A Reformed Church Takes Root in Blair County
Westminster Orthodox Presbyterian Church sits at the top of Frankstown Road in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, set slightly back from the road in a red brick building marked by its church sign. The congregation that meets there describes itself as a vibrant, growing family of believers from the greater Blair County area, and the church has grown from a Bible study held in a parent's living room in 1976 to a body of roughly 200 members nearly five decades later.
The church's name reflects its convictions. It takes its name from the Westminster Confession of Faith, the historic doctrinal standard of Bible-believing Presbyterians, and it stands within the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a denomination shaped by the Reformed and Presbyterian convictions of the Protestant Reformation. Worship is intentionally reverent and traditional, preaching is consistently Christ-centered and expository, and the life of the church is organized around the ordinary means of grace: the Word read and preached, the sacraments celebrated, prayer offered, and the people of God equipped for ministry.
From a Living Room Bible Study to a Frankstown Road Congregation
Presbyterians were among the earliest settlers of central Pennsylvania, but by the 1970s there was no longer a Reformed presence in Blair County. Mark Brown, a local native, attended Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, embraced the Presbyterian faith, and affiliated with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church while a student there. He was encouraged by Pastor Dick Fisher to plant a Reformed church back home in Blair County.
Beginning in the spring of 1976, Mark and his wife Joan traveled monthly from Philadelphia to the area so he could lead a Bible study in his parents' home, supported by Trinity OPC in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. By the spring of 1977 the group was preparing to become an official work of the OPC Home Missions Committee. On June 5, 1977, a congregation of thirty-one people gathered for the first time as Westminster Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Blair County.
Throughout the late 1970s attendance climbed from the twenties to the sixties. In June 1979, three acres of land on Frankstown Road overlooking Hollidaysburg were donated, and in December the church elected its first ruling elders and was organized as a particular church. Ground was broken for a building on April 20, 1980, and the first worship service in the new structure was held on November 16, 1980.
Mark Brown served Westminster for more than forty years before retiring. In the fall of 2018, Rev. Chad Mullinix was installed as the church's second pastor, followed in 2023 by Associate Pastor Jacob Cash, who was called with a special emphasis on outreach, fellowship groups, short-term missions, and Christian education. Between 2010 and 2014 the congregation planted and supported Resurrection OPC in State College, which continues to serve central Pennsylvania, and the church has periodically hosted a pastoral internship program that has helped prepare young men for ministry since the late 1980s.
Biblical, Confessional, Reformed, and Presbyterian
Westminster describes its beliefs with six words. It is biblical, meaning it confesses that the Old and New Testaments are God's inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word and the only infallible rule for faith and life. It is confessional, holding that the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms accurately summarize the teaching of Scripture and that all of its officers - pastor, elders, and deacons - subscribe to them, while still testing these subordinate standards by Scripture itself.
The church is historic, affirming the foundational doctrines of Christian orthodoxy set out in the Apostles' Creed and the ecumenical councils of the first millennium, including the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the atonement, and the Trinity. It is evangelical, gladly affirming the five solas of the Protestant Reformation - by Scripture alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone, by faith alone, to the glory of God alone - and committed to sharing the gospel in Blair County and around the world.
Westminster is also Reformed, embracing what the confessions sometimes call the doctrines of grace: God's sovereignty over all things, including salvation, and the truth that salvation is the gift of God received by faith. Finally, it is Presbyterian in government, governed by a plurality of elders called presbyters who are elected by the congregation. The session of elders in a particular church together with the pastors and elders of neighboring churches forms what is called the presbytery.
Sundays at Westminster: Christian Education, Morning Worship, and Evening Worship
The church gathers three times on the Lord's Day. Christian Education for all ages begins at 9:30 AM and meets in the sanctuary and in Room #10 in the Christian Education wing. Children's classes run at the same hour as adult classes, with age-appropriate, Christ-centered teaching and activities designed to partner with parents in passing on the faith. The Adult Christian Education offering covers books of the Bible, practical Christian living, apologetics, church history, and the Westminster Confession, and the topics rotate throughout the year.
Morning Worship follows at 10:30 AM. A greeter meets visitors at the sanctuary entrance with a bulletin, and worshipers are welcome to sit wherever they like. The service typically begins with announcements and a period of silent prayer and reflection before moving into the structured elements of worship that have marked the New Testament church since the beginning: the reading and preaching of God's Word, prayer, congregational singing, the offering, and the sacraments. Services are predominantly traditional and are led by one of the pastors, a pastoral intern, or one of the ruling elders, who cues the congregation when to stand, sit, sing, or pray. Morning worship usually lasts about an hour and a half and is followed by a coffee fellowship.
Evening Worship is held at 6:00 PM and usually lasts about an hour. The Lord's Supper is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month, and visitors who have publicly confessed faith in Jesus Christ at Westminster or another gospel-preaching church and have been baptized as members of Christ's church are welcome to participate.
Sermons are expository and often work through books of the Bible verse by verse. Recent series have included a sustained walk through the epistle of 1 John, sermons on the life of Abraham from Genesis, expositions of Ephesians and 2 Thessalonians, and seasonal series on parables, Advent, anxiety, and parenting.
Worship That Is Joyful, Reverent, and Sacramental
Westminster is committed to worship that is at once joyful and reverent. Services follow the same elements the early church devoted itself to in Acts 2: the reading and preaching of God's Word, prayer, singing praises, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, the giving of offerings, and fellowship. Pastors often preach through books of the Bible so that each verse receives attention and the whole counsel of God is set before the congregation, with every text shown to find its fulfillment in Christ.
