Phillipsburg Alliance Church on Lincoln Street
Phillipsburg Alliance Church sits on the eastbound side of Memorial Parkway (Route 22), just past the toll bridge, right next to The Manhattan Bagel Eatery in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. A congregation of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), the church is one of more than 2,000 C&MA churches across the United States and part of a worldwide family of believers worshiping in more than 38 languages and dialects. Under the leadership of Senior Lead Pastor Rev. Dr. Randall W. Nelson, the church is known locally for offering four weekend worship services in two languages, an unusually full calendar of Bible studies and small groups, and a remarkable range of practical ministries that reach the surrounding community. The campus spreads across a converted neighborhood bar, a clothing shed out back, a fellowship hall, and a wooded field in neighboring Lopatcong Township.
Four weekend services in English and Spanish
The church's weekend rhythm is built around four services held in two languages, designed to give almost anyone a way to gather for worship and teaching.
The Saturday Evening Worship Service runs from 6:15 to 7:45 PM in the sanctuary of the main church building at 255 Lincoln Street. It is an English-language service for those working or committed on Sundays, or who simply prefer a quieter evening. Each week, beginning at 5:30 PM, the Ben Todd Hall next to the sanctuary opens for desserts and light refreshments, with the worship service following in the sanctuary at 6:15. The service includes worship through music, prayer, and Bible-based preaching in English. Nursery care is not currently available during the Saturday evening service.
Sunday brings three more gatherings, all in or beside the main building. The Sunday Early Service runs from 8:00 to 9:30 AM and is described as a quiet and focused way to begin the Lord's Day, especially suited for early risers and those with full Sundays ahead. The Sunday Late Service, also called the Children's Church service, runs from 10:30 to 11:45 AM and is one of the church's primary gatherings, with an intergenerational atmosphere. Nursery is available for infants through age 3, and Children's Church for Pre-K through 5th grade meets in the Osmun Rhoads building during the sermon. Communion is observed on the first weekend of each month.
In parallel with the 10:30 AM English service, the Bilingual (Spanish and English) Service is held at The Crossbar, 285 Grant Street, from 10:30 to 11:45 AM. Led by Pastor Enrique A. Davis in collaboration with Iglesia Alianza Jehova Rehobot, the bilingual service combines elements in both languages while maintaining the same gospel-centered message. It is the primary gathering for the church's multi-lingual families and a distinctive feature of its weekend life.
A cry room with a window into the sanctuary is available for nursing mothers, and the main building is equipped with a small elevator for accessibility to the sanctuary. At least one service is broadcast live on YouTube each week, and recent sermons are posted on the church's YouTube channel and Facebook page. Sermon podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify under "Phillipsburg Alliance Church."
A campus of buildings across Lincoln Street
Although the church shares one mailing address in everyday life, its ministry actually takes place across several buildings clustered in a tight footprint in central Phillipsburg, with a fourth property just over the township line.
The Main Church Building at 255 Lincoln Street is home to the pastors' offices, the Saturday and Sunday worship services, the cry room, and most congregational gatherings. It includes a small elevator for accessibility to the sanctuary.
Ben Todd Hall, also at 255 Lincoln Street, is the fellowship space within the main building. It hosts the Saturday Food and Fellowship hour, the Women's Sunday School, the Wednesday Bible Study and Prayer gathering, and the Gospel Project Sunday School class for 11th grade and up.
The Osmun Rhoads Building at 260 Lincoln Street sits directly across the street from the main building. Used primarily for Sunday School, Bible studies, the Young Adult Group, the Ladies Bible Study, and VBS activities, it also houses the Children's Church program during the late Sunday service.
The Crossbar at 285 Grant Street is a former neighborhood bar that the church purchased and converted into a multi-purpose building. Complete with a full commercial kitchen, it hosts the bilingual Sunday service, the Evolve Youth Group, the Tuesday Ladies Bible Study, the Free Community Breakfast, the Bilingual Bible Study, and other community events. It can also be reserved for personal events.
The Liberty Road Alliance Campus at 300 Liberty Road in Lopatcong Township is a large wooded field the church owns in the neighboring township. It is used for outdoor tent gatherings and services in summer, youth group campfires in the fall, and church picnics in the spring.
