Our History
Ephrata Community Church began in 1977, with 12
individuals and moved into a converted barn in 1979. In April 1981,
Barry Wissler was installed as pastor. A plurality of elders continues
to serve with Barry to help lead and pastor the church. At a church
retreat in 1990, the congregation adopted the ancient church of Antioch
as its model for development.
The vision of the church extended to being a sending
and receiving church and one with a more regional vision and a heart for
missions and community transformation. Three churches were planted,
providing a foundation for today’s network of church ministries which we
call HarvestNET.
In July 1994, during a special time of
corporate prayer and fasting, the church began to experience a new
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Many area pastors and churches enjoyed
the outpouring as the renewal meetings and conferences began to impact
the whole region. In early 1996 Breath of Life Ministries was launched
as a multi-church counseling ministry to help bring healing to the
hurting in our region.
ECC continued to grow as God brought and
joined many to the vision of the church. Plans to build a new facility
adjacent to the barn were started, a process that took about six years.
HarvestNET
continued to grow with other pastors and regional prophetic ministries
linking to the relational network of ministries. Foreign missions has
become an increasingly important part of the work of both ECC and
HarvestNET. The pastors and staff of ECC are also involved in
HarvestNET, fulfilling a call on this local church as a “resource
church.”
ECC moved into its new facilities in January 2005. The
new building was built to accommodate the harvest that we believe God
wants to bring. "The Barn" now houses our youth ministry and Gateway House of Prayer, a
multi-church ministry with a
vision to cover the region in prayer and worship day and night. Through
our new facilities and ministries, we look forward to serving the
congregation of ECC, as well as blessing our community and region.