Rooted on a Hamilton Boulevard Cornfield
Faith Church sits on Hamilton Boulevard in Lower Macungie, just west of Allentown, in the rolling country that separates the city from the suburban Lehigh Valley. Its address - 6528 Hamilton Boulevard, Allentown, PA 18106 - marks a campus that was, sixty years ago, an actual cornfield. In 1964, a small group of believers left Center City Allentown, moved west into what was then the sticks of Lower Macungie, prayed and sacrificed, and built a church so that people in the Lehigh Valley would have access to the Kingdom of God. Thousands of people have come to know Jesus on that original piece of ground, and the congregation that grew up around it now describes its work as a Kingdom Movement that extends well beyond the Lehigh Valley.
What defines Faith Church today is a single sentence - "Faith Church is a God-glorifying, Christ-centered, Holy Spirit-empowered community which exists to help people find and follow Jesus." Everything on the campus, from the two Sunday morning services to the foster-and-adoption ministry, from the on-site preschool to the global outreach team in Southeast Asia, is organized around that purpose. The church belongs to the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), and its statement of faith draws the line at the denomination's classic evangelical convictions.
Two Sunday Mornings at the Hamilton Campus: LIVE and CLASSIC
Faith Church runs two different Sunday gatherings at the same campus, designed for different preferences but held under one roof. The headline offering is LIVE in The Center, a contemporary service with a full band and live preaching. LIVE meets at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:15 a.m., giving families three times to choose from. CLASSIC in The Chapel, meeting at 9:30 a.m., blends older hymns with more recent songs and uses live music paired with a streamed video message. The two venues - The Center and The Chapel - are distinct rooms inside the same building.
For those who cannot come in person, both the 9:30 and 11:15 services are livestreamed online, complete with a chat feature where online attenders can be prayed for by a volunteer team. The livestream runs through the church's online platform and YouTube, and a library of past sermons is searchable by series, speaker, and topic. A phone and tablet app - available for Apple and Android devices - carries the same content along with sermon notes, study sheets, and the church calendar.
Walking In for the First Time
The four entrances to the building are labeled North, South, East, and West, and every entrance is wheelchair and stroller accessible. Visitors heading to LIVE are pointed to the East or South entrances; those going to CLASSIC are directed to West or North; the East entrance is where Faith Kids and Faith Students check in happens. There is no dress code - the church's own guidance is simply "Just be you." Greeters and a Guest Experience team staff the parking lot, the coffee bar, and the doors, and a Medical Team is on duty during services.
First-time families with children are encouraged to arrive about fifteen minutes before the service to register. A secure child check-in system prints matching nametags and security tags; classrooms are locked from the inside and released only when a parent shows the matching tag. If a child needs a parent during the service, the kids team texts the parent's cell phone, and a pager is available from the Kids Check-In desk for anyone without a phone. A Mother's Room (Room 105 on the first floor of the Downtown kids area) is open during every service for nursing and diaper changes and shows the livestream feed.
Faith Kids: From Downtown to Uptown, Ages Six Weeks Through Fourth Grade
Faith Kids is structured into two themed environments that run during all three Sunday services. Downtown serves children from six weeks old through age five, with age-appropriate rooms and a curriculum that introduces the love of God starting at age two. Uptown, styled after New York City, hosts kindergarten through fourth grade - a "Chelsea Market" interactive space for kindergarteners, a "Central Park" room with games for first and second graders, and a "Times Square" area with a built-in dodgeball zone for third and fourth graders.
For children with specialized needs, Faith Kids offers buddies plus two sensory-seeking rooms (one in Uptown, one in Downtown) and one sensory-avoiding room, each staffed by trained volunteers and equipped with curriculum tailored to the child's age and ability. There is also a children's worship team that practices twenty minutes before each service; kids who want to participate can wear a special t-shirt and join the leader on stage whenever they attend.
Off the main floor, the church also runs Faith Preschool, a licensed preschool on the same campus that serves a diverse population of two- to five-year-olds. The preschool operates with its own director and staff, and it is large enough to maintain a separate office coordinator and substitute pool.
Faith Students: Middle School and High School
Faith Students is built for grades five through twelve, with separate programming on the third floor of the campus. Middle school students (grades 5-8) meet at 11:00 a.m. on Sundays and again on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Sunday gathering begins as a large group for high-energy games and teaching, then breaks into age- and gender-specific small groups for discussion. Wednesday nights add a cafe, more games, worship, and small group time.
High school students (grades 9-12) rotate through three rhythms during the week - worship and serve with the church body during a Sunday morning service, lunch gatherings on the first, third, or fifth Sundays of the month, and evening gatherings on the second or fourth Sundays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Throughout the year there are retreats, on- and off-campus events, and special opportunities listed through the church's registration system. The students ministry runs its own Instagram feeds for middle school and high school so parents and teens can follow the calendar.