All of Jesus: the church's faith
Phillipsburg Alliance Church belongs to the Christian and Missionary Alliance, a denomination whose 140-year history has been built around what its members call the Fourfold Gospel: Jesus as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. The congregation's own statement of faith begins and ends with Christ, whom they call both the source of their love and the cause of their worship.
The C&MA Statement of Faith, which the church holds in full, sets out eleven core beliefs: one God in three persons; the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, and present reign at God's right hand; the full inspiration and inerrancy of the Old and New Testaments as originally given; salvation by grace through faith in Christ; the baptism in and filling of the Holy Spirit as both a crisis and a progressive experience; the provision in Christ's atoning work for the healing of the whole person; the church as the body of Christ, called to worship, prayer, fellowship, the preaching of the gospel, and the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper; and the personal, visible, and premillennial return of Jesus Christ.
The church is also committed to the Great Commission, taking all of Jesus to all the world - in the surrounding neighborhoods of New Jersey and Pennsylvania and through the C&MA's 700-plus international workers serving in 80 countries. Three short identity statements shape the life of the congregation: Christ-Centered, with Jesus as the source, cause, and core of everything; Acts 1:8, relying on the Holy Spirit to witness; and Family, doing life together as a local congregation and as part of a wider fellowship of churches.
Children, youth, and students
The next generation is a major focus of the church, with ministries for every age from infants through young adults.
The Children's Ministry, directed by Heather Allshouse, includes Sunday School on Sundays from 9:30 to 10:20 AM in the Osmun Rhoads Building, with separate classes by age; Children's Church during the 10:30 AM Sunday service in the Osmun Rhoads Building for Pre-K through 5th grade, with check-in outside the sanctuary doors; and a Nursery for infants through age 3, open during both the 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday services in the main church building.
The Evolve Youth Group, led by Youth Coordinator Adam Kita, meets Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at The Crossbar and is open to all students in grades 5 through 12. The evening is structured but warm: a full, free dinner (with options for kids with dietary restrictions such as lactose intolerance or gluten allergies) from 6:30 to 7:00 PM, four modern worship songs led by members of the church worship team from 7:00 to 7:25 PM, a Bible lesson from 7:25 to 8:00 PM, and games and activities from 8:00 to 8:30 PM. The youth also take part in special events throughout the year, including Escape Room visits and Hope Day.
The Gospel Project Sunday School on Sundays from 9:15 to 10:15 AM offers a two-track Bible study during the Sunday School hour: grades 1 through 10 in the Osmun Rhoads Building, and 11th grade and up in the Ben Todd Hall.
The College/Young Adult Ministry meets every Wednesday at 7:00 PM in the Osmun Rhoads Building, facilitated by Pastor Randy Nelson, and is open to adults ages 18 to 35.
Men, women, and the rest of the week
The church offers a remarkably full slate of adult Bible studies and small groups throughout the week.
The Women's Ministry, led by Susan Trauger, includes: Women's Sunday School on Sundays from 12:30 to 1:30 PM in Ben Todd Hall, led by Eileen Page; the 12 Daring Women of the Bible study on Tuesdays at 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM at The Crossbar, led by Sue Trauger; the Ladies Crochet Group on Thursdays at 1:30 PM and 7:00 PM in Ben Todd Hall, led by Phyllis Eckel; the Ezekiel Bible Study on Wednesdays at 9:30 AM in Ben Todd Hall, led by Eileen Page; the They Walk with God Bible Study on Thursdays at 10:00 AM in the Osmun Rhoads Building, led by Sherry Seidel; and the Women's PEAK Volunteer Ministry on Thursdays at 4:30 PM at Northampton Prison, as part of the Spanish Ministry. The Women's Ministry also leads a meals ministry, prayer breakfasts, and special events such as Alliance District events and one-day retreats throughout the year.
