begun in May, 1894, by Rev. William T. MaCarthur, an ordained baptist
minister in the home of the Hutter family, who were methodists, of
franklin street, in West Pittston, who had a relative serving as a
missionary in India with the methodist missions board.
The work quickly outgrew the Hutter residence and a hall was rented
on Susquehanna Avenue and was named "Alliance Hall". After several
years, the church outgrew the Hall and relocated once again to a
building on Luzerne Avenue, near Wyoming Avenue in West Pittston.
During this time, the work was actively evangelizing the Wyoming and
Keyser Valleys and points beyond. By the early 1900's, there were
weekly meetings being held in Wilkes-Barre, Ashley, Plymouth,
Carverton, Gravity, Simon, Glendale, Avoca and Duryea.
Rev. James Moore came in the early 1900's and organized the people
into an "independent" missions church. In 1909, a group of people
from the church purchased the property on the corner of Luzerne
Avenue and Race Street in West Pittston and would hold the deed
until it could be chartered under "The Christian and Missionary
Alliance". Work began on that structure in 1913 and was completed in
1914 for the sum of $4,500.
Pastors would come and go, but the work of outreach would continue
with the planting of new church congregations throughout the area.
Summer evangelistic campaigns as well as weekly street meetings
were being held. New church plants begun through the West Pittston
work included Avoca, Duryea, Wilkes-Barre, and Nanticoke.
During the church's history, more than forty individuals have gone into
full-time service for Christ as missionaries, pastors or pastor's wives,
or Christian educators in a variety of fields.
The church had for a long time been looking for a more spacious
location to continue ministry in West Pittston. In 2008 the opportunity
arose to purchase the former 1st Baptist Church on Luzerne Avenue
and after careful consideration the pastor and Governing Board
agreed to secure the location for future ministry efforts. The church
began services at the new location during the fall of 2008 and some
minor restoration and construction is being done to meet the needs of
the ministry in the coming years. The new location is pictured below.
The crisis of a changing world are challenging the church to
evangelism and disciple making even as that was the purpose of this
church fellowship from it's inception. We are thankful to God for 110
years of blessings.