What Faith Church Believes
Faith Church's core beliefs line up with classic evangelical Protestant orthodoxy. The church confesses one God in three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and teaches that the Bible, in its original writings, is the verbally inspired, complete, and authoritative Word of God. It affirms the historic Christian view of the human condition: that human beings are sinners by nature and choice, alienated from God, and rescued only through the saving work of Jesus Christ - true God and true man, born of the virgin Mary, crucified, bodily raised, ascended, and seated at the Father's right hand. Salvation is by grace through faith alone, secured by Christ's atoning death and resurrection.
The church holds to believer's baptism by immersion and the regular celebration of the Lord's Supper as the two ordinances given by Christ. It teaches that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer at the moment of faith, gives each one spiritual gifts, and produces fruit over time. Faith Church chooses not to practice the gifts of tongues, prophecy, and healing in its corporate worship services because, as its statement explains, it cannot guarantee the biblical mandate of order in large gatherings.
Distinctives also include a complementarian view of men and women - equal in value, distinct in role, with the office of Elder reserved for qualified men - and a traditional, biblical view of marriage as a lifelong union between one man and one woman, alongside a call to love those who struggle with sexual identity or temptation. The church teaches eternal security, encourages involvement in the political process without endorsing candidates, and affirms the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.
The Next-Steps Path: Discover Classes, Baptism, Membership, Family Dedication
Faith Church organizes the journey of following Jesus through a clear set of next steps. The entry point is Find & Follow Jesus, a simple way to begin or restart a relationship with Christ. From there, the Discover Classes cover the foundational elements: Discover Jesus (for the curious or new believers), Discover the Bible, Discover Baptism, Discover Disciple-Making, Discover Faith Church, Discover Next Steps, and Discover Membership. These classes run periodically throughout the year and are taught by staff and lay leaders; an Adult Ministries Director coordinates the whole pathway.
Baptism takes place outside of Sunday morning services so that friends and family can attend, and a Discover Baptism class helps candidates write and share their testimony. Family Dedication is a parallel milestone for parents who want to make a public commitment to point their children toward Jesus. Membership is the formal commitment to the local church family, available to adults 18 and older; members vote on the annual budget, the appointment and dismissal of the Lead Pastor and Elders, and changes to the church bylaws. Elders oversee the Lead Pastor and approve executive-level staff appointments.
Sermon-Based Small Groups Around the Valley
Small Groups are the main way adults grow deeper at Faith Church. Each week a Study Sheet based on the previous Sunday's sermon is provided, and groups of eight to fourteen people meet in homes throughout the Lehigh Valley to discuss it. Some groups meet virtually. Trained Leaders facilitate the discussion while Hosts open their homes; sessions run about eight to ten weeks with breaks for holidays and summer.
The current year's sessions are Fall (September 13 to November 21), Winter (January 17 to March 20), and Spring (April 11 to June 5). Each group handles its own childcare arrangements, and the Small Groups FAQ offers creative suggestions for families. A separate Disciple-Making Group track meets year-long for those who feel called to the Great Commission.
Care Groups for the Ups, Downs, and Transitions of Life
Faith Church's Care ministry runs a set of recovery and support groups that meet on Monday nights throughout the year. Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, 12-step program for anyone struggling with hurt, pain, or addiction; The Landing is its middle and high school counterpart. Divorce Care and Grief Share are thirteen-week programs that can be joined at any point in the cycle. Betrayal & Beyond walks alongside women whose husbands are struggling with sexual integrity, and Health Challenges Together (HC2) is an online group for those facing life-changing health issues.
For men dealing with sexual addiction, the Fight for Freedom small group uses The Conquer Series, a cinematic study. A periodic Budgeting Workshop teaches practical money skills, and Art of Marriage brings couples together for Biblically-centered video teaching. Children whose parents are in a Monday-night group can attend Celebration Place, an age-appropriate companion program for kids birth through age 12 that runs the same night and follows a parallel curriculum.
Foster & Adoption in the Lehigh Valley
Foster and adoption ministry is one of the most distinctive things Faith Church does. The church's stated goal is that "every single child" waiting in the Lehigh Valley would find a safe and supportive forever home. The ministry has three pillars: support for foster, adoptive, kinship, and caregiver families through Care Communities, Parents' Night Out events, mentorship, and partnerships with the Salvation Army, the Kindness Project, and others; train, which offers Trust-Based Relational Intervention training, workshops on sensory needs and CPR, and mentor and volunteer preparation; and grow, which raises awareness through info nights and helps people take first and next steps toward fostering or adopting.
The Lehigh Valley chapter supports back-to-school drives, info nights, and ongoing encouragement for families already in the system. Debbie Valentin, the Foster & Adoption Lead, maintains a roster of every Faith Church family who is fostering or in the process of adopting so they can be prayed for and kept in the loop on resources and events.
