An Independent Bible Church on Brookfield Road

Brookfield Bible Church sits at 3601 Brookfield Road in the northeastern corner of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where its members describe themselves as Gospel centered and community focused. The church is independent, governed by a team of pastors and elders, and rooted in a conviction that the Bible is the verbally inspired, inerrant Word of God and the final authority for faith and life. Dr. Jon Shiery has led the congregation since August 2014, building on a vision of studying and preaching the Bible while serving the neighborhood in practical ways. A regular weekly newsletter (well into its 300th volume) keeps the church family informed, and the body is supported by a Children's Ministry Director and a Student Ministry Director who round out the pastoral team.

The doors open each Sunday morning for a 70 to 75 minute worship service that mixes music, prayer, and verse by verse teaching. Services are also livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, and recorded sermons are posted there for later viewing along with downloadable sermon handouts.

Sunday Mornings at 10:30

The Sunday service begins at 10:30 AM and is described by the church as a combination of music, teaching, and prayer that is relevant and engaging and grounded in scripture. The musical worship is intentionally blended so that every generation can enter in together; attendees are encouraged to stand, sit, or raise their hands as they prepare their hearts. Each service includes an offering as an act of stewardship, though visitors are not expected to give. The current teaching series is a walk through the book of Romans.

First-time visitors are encouraged to arrive about 15 minutes before the service begins. Dress is comfortable and casual for most, though some choose to dress up - whatever a guest feels comfortable in is welcome. Handicap parking and an accessible entrance are available right in front of the building, with additional parking in a lot across the street. Two entrances - one at the back and the main entrance in front - are both staffed by greeters who will direct newcomers to the sanctuary.

Wednesday Nights at 7 PM

Wednesday is the second pillar of the church's weekly rhythm. From 7:00 to 8:15 PM the building fills with the sound of children arriving for Brookfield Kids Club, students gathering for their own ministry in the teen room, women meeting in the HUB classroom, and men working through a Bible study in the basement. The Wednesday program has become so central to the church's ministry that it is listed alongside Sunday morning as one of the two main weekly touchpoints.

Simultaneously, the Praise and Tech teams prepare for the following Sunday's worship, the women's ministry hosts a Bible study on friendship and faith, and the men's ministry digs into the Gospel of John chapter by chapter. Corporate prayer is also offered each Thursday morning at 11 AM via a Zoom-style phone call hosted by Pastor Jon, giving the congregation a regular midweek pause to pray together.

Brookfield Kids

Brookfield Kids is the children's ministry for infants through sixth grade, led since May 2019 by Caleb Trayer, a Harrisburg native and graduate of Lancaster Bible College. On Sunday mornings during the 10:30 service, infants through fifth graders are checked in with a secure electronic system, and elementary children are dismissed from the sanctuary to their classroom after the music portion of the service. Children five and under are taken to their classrooms before the service begins. Parents head down the hallway across from the sanctuary, where First-Time Family greeters help register kids and walk them to their rooms.

On Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:15 PM, the K through 5th grade Brookfield Kids Club gathers for a Gospel-focused Bible lesson, fun snacks, and a weekly theme that changes throughout the year. Past themes have included Nerf Nights in the church basement (with nearly 100 nerf guns and more than 10,000 rounds on hand), movie nights in a kid-built theater, painting nights, playground time, and water battles during the summer. Childcare is available for all ages during this time, and a Kids Club Calendar is published each season so families can plan ahead.

Safety is taken seriously. All volunteers apply, interview, and submit the clearances required by keepkidssafe.pa.gov. The electronic check-in system ensures that children only leave with the person who dropped them off, and the ministry practices evacuation drills that include a meeting point near the playground.

Student Ministries (S.E.E.D.)

Brookfield's student ministry serves students in sixth through twelfth grade under the leadership of Brent Lowe, a former missionary to Portugal who joined the staff as Student Ministry Director. The ministry goes by the name S.E.E.D. - Servants, Evangelists, Encouragers, Disciples - and meets Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:15 PM for teaching, small groups, and a healthy dose of community. A second gathering on Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM takes up the difficult questions of life through the lens of scripture.

Monthly events outside the weekly meetings add service opportunities and activities to the rhythm. Brent and the youth team are committed to walking alongside parents as they raise kids to follow Christ with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Young Adults, Men, Women, and Seniors and Friends

For 18 to 30 year olds, Brookfield runs a Young Adults Ministry that gathers monthly for trivia nights, hikes, board game nights, lunch-ins after church, and other social events. The ministry's emphasis is personal growth through relationship development rather than a traditional Bible study, though many young adults also participate in the Wednesday evening ministries and Sunday services. The group welcomes people regardless of background or religious beliefs.

The Women's Ministry meets Wednesdays at 7 PM for Bible study, relationship building, and prayer, with recurring studies like "We Saved You a Seat" by Lisa-Jo Baker. Additional ladies' studies run in shorter seasons throughout the year using titles from well-known Bible teachers. A Tuesday morning gathering called Kindred Spirits meets at 9:30 AM for fellowship, and special ladies' breakfasts are held throughout the year.

