The church kicked off the weekend celebration on Friday (Aug. 16) by traveling to Troy, Pa., to pray over the area as a possible site for a future church plant. The festivities continued into Saturday with a church-wide potluck and a “variety show,” which featured prominent community members such as Dr. Art Gray and his wife, Linda; Kraig Brady of Frontier Reflections; and Bobby Jo Simcox and her family.

The events culminated on Sunday, Aug. 18, at the church’s weekly worship service.

The church was recognized and honored by Dr. Barry Whitworth, the Executive Director/Treasurer for the Baptist Resource Network (BRN) of Pennsylvania/South Jersey, who presented the church with a plaque from the Southern Baptist State Convention.

Senior Pastor Tim Boger, who has been at Big Woods since 2011, then followed with his sermon, highlighting Big Woods’ history and God’s unfailing faithfulness.

PHOTO PROVIDED A sign denoting the 40 years of Big Woods Bible Church hangs over parishioners as they enjoy a celebratory meal.

“It was always in moments where it looked insurmountable that the Lord revealed Himself to us — a million dollars short on a million dollar need, we didn’t have a building, we didn’t have money to pay our pastoral staff — and, yet, with each kind of mountain a step of faith was taken and the Lord revealed His faithfulness,” said Boger.

Following the service, the church gathered outside to plant a tree in memory of those who have been faithful to the ministry of the Gospel at Big Woods over the years. After the tree was well planted, the church enjoyed a pig roast and time together.

Local Roots

Big Woods’ roots run deep in the Lock Haven community. The church first got its start when Collegiate Missionary Jeff Lewis was commissioned by First Southern Baptist Church in Williamsport to Lock Haven University’s (LHU) campus. Lewis established a campus ministry at LHU in 1983, which eventually led to the planting of Big Woods Chapel in 1984.

Since then, Big Woods has adopted the name Big Woods Bible Church and has gathered to worship at a variety of Lock Haven landmarks.

PHOTO PROVIDED Senior Pastor Tim Boger is pictured accepting a plaque on behalf of Big Woods Bible Church.

These include the community room at the YMCA, the old Castanea Elementary School, several local parks, the Parsons Union Building on LHU’s campus and the church building currently occupied by House of the Lord Fellowship on W. Main St.

In 2016, Big Woods purchased the former Lock Haven Warehouse and Auto Parts building and the surrounding property on S. Hanna St. for a whopping $1.4 million.

“We had five banks all say no,” recalled Boger about the loan-seeking process.

At the time, Big Woods was financially healthy enough to pay the $400,000, but the additional million was going to require another step of faith. This time, from a bank just up the road. “One bank from State College actually just heard of what we were doing and reached out to us,” said Boger. In true, old-school fashion, members of Big Woods took 3×5 index cards and put to paper what they could individually give towards the loan over so many years. For the Centre County bank, those delicate, flash-card-like pledges were enough.

Now fully renovated, the revived warehouse is a permanent home for Big Woods and the 350 plus Lock Haven area residents who attend every Sunday. More notably, the building is, yet again, a nod to God’s faithfulness to Big Woods and the Lock Haven community.

Big Woods has existed for 40 years to serve God and love the people of Lock Haven by meeting physical, emotional and spiritual needs whenever presented the opportunity.

“I believe God has brought those people to our door, and it has continued to increase as well,” said Boger. “A love for people in the community, [along with] establishing relationships and that we care for the community, has brought opportunities for us to minister physically, emotionally and, ultimately, spiritually.”

Readers can learn more about Big Woods Bible Church and the church’s history by visiting bigwoods.org or by emailing info@bigwoods.org.