Local Outreach, ESL, and the Iglesia de Fe Partnership
Faith Church treats outreach as a community-building activity. Locally, the church partners with a long list of Lehigh Valley organizations, including the Allentown Rescue Mission, Bloom, Bright Hope, Divine Resale, the Lehigh Conference of Churches, Ripple Community, Family Promise, Community Bike Works, Miller-Keystone Blood Center, the Miracle League, Push The Rock, Valley Against Sex Trafficking (VAST), and Yokefellowship Prison Ministry. Iglesia de Fe - "Faith Church" in Spanish - is the church's sister congregation in downtown Allentown that reaches the Spanish-speaking community in its own neighborhood.
The church also runs an adult ESL (English as a Second Language) program on Tuesday evenings for speakers of all languages and levels, taught by volunteers from the Faith Church body as a way to welcome international neighbors into the Lehigh Valley. Local volunteers serve in disaster relief through rotating ministry teams that travel to areas affected by natural disasters.
Global Outreach: Sixteen Partners and an Unreached Language Group
Faith Church currently supports sixteen ministry partners around the world - thirteen of which, the church notes, came from the Faith Church body itself. On top of that, a small team of long-term workers is being sent to an unreached language group in Southeast Asia, a people among whom there is no translated Bible, no Christian community, and no local church. The church has already placed three people in-country and plans to keep adding to the team, with the long-term goal of planting a sustainable indigenous church. Short-term ministry trips support the global partners and serve practical needs like teaching children, leading worship, and building projects.
Anathallo Counseling, Just Steps Away
Just a short walk from the Faith Church campus sits Anathallo Counseling, an independent nonprofit community counseling center that grew out of a decade-long conversation about the lack of mental health care in the Lehigh Valley. Anathallo offers accessible professional counseling and psychotherapy services on a sliding scale, and it is set up as a 501(c)(3) so donations are tax deductible. Pastoral counseling through the church is also available as a first step for those who want Biblical wisdom before pursuing clinical care.
Music, Giving, and the Faith Church App
Faith Church's original worship songs are recorded and released as Faith Church Music, streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms under the HearNow label. Merchandise - shirts and accessories - is sold seasonally through a custom store.
Giving is described by the church as an act of worship. Donations can be made online through Pushpay and Church Center, by texting GIVE and any amount to 833-891-2139, by mail, or by dropping cash or checks into one of the on-campus giving kiosks using a Cash Gift Envelope. Beyond regular giving, Faith Church accepts Donor Advised Funds, IRA Required Minimum Distributions, appreciated stocks and mutual funds, and legacy or planned gifts. The church is certified by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an external standard of financial stewardship. A Disaster Response Fund channel is set up to give directly to relief efforts when disaster strikes partner congregations. A separate giving stream supports Anathallo Counseling.
Men, Women, Seniors, Young Adults, and Online
Adult ministries at Faith Church are intentionally distinct by life stage. Men, Women, and Seniors (age 60 and up) each have their own calendar of small groups, large group events, and service opportunities. Young adults meet in weekly Small Groups and gather for periodic larger events. The Online ministry runs the chat team that prays for livestream attenders and helps newcomers get connected from wherever they are.
Leadership
Faith Church is governed by an Elder board that oversees the Lead Pastor and approves executive-level staff. Joe Henseler serves as Lead Pastor, with Cameron Sandel as Teaching Pastor, Paul Meiners as Senior Associate Pastor, and Sam Chen as Teaching Associate. Brooke Solberg holds the title of Pastor Emeritus. Thomas Brown is Executive Director, with senior directors for Campus Ministry & Global Partnerships (Dave Peters) and Community Ministry & Operations (Rachel Ruba). Joel Gravely directs Worship; Tim Azevedo directs the Online ministry; Patti Schoonover directs Faith Kids; Pam Zimmerman directs Faith Students; Greg Wollenhaupt directs Care; Dave Steel directs Adult Ministries; Erica Elcock directs Human Resources; Michál Whitehead directs Communications; Steve Davis directs Finance & IT; and Stephanie Fisher directs Faith Preschool.
What It All Adds Up To
Faith Church presents itself as a single congregation doing several things at once. It is a contemporary and a blended worship community on Sunday mornings. It is a children's ministry, a preschool, and a student ministry under one roof. It is a recovery and care network that meets on Monday nights. It is a foster-and-adoption hub that recruits and trains families across the Lehigh Valley. It is a sending church with sixteen global partners and a long-term team on the ground in Southeast Asia. It is a nonprofit counseling center built just down the road. Underneath all of it sits the same sentence that has organized the church since 1964: "Faith Church is a God-glorifying, Christ-centered, Holy Spirit-empowered community which exists to help people find and follow Jesus."