Music is led by an Advent Choir that rehearses during the final two months of the year and presents choral meditations throughout December, and by a Men's Choir that meets twice a month on Wednesday evenings for practice and offers musical meditations periodically through the year. Visitors should feel free to wear whatever is comfortable; the range of dress on a Sunday morning spans from suits to jeans and from jumpers to dresses.
Children are welcomed as full members of the worshiping community and may remain with their families throughout the service. For parents of small children, a staffed nursery is available downstairs across the hall from the downstairs restrooms. Children's Sunday school classes meet after morning worship at a time convenient for families.
Midweek Prayer and Fellowship in Homes Across the Region
Wednesday evenings at Westminster are a busy and unhurried time. Corporate prayer meetings are held on the first, third, and fifth Wednesdays of each month at 6:30 PM. Following Charles Spurgeon's description of prayer meetings as the engine room of the church, the elders and congregation gather to pray together for the life and mission of the church, with members welcome to pray out loud or simply to join their hearts with the prayers being offered.
On the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 6:30 PM, the church's fellowship groups meet in homes across the region for Bible study, prayer, and a shared time of fellowship. There are currently five groups to choose from - in Altoona, Duncansville, Hollidaysburg, Martinsburg, and Beaverdale - along with a daytime group that meets in Hollidaysburg on the second and fourth Thursdays at 11:00 AM.
Midweek catechism classes for children and youth also meet on the second and fourth Wednesdays at 6:30 PM, helping young people learn, understand, and defend the truths of the Christian faith.
Children, Youth, Women, and Men
Westminster invests deliberately in the discipleship of its young people. The youth group for seventh through twelfth graders meets for Christian education classes each Sunday morning at 9:30 AM, joins the midweek catechism classes on the second and fourth Wednesdays, and gathers monthly for activities that include study, prayer, service, discussion, and fellowship. The part-time staff youth group leader, Luke Miller, works alongside volunteers and families, and an annual Fall Youth Rally draws young people from across the presbytery for a weekend of teaching, worship, games, and fellowship.
Women of Westminster, known as WOW, meets on the third Saturday of each month for Bible study at the church, with additional opportunities for fellowship and service throughout the year. The women's ministry aims to equip the women of the congregation for biblical service in their homes, in the church, and in the wider community.
The men's ministry holds monthly Bible studies and breakfasts at 9:00 AM on the second Saturday of each month, along with service opportunities such as fall and spring clean-ups and a mother-daughter brunch, and an annual men's retreat. The aim is to encourage and equip men to become more Christ-like leaders in the church, the family, and the community.
Knit Together is a quieter but no less valued ministry that gathers on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 PM for fellowship and shared handiwork, producing items for those in need. The Book Table, located in the Christian Education foyer near the church office, offers a curated selection of Reformed Christian books at significant discounts, partially subsidized by the church, with titles for all ages. A well-stocked Christian library supports the same purpose.
Outreach and Global Mission
The Committee on Outreach and Evangelism exists to assist and encourage the congregation in sharing the gospel, reaching out into the community, and welcoming visitors. Pastor Jacob Cash serves as a point of contact for those interested in the church's outreach efforts. The congregation also holds monthly outreach services in a local retirement home, bringing worship and the Word to those who cannot easily come to the church building.
Westminster's commitment to the Great Commission extends far beyond central Pennsylvania. The church supports mission works in China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Quebec, Suriname, and Uganda, and it actively trains and sends future leaders of Christ's church into the harvest. The annual Thank Offering has long been a way for the congregation to give generously to these causes.
Leadership and Pastoral Care
Pastor Chad Mullinix arrived in Hollidaysburg with his family in the fall of 2018 after preparing for pastoral ministry in Pennsylvania, and Pastor Jacob Cash joined the staff in September 2023 after graduating from Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando and more than a decade of prior church leadership. The session of elders currently includes Joel Bandstra, a member since 2008, and Drew Cruse, who has served as a deacon, treasurer, fellowship group leader, and teacher. The board of deacons, charged with caring for the physical and material needs of the congregation, includes Jerry Cox, Brian Livermore, and Adam Eardley. Part-time staff members include Administrative Assistant Coreena Detrich, Treasurer Ernie Bonsell, custodians Rhonda Cadle and Bill Wagner, Multimedia Administrator David Reem, and Activities Assistant David Reem. Pastoral inquiries and prayer requests can be directed to the session and the deacons.
Planning a Visit
The church building is located at 1401 Frankstown Road in Hollidaysburg and is easily accessible from neighboring communities including Altoona, Duncansville, East Freedom, Martinsburg, and Bellwood. Parking is plentiful, and two sets of restrooms serve the building - one upstairs near the entrance to the Christian Education wing and one downstairs across the hall from the nursery. Services are livestreamed each Lord's Day for those who cannot attend in person, and recordings of recent services are available along with bulletins and sermon series for anyone who wants to follow along at home.
Giving can be done on-site during the Sunday morning offering or online through Tithe.ly, and the church is a 501(c)(3) organization so contributions are tax deductible. Whether someone has been a Christian since childhood, is a new believer, or simply wants to know more about what it means to follow Christ, the congregation's standing invitation is the same: come as you are, sit where you like, and stay as long as you would like.