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Our History
The Presbyterian Church of Coatesville (now Coatesville Bible Fellowship) was formally organized on September 24, 1833. The original church building (located across what is now Lincoln Highway from the present location) was replaced by a larger building on the same site in 1849. The church outgrew this second building, expanding it in 1867. Finally, in 1891 the present building was constructed at the corner of Main Street (Lincoln Highway) and North Fourth Avenue. A Christian Education Building was added in 1957. On Easter Sunday, 1997, we discovered that a section of stones had fallen from the façade of our main building. Upon extensive investigation it was determined that we had major structural defects that would require very expensive repairs. Having already committed ourselves to remain in the city of Coatesville, this tested our faith. After much discussion and prayer the congregation overwhelmingly decided to spend the money to repair and, in addition, renovate this beautiful building. It is our desire to prepare this historic building for another 100 years of ministry in the city of Coatesville. Our congregation met the financial challenge through the Building on our Legacy of Faith capital stewardship campaign. The repair portion of the project was completed in 2000. The work included reinforcing the roof trusses with steel and rebuilding the exterior stone walls. The renovation work commenced in September 2001 and includes new electric service, air conditioning the Worship Center, converting the chapel into a fellowship area, new sprinkler and fire protection systems, new handicapped accessible bathroom, new lighting and sound, refinished pews, and new wall and stairwell finishes throughout the building. View images during this process.As we Celebrate the Building of our Faith through this project, we reflect not only upon the problems faced but also on the answered prayer. We recognize not just the challenges but also the victories. We recall not only the stresses but also the unity achieved. We recognize the mighty hand of God in our midst transforming this fractured, discouraged and often overwhelmed congregation into a unified and unifying fellowship. From the struggles of our past we see that God has worked and extended grace to Coatesville Bible Fellowship. |
