On the south side of Glen Rock, just off Route 216, Glenview Alliance Church opens its doors every Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. with a simple welcome. "Whether you are new to church, have been a Christian for many years, or are looking for a fresh start, you are welcome here," the congregation explains. Visitors are invited in to experience worship and to join a community working to make disciples of Jesus, both near and far.
Sunday Morning in Glen Rock
A single Sunday worship service gathers at 10:00 a.m. in the worship center on the right side of the building. Greeters meet guests at the front doors, and a welcome center in the front right corner of the lobby offers a free gift and printed information.
Dress runs the full range. "We encourage you, in every aspect, to 'come as you are'," the church writes. "We have some who come in a suit and tie and others who come in jeans and a t-shirt." Musical worship moves between contemporary worship songs and traditional hymns.
Children age 2 through grade 5 are dismissed from the service partway through for Sunday School. A nursery for infants up to 24 months is available for the full length of the service. First-time families are asked to walk their child to the classroom and complete a brief registration card so teachers can be in touch.
The service is livestreamed online and also recorded for later viewing. The church office is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and by appointment. The building is reachable by phone at 717-428-2502, by text at 717-428-3647, or by email at office@glenviewcma.org.
From a Vision in 1979 to Seven Acres on the Susquehanna Trail
Glenview Alliance began as a vision shared by two men - York resident Dwaine Flemmens and Summit Grove camp manager William Eshbaugh. In February 1979, they met with the Rev. Raymond Dibble, the director of church growth for the Christian and Missionary Alliance Eastern district, and a fellowship began to take shape.
Through the spring and summer of 1979 the group met for Wednesday evening prayer, surveyed the York C&MA membership about location, and worked out a budget. Rev. Gerald Mapstone was appointed the first pastor; he and his family moved into a rented parsonage in Shrewsbury in September 1979. The first service was held at the New Freedom Community Center on the third Sunday in October 1979 with 27 people in attendance.
The congregation found its permanent home the following year. In September 1980, Clarence Streiwig sold five acres of land on the Susquehanna Trail and gifted an additional two acres for a total of seven acres, close to Route 216. A new parsonage was started in November 1980, and incorporation papers for Glenview Christian & Missionary Alliance were filed in December 1981.
Construction of the church building in Glen Rock ran from April to October 1982. Seventy charter members were received into fellowship that spring, and the first service in the new building, along with the dedication of the building and parsonage, was held in October 1982. Mapstone left in 1984 to serve as Minister of Christian Education and Church Growth for the Western PA District, and Rev. David Anderson arrived from the Jersey Shore that July to succeed him.
SPARK: Children from Nursery Through Fifth Grade
The children's ministry, called SPARK (Serving, Preparing and Reaching Kids with the Good News of Jesus), walks with families from birth through fifth grade. The team frames its work around Proverbs 22:6: "Train up your children in the way they should go."
During the 10:00 a.m. service, children age 2 through grade 5 are dismissed after a brief time of family worship to age-appropriate classrooms with games, worship, and Bible discussion. Nursery care for children 0 through 24 months is offered throughout the service, and parents may drop off their child before or during the gathering and pick them up after. All volunteer teachers are screened and background-checked.
Worship Bags with quiet activities sit in the lobby for younger children who stay with their parents in the sanctuary. On Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., B.L.A.S.T. (Biblical Learning and Spiritual Training) gathers children in kindergarten through fifth grade for games, worship, prayer, Bible discovery, and spiritual practices. B.L.A.S.T. runs September through April each year.
Ignite: Middle and High School Students
Students in grades 6 through 12 meet Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. for Ignite Student Ministry. Evenings include food, a devotional, worship, and time to build friendships. The ministry encourages students to attend the morning service with family or to serve on Sunday in worship, tech, coffee, nursery, preschool, or children's Sunday School teams.
Ignite walks students through four verbs: meet each student where they are, lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus and others, empower them to discover their God-given gifts, and release them to make disciples who make disciples. Kindle Groups serve as small groups within the youth community. Once a quarter, Ignite hears from missionaries and partners serving locally and globally and takes one mission trip a year, domestic or international. Monthly service projects, such as packing care boxes or working at First Fruit Farms, send students out of the building to serve.
Illuminate: Young Adults at 18 to 30
Illuminate gathers young adults ages 18 to 30 on Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m. for small-group discussion of a current book or passage of Scripture, plus monthly events ranging from Friendsgiving and duckpin bowling nights to local service projects. A leadership retreat and volleyball with other area churches round out the year.
