Church History

Reach Out For Christ began in 1992 when Pastor Otto Koenings of Australia began holding Bible meetings in the homes of some Dryden, New York, residents. Interest in the gatherings soon grew to the point where this spontaneous fellowship of Christian believers officially organized to form Reach Out for Christ Church, a not-for-profit Free Church, incorporated in the State of New York.
Continually growing attendance led to a need for larger quarters, including the Dryden Village Hall, the former Woods-Dryden Funeral Home, a church basement in Cortland, and other temporary locations for church activities. Soon, the church vision matured to the point where a search for property and funds for construction began, and fifty-five acres of attractive, semi-vacant land were acquired at the church’s present location on Johnson Road in Freeville.

In 1996, the building campaign was postponed when residency papers for Pastor Koenings expired and he had to return to Australia. Before his departure, Pastor Koenings asked the Rev. Peter Kirk Hopper of Freeville to take over the spiritual leadership of the congregation, along with his wife, Rev. Nina Hopper, who became the worship leader. While seeking the Lord’s timing to renew the building campaign, Pastor Peter and associate pastor Gene Rotunda leased the venerable 100-year old “Christ Chapel” at George Junior Republic in Freeville for temporary church quarters. The Chapel became our home for the next five years.

During this time Sunday services, Wednesday prayer meetings and many special services were held for a variety of Bible-based functions focused on praise, worship, and the preaching and teaching of The Word of God. Many George Junior Republic students and staff members also attended services, which often featured local and global evangelists, pastors, ministers, teachers and musicians. Larger venues were rented on occasion for special meetings, including the State Theatre in downtown Ithaca, the Dryden High School cafeteria, the Dryden Fire Hall, and the former Masonic Temple in Ithaca.

Early in 1999, it again became clear that a new church building was essential for continued church growth. After much prayer, planning and fund raising, ground was finally broken on the Johnson Road property in July 2000, where a portion of the original acreage was sold to help fund the new undertaking.

Our present church building, with almost 9,000 square feet of functional space, was completed in 2001. The church grounds are ample enough to allow for future expansion, including possible further construction, depending upon God’s direction and the future needs of the congregation.

From 2001 to 2011, the church matured in several important directions, hosting special healing meetings by guest evangelists and revivalists such as Doug Stanton, Elizabeth Austin, Steve Smith and others. Many people experienced healings from cancer, depression, cataracts, and other illnesses. The weekly Wednesday night prayer meeting grew in size and spiritual strength as newcomers visited and/or joined the prayer team. Reach Out’s footprint in the community also grew as the church hosted a local voting polling station, exercise classes, and Red Cross first aid classes. Monthly fish fries are held on the 2nd Friday of every month, and the annual Freeville Family Fun Fair, which began in June 2009.  The life of the church thrived under Pastor Peter, as we experienced God’s promises to restore fullness and goodness to the lives of our members.
In 2005, Pastor Tom Miller was ordained and appointed as Associate Pastor to Pastor Peter. Tom had been a high tech industry marketing consultant for many years prior to this, and had also spent six years working in prison ministry. Tom and his wife, Elizabeth, led the Wednesday night prayer meeting and hosted special workshops on marriage and inner healing. Elizabeth continued in her capacity of leading Sunday school classes for children, while Tom led monthly men’s meetings. The Millers also started a unique outreach of distributing harps for worship and prayer to believers living in Israel (www.harpsforisrael.com).

In 2010, the Lord began speaking about change to Pastors Peter and Nina, eventually calling them to move on to assist their son, Christopher’s flourishing ministry in Watertown, NY (www.christopherhopper.com). The Hoppers will make this move sometime during 2011. In January 2011, Pastor Tom was designated the new senior pastor, and Pastors Peter and Nina became pastors emeritus and pastors at large at a formal ceremony during the Sunday service on February 6, 2011.

Today, we pray for God’s continued grace and favor as the church continues to seek His fresh revelation and direction for our inheritance and portion of His great Body, the Bride of Christ.

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