neighbors and with the FaithCentre food bank. The Prayer Quilt and Shawl Ministry has been stitching since September 2013. Quilters, crocheters and knitters meet on the first and third Mondays of each month in room 40 from 10 AM to 2 PM, and the finished quilts and shawls are blessed by the laying on of hands before being given to people facing illness, bereavement, deployment, or the move to assisted living. The ministry is largely self-funded through the United Women in Faith Holiday Bazaar and a spring sale.
Vacation Bible School is another mission channel, with offerings in recent years directed toward VBS programs for children affected by the war in Ukraine.
Faith & Friends, Body and Soul, Softball
Social groups give the church another rhythm beyond the pews. Faith & Friends is an adults-only social group that meets monthly for guest speakers, games, trips, restaurant outings and time around the table together. Body and Soul Fitness is a women's exercise group that meets Mondays and Fridays at 7:30 AM in rooms 49 and 51 at the church; the workouts alternate between interval training, strength training, cardio, walking and stretching, with optional prayer time on Fridays and coffee after Monday sessions. The group is open to anyone, regardless of age or fitness level, and there is no cost to attend. The church softball team plays in a Monday-night league May through August; it is co-ed, open to anyone over 16, low-key, and based out of the Spring Township field on Blanchard Street in Bellefonte.
Visitation and Pastoral Care
Faith Church's Visitation Ministry grew out of a phone visitation team and now provides holistic care to senior members, including in-home visits and additional support services. The team works under LeAnn Showers, who transitioned from Director of Children's Ministry into the role of Director of Visitations after years of Sunday-morning ministry to kids and families. Tina McKinley serves as Faith Church's lay leader, working with the staff to fulfill the congregation's mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world; she has been involved with outreach ministries at Faith since 2001.
The Bellefonte Playschool
Faith Church is home to the Bellefonte Playschool, a state-licensed, part-time Christian preschool that has been a ministry of the congregation for more than 50 years. The playschool offers a play-based curriculum built around socialization, faith and character development, self-awareness and kindergarten readiness, with a nurturing environment where children learn through hands-on, fun activities. Many Bellefonte families have sent multiple generations of children to the school, and it remains a trusted entry point into the wider life of the church for young families in Centre County.
What to Expect on Your First Visit
Worship services are held Sundays at 8:15 AM and 10:45 AM, with both services livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube and available for one week afterward. A full sermon archive lives online as well. The building sits behind Bellefonte High School's football field, and an interactive map is available on the contact page for driving directions. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM, though the building stays locked during office hours to protect the daycare kids and staff.
First-time guests will find a friendly face at the Connection Table in the sanctuary lobby. A printed bulletin and pew cards are available at the entrances; coffee is in the lobby and may be brought into the sanctuary; tithes and offerings may be placed in a secure box at the entrance or exit.
Accessibility has been thoughtfully built in: designated parking spaces near the sanctuary entrance, wheelchair-accessible restroom stalls, several seating options in the sanctuary, listening-assistance devices at the media station, closed captioning on every online service, and noise-cancelling headphones for kids at the sanctuary entrance. Communion elements are gluten- and alcohol-free, and other food allergies can be accommodated on request. Anyone who would prefer to visit during non-worship hours is welcome to do so by appointment.
Pastor and Staff
Andy Morgan has served as lead pastor of Faith Church since moving to Bellefonte in 2008, after previous pastorates in Altoona and Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and is the primary preacher at both Sunday services. He grew up on the shores of Long Island Sound in Niantic, Connecticut, attended Michigan State University, and earned his Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School. His guiding verse is John 10:10: "I have come so that you might have life and life abundant."
The staff around Pastor Andy includes Jeff Pilger, Director of Youth and Discipleship; Maddie Carty, Director of Children's Ministry and Administration; LeAnn Showers, Director of Visitations; Heather Royer, Guest Service Coordinator; Meridyth Lanza, Director of Modern Worship; Carol Hunt and Linda Hoffman in music ministries; Justin Maddox, Technical Director; Maddie and Ryan Carty, Co-Communications Directors; and Tina McKinley, Lay Leader.
Faith Church is rooted in the United Methodist tradition, with Andy Morgan an ordained elder in the UMC and the congregation in covenant with the Susquehanna Conference. It supports United Methodist causes from UMCOR to Native American Ministries and Student Day, and it teaches the historic Methodist understanding of Holy Communion. Come-as-you-are dress, open communion, attentive music and a long-running preschool are some of the ways that tradition comes to life each week at 512 Hughes Street.