The Men's Ministry, led by Don Eckel, focuses on building up men as godly leaders, husbands, and fathers. Recurring opportunities include the Brotherhood Men's Group, which meets the last Saturday of each month at 9:30 AM at The Crossbar for food, fellowship, prayer, and the hearing of God's Word, open to males 13 and up; the Men's Prayer Breakfast on the third Saturday of each month at 7:30 AM at The Crossbar; the Men's PEAK Volunteer Ministry on Tuesdays at 4:30 PM at Northampton Prison, as part of the Spanish Ministry; and a Men and Women's Bible Study on Mondays at 10:30 AM, led by Ron Bond.
In addition, the church offers a Bible Study and Prayer gathering on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:00 PM in Ben Todd Hall; an Online Bible Study on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:00 PM via Zoom, coordinated by Ron Bond; and a Worship Team Practice on Thursdays at 7:00 PM in the main church building.
Hands-on compassion: food, clothing, stamps, and a bar reborn
Outreach and mercy ministries are woven into the church's identity and use several distinct channels.
The River of Life Food Ministry is the church's food pantry, coordinated by Joan Burry. Non-perishable donations can be dropped off anytime at the collection cart around the corner from the main entrance, and the church staffs an information table at the sanctuary's entrance on the third weekend of each month. A detailed list of suggested items - from pancake mix, Spam, and cereal to ramen noodles, cake mixes, condiments, and canned dinners - helps donors choose well. The food pantry helps approximately 280 families each month, and in one recent year the church donated 2,752 non-perishable food items and collected over $9,000 in monetary donations.
The Meals Ministry provides food to members of the fellowship during sickness or other critical times and is coordinated by Deb Ubel. The Homeless Ministry collects practical items such as pop-top canned soup, tarps, blankets, gloves, hand warmers, socks, hats, scarves, sleeping bags, flashlights, and personal hygiene items in a bin located by Pastor Enrique's office. It is coordinated by Pastor Enrique Davis and Buddy Hahola. The Clothing Shed behind the Osmun Rhoads Building accepts clothing of all kinds, sneakers, shoes, belts, purses, linens, blankets, curtains, and stuffed animals. The church receives money for every pound donated, averaging about $120 per month, and donations are cleaned and sent to families in need.
The Stamp Ministry is one of the church's more unusual outreaches. Since 1972, the Alliance Stamp Ministry has raised more than $924,000 for Publicaciones Alianza, an Argentine publisher that prints Christian books in Spanish. Coordinated locally by Doreen Gramling, the church accepts whole envelopes or carefully trimmed used postage stamps (with a quarter to a third of an inch border, no paper clips or rubber bands) in a basket in the church lobby. The stamps are then trimmed, sorted, and bundled by 60 volunteers at the Shell Point Retirement Community in Florida.
The PEAK (Personal Enrichment and Knowledge) Volunteer Ministry sends volunteers to Northampton Prison in Easton, Pennsylvania, on Thursday evenings, with separate men's and women's teams as part of the Spanish Ministry. A Free Community Breakfast is served at The Crossbar on the first Saturday of each month at 9:15 AM, open to anyone in the area.
Leadership and giving
Phillipsburg Alliance Church is led by a small, dedicated staff of pastors and ministry directors. Rev. Dr. Randall W. Nelson serves as Senior Lead Pastor. Pastor Enrique A. Davis serves as Spanish Church Pastor, leads the bilingual Sunday service at The Crossbar in collaboration with Iglesia Alianza Jehova Rehobot, and oversees the Homeless Ministry and the PEAK prison ministry. Adam Kita is the Youth Coordinator, Ashley Tillinghast the Nursery Director, and Heather Allshouse the Children's Ministry Director. Don Eckel leads the Men's Ministry, and Susan Trauger leads the Women's Ministry.
Giving is welcomed through the collection box at the back of the sanctuary (checks made out to Phillipsburg Alliance Church, with cash also accepted), online through Tithe.ly, or by setting up the church as a vendor in a bank's bill-pay system, which is free to both the giver and the church. The church is also a participant in the TD Bank Affinity Program, which makes an annual contribution to the church based on the average balance of member accounts. Clothing donations are accepted at the shed behind the Osmun Rhoads Building.
The church office can be reached at (908) 859-5242 or pacoffice@phillipsburgalliance.org, and a printable calendar of events is published online each month.