The group follows the language of Matthew 5: "You are the light of the world." Recent outings have included packing meals with Unto and a holiday party at the end of the year. A new offering called Tea Time - small-group conversation around theology and current topics - is being tried with the leadership team. The group's Instagram, @illuminate.ya.gz, carries the latest details on meetings and events.
Adult Discipleship: Small Groups and Seasonal Studies
Glenview calls its discipleship process a journey to "Together, Abide in the Spirit, Become like Jesus, and Continue the Father's work." The church organizes a year of study into three trimesters.
Spring (January through May) brings the Perspectives course on God's global purpose, men's or women's Bible study groups working through a book of the Bible, and traditional small groups of 6 to 12 people meeting regularly for shared life and spiritual growth. Summer (June through August) walks participants through John Mark Comer's "Practicing the Way," Ron Blue's "Faith & Finance," and an eight-week Prayer Course on the Lord's Prayer. Fall (September through November) offers small groups reading through the New Testament using the "Immerse: Messiah" study, a class on Matthew 10-19, and Alliance Peacemaking on biblical conflict resolution.
Two flavors of small groups are available. Traditional Small Groups gather 6 to 12 people around shared study and can run 10 weeks or several years. Activity Groups form around common interests such as sports, gardening, or crafts and are an informal way to build community.
Prayer as the Foundation
Prayer is central to the life of the church. A Prayer Team prays during the Sunday morning worship service. Men gather for breakfast and prayer on Tuesdays at 7:00 a.m. A Corporate Prayer Meeting on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. brings the church together for focused prayer on specific needs in the body and beyond. The prayer page anchors the ministry in Philippians 4:6-7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Legacy, Mission, and the C&MA Family
Six values hang on the church wall: Legacy, Mission, Truth, Compassion, Prayer, and what the congregation calls its C&MA tribe. Glenview calls itself a legacy church, encouraging intergenerational worship and learning together and blessed with two or more generations from the same family in regular attendance.
Mission runs through the congregation as short-term trips, internships, and long-term and cross-cultural ministry: "Our focus is HIS GLORY." Truth values communicating Scripture in contemporary, culturally relevant ways; Compassion values creative, Spirit-led responses to needs around the church; and the C&MA tribe roots the work in the larger Christian and Missionary Alliance movement - "All of Jesus to All the World."
Beliefs align with the full Christian & Missionary Alliance Statement of Faith, which the church publishes on its About page. The statement confesses one triune God, the person and atoning work of Jesus Christ, the indwelling and empowering work of the Holy Spirit, the verbal inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, salvation by grace through faith, sanctification as both crisis and process, divine healing for the mortal body, the church as the body of Christ, the resurrection of the just and unjust, and the imminent premillennial return of Christ.
Governance flows through an elder board that meets monthly for prayer and business. The Lead Pastor and Discipleship Pastor serve as elders, the congregation elects a treasurer, assistant treasurer, and secretary, and trustees' and deacons' representatives also sit on the board. Separate teams of deacons and trustees support ministry and property.
Annual Community Gatherings
Three yearly events have become traditions in Glen Rock. The annual Sportsman's Banquet brings outdoorsmen and women together for a catered meal (from the Roadkill Cafe), door prizes, and a guest speaker - recent guest Steve Sorenson, an award-winning outdoor writer, shared stories and faith from the hunting field.
Vacation Bible School runs for one week each summer for children in kindergarten through sixth grade, with interactive Bible stories, worship songs, and snack time. VBS for ages 3 through kindergarten runs as a traditional program. The Easter EGGsperience is a one-day children's event each spring, hosted on the church grounds.
Leadership
Pastor Jim Herbert leads the church. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, graduated from the University of Valley Forge in 1992, and has served churches in Ohio, Nebraska, New York, and Pennsylvania. He is completing a master's degree in Leadership Development and Church Revitalization through the University of Valley Forge. His wife Jill is a registered dietitian, and they have two young-adult children.
Pastor Sean Platt serves as Discipleship Pastor. Originally from upstate New York, he came to faith as a college freshman and spent more than a decade in missionary church-planting and discipleship in East Asia, followed by a gap-year program in New Mexico. He is currently completing a Master of Divinity from Denver Seminary. He and his wife Hannah have four children.
Nate Jones, the Youth Director, graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. He has served in camp and youth ministry across Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia and plans to pursue a Master of Divinity and a Master of Counseling. Chip Chapman serves as Next Gen Director, and Dylan Brobst, a career missionary in Guatemala since 2013, supports the church with communications work.