Men's Ministry also gathers on Wednesday evenings with the goal of helping men develop courage, strength, and endurance in their walk with Christ. The men occasionally host Saturday breakfasts and fellowship events, blood drives with the American Red Cross, and home repair projects in the community.

Seniors and Friends takes the church's older members on a monthly field trip, with past outings including a boat ride through Penn's Cave, a train ride along the Lehigh River, a tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield and National Military Park, and a stop at the Turkey Hill Experience. Most trips include a luncheon at a nearby restaurant.

English Connection and Celebrate Recovery

English Connection is a free weekly English class for adults in the community, led by Brookfield volunteers and coordinated by Olivia Lowe. Classes meet on Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the HUB during the school year, meeting learners at their level of comprehension. The program's stated goal is to share the gospel in both word and deed by serving a real need in the neighborhood.

Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered 12-step program, meets the second and fourth Monday of each month from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the HUB. The program is open to anyone struggling with hurts, habits, and hang-ups - whether addiction, anger, depression, anxiety, damaged relationships, co-dependency, or abuse. The meetings combine worship, teaching, testimonies, and small group time, and are led by Larry and Jane Felker along with Cary Loyd.

Reaching Beyond the Church: Five Strategic Areas

Brookfield organizes its outreach around five strategic areas. The first is the immediate community, where the church wants to have such an impact that if it ceased to exist, the neighborhood would notice. The second is local schools - the church has built relationships with administrators, teachers, and support staff at area schools, with Laurie Berry coordinating this ministry. The third is the city of Harrisburg, where the church partners with Bethesda Mission's Men's Shelter, the Bethesda Mission Community Center, and city officials to meet practical needs.

The fourth area is Haiti, where Brookfield partners with Juniper Community Missions to support local pastors in remote mountain villages reachable only by John Deere Gators. The fifth is unreached areas in North Africa and the Middle East, where the church partners with missionaries focused on regions where less than 2 percent of the population is Christian. Sarah Hoffman oversees the Haiti and unreached-areas partnerships.

In addition, Brookfield sends a team each year to the Dominican Republic, working with one of its missionaries, Pastor Ismael, to lead Bible clubs for children, building projects, ladies' ministry, and food distributions. Summer mission trips have also included a youth trip to Laurel Mission in Kentucky.

Discipleship Pathway, Small Groups, and Membership

Brookfield has built a four-step discipleship pathway that anyone interested in joining the church or growing in their faith is invited to walk through. Step 1 is a five-week class that introduces the church's mission, purpose, vision, and what it means to be part of the Brookfield family, with time for teaching, discussion, and connection. After Step 1, attendees have the opportunity to become members of the church if they wish. Step 2 is a one-time Discipleship Pathway class on a Sunday morning. Step 3 is a four-week class that builds on the first two, with a final step focusing on personal ministry and service.

Small Groups are central to the church's growth strategy. A small group is a group of three or more people who gather weekly - usually in a home - to study the Bible, share life, and pray together. Hosts need a heart for people, an open space, a simple snack, and at least two friends willing to join. The office can connect interested participants with current groups or help new groups get started.

Statement of Faith

Brookfield's twelve-article Statement of Faith anchors the church in historic Christian orthodoxy. The church affirms the verbal inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, the Trinity, the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ, the virgin birth, the substitutionary atonement, the bodily resurrection, and the personal return of Christ. It teaches that humanity is born with a sinful nature and can only be saved by grace through faith in the shed blood of Christ. The church practices believer's baptism by immersion and observes the Lord's Supper as a memorial, both without saving merit in themselves.

The church believes in the eternal security of the believer, the personality and destiny of Satan, the full deity and ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit, the existence of Heaven and Hell, divine creation of the universe and all living things, and the personal and imminent return of Jesus Christ.

The HUB, Worship, and Family Resources

The HUB, an upstairs classroom and gathering space, hosts many of the midweek ministries - including English Connection, Celebrate Recovery, women's Bible studies, and the Kindred Spirits ladies' breakfasts. The Praise and Tech teams serve the Sunday services through music, vocals, and production. Those interested in joining either team can submit an application and a short video recording of themselves performing.

For families looking for resources to use at home, the church promotes RightNow Media (a free streaming library for Bible study available to anyone connected to Brookfield), the YouVersion Bible App, and a range of family devotionals and parenting resources. A two-chapter-a-day Bible reading plan, mixing Old and New Testament passages, is offered to the whole congregation. Each week the church publishes a printed and online bulletin with announcements, and the building's safety team operates under the standards of Pennsylvania's keepkidssafe program.

Visitors who want to give can do so online through the church's giving page, and those wanting to learn more about membership or any of the ministries are invited to reach out to the church office at 3601 Brookfield Road or by calling (717) 545-8919.