A Century on Rice Avenue
Girard Alliance Church sits at 229 Rice Avenue in the small Erie County borough of Girard, Pennsylvania. The congregation keeps a written history titled "100 Years," marking a long continuous presence in the town. It belongs to the Christian and Missionary Alliance, an evangelical denomination whose Statement of Faith GAC adopts as its own. The Alliance's daily devotional by A.W. Tozer is featured in the church's resources, and a link to the national C&MA appears alongside Bible Gateway among the church's recommended readings.
Lead Pastor Lamech Marsh frames the church's purpose around Acts 1:8, describing GAC as existing "to be the hands and feet of Jesus," an extension of God's love to the church and the wider Girard community. He summarizes the church's mission in three words: Engage, Enable, Enhance. Visitors are welcomed to worship, find a small group, discover their gifts, serve, and grow deeper in Christ together.
Sunday at GAC
The Sunday schedule at GAC begins at 8:00 AM with a Prayer Team gathering. At 9:00 AM, the building fills with Sunday Morning Small Groups (SMSG) for all ages, while children head to Bible J.A.M. (Jesus and Me), a dedicated program for kids ages four through fifth grade.
The main Morning Worship service begins at 10:30 AM. Children are dismissed during the service for GAC Kids Church after the musical worship portion. The evening closes with two parallel offerings: a 5:00 PM Bible study held over Zoom, and Foundation Student Ministry for grades 6 through 12, which meets from 5:30 to 8:00 PM and is also called the Youth Group. The weekly bulletin and monthly calendar carry the latest details for SMSG classes, since groups are updated regularly.
Wednesday Nights: A Family Affair
Wednesday evenings from 6:15 to 7:30 PM form the busiest gathering of the week. The format is built so that nearly every member of the household can be in a room of their own at the same time. An Adult Prayer Meeting runs concurrently via Zoom for those joining from home. Down the hall, KIDS CONNECT welcomes children ages four through fifth grade for a structured evening of games, crafts, and Bible teaching. The program runs from October through March and requires parents to sign children in and out.
Adults have their own options at the same hour. Men gather in the Band of Brothers room behind the fellowship hall for an open-forum discussion of present-day issues from a biblical perspective, running about an hour. Women meet in the JOY room at 6:30 PM for a short devotional, fellowship, and prayer. The Wednesday block reflects GAC's conviction that discipleship happens best when the whole family walks through the door together.
GAC Kids and Foundation Student Ministry
Children's Ministry at GAC is overseen by Annemarie Marsh, the church's Children's Ministry Director. Its stated objectives are drawn from passages like Deuteronomy 6:5-6, 2 Peter 3:18, 1 Chronicles 16:9, Proverbs 2:20, and Philippians 4:19. Programs are designed to help children know the love of Jesus, grow in their own faith, and show that love to others. Bible J.A.M. meets Sundays at 9:00 AM, GAC Kids Church runs during the 10:30 AM service, and KIDS CONNECT meets Wednesday evenings in the winter months.
Foundation Student Ministry is GAC's youth program for grades 6 through 12, led by Assistant Pastor Tyler Puharic. Its three core values are Keep It Real, Connect, and Grow. The mission is to share the Gospel with students, and the vision is to equip and encourage young people in their walk with Jesus. The Sunday evening Youth Group is the main gathering, with additional events posted on the monthly calendar. Foundation also maintains its own Facebook page for updates.
Men, Women, and the PrimeTimers
Beyond the Wednesday night rooms, GAC sustains three ongoing adult ministries. JOY (Jesus, Others, and You) is the women's fellowship, which gathers Wednesdays at 6:30 PM to live out Jesus' summary of the law in Matthew 22:37-39: love God and love neighbor. The group pauses for the summer and resumes in September.
Band of Brothers is the men's ministry, named in part after Shakespeare's Henry V and the bond it portrays. Members meet Wednesdays at 6:15 PM in the B.O.B. room from September through May. The group is built on trust, the motto "What is said in Men's Group stays in Men's Group," and the conviction that Christian men need one another. The group welcomes both believers and seekers.
PrimeTimers is GAC's fellowship for adults 55 and older. One of the most active groups in the church, PrimeTimers hosts breakfast meetings and outings around the area, with details posted in the weekly bulletin and the monthly events calendar.
Worship, Teaching, and Small Groups
The Worship Team describes its calling in plain terms: "not to entertain but to be the conduit of praise from the believer to our Father in Heaven." Musicians interested in serving can apply. Sermons are released in both video and audio formats each week, with a YouTube channel hosting the full library and additional audio sermon archives available online. Giving is offered through a Simple Give link.
Small Groups remain central to life at GAC. The church encourages every attendee to plug into a class that fits their stage of life, with options promoted through the bulletin. Pastor Marsh frequently references Psalm 37:4 ("Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart") as a heartbeat verse for the congregation. Those in need of practical help can submit a Request for Assistance.