There is something exciting about an established church with a rich history coming into newness of life. That is what is happening with Faith Community Church, coming together with WellSpring Fellowship of Penn Yan, in order to reach the city of Geneva for Christ.

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In the spring of 1831, evangelist Charles G. Finney came to Geneva fresh from the Rochester revival, which had taken place throughout the previous winter. For six months Finney had preached several times a day, often leaving the city on horseback to visit area towns to win the lost and strengthen the local churches. It was reported that everyone could feel the presence of the Lord for about thirty miles around the city. People came to Rochester from all over the State, including Geneva, Bath, Hammondsport, Penn Yan, Watertown, and Buffalo, eventually adding nearly 100,000 souls to the Kingdom of God from Central New York.

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Finney’s health had been poor much of the time while he was laboring in Rochester, due to excessive preaching and prayer.  Local doctors predicted that he would die as soon as he left town. Finney made it as far as Geneva by stagecoach, but the rough roads almost did him in. He moved on to nearby Auburn, where he was able to regain some strength before heading back to Geneva on his way to Buffalo. In Geneva, he was asked to conduct a three-day meeting for the First Presbyterian church, located where it is today. The entire area had already been saturated by the revival in Rochester the winter before. A number of churches grew out of the three days of meetings, including the Second Presbyterian Church. It thrived under the evangelistic efforts of pastor William Hogarth, who had himself joined the church during the Finney meetings at First Presbyterian. 

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It grew so much that, by 1876, they had built a large stone building on Lewis Street and changed their name to North Presbyterian Church. 

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Like all revivals, it served its generation, but gradually it began to subside and the church went into a slow decline. In the 1970’s, the First Presbyterian Church merged with the North Presbyterian Church, and the building was sold to Triumphant Faith Church, a young Spirit-filled church under the leadership of Pastor Mark Ammerman. It would eventually become Faith Community Church, which he pastored for forty-five years before retiring in the fall of 2023.

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Part of Pastor Mark’s vision for the large stone building was to help other churches become established in Geneva, which was how they first become connected to WellSpring Fellowship, from nearby Penn Yan. WellSpring had been looking for a place to hold meetings so they could reach out to Geneva, and began to rent from Faith Community in September 2022.

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When Pastor Mark retired, he turned the church over to Pastor Michael Cavanaugh, an old friend from Elim Fellowship, who helped the congregation navigate the challenging transition of finding a new pastor. It was Pastor Cavanaugh who encouraged them to become part of WellSpring Fellowship, which they did in October 2023, when they invited Pastor Penn Clark to lead them into their next phase of growth. After six months, Pastor Nelson Miller was set in as the new pastor. WellSpring sent about twelve families with Pastor Miller to help the church grow again.

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Today, we are looking to God to bring revival to the Geneva area again, just as He did in the days of Finney.

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To visit our church go to www.fccgeneva.com or 90 Lewis St. Geneva, New York

 

The Geneva History Museum is a great resource, located at 543 South Main St. Geneva NY 14456

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