OUR CHURCH HISTORY

The roots of Saron United Church of Christ date back to 1850's, as German immigrants from the Rhine Provinces had settled near Linton. They organized a church in early 1854 and decided to build a church in 1855. Here is a painting of our first building.

They built a second church in 1890, and for a time had a "country church" and a "city church" that shared a pastor. In 1916, it was decided they should be one congregation and the cornerstone was laid on August 15. The dedication of the new building was held on December 17, 1916. Since then, for over one hundred years in this building, Saron has been an active part of the Linton community.

In 1994, an addition was added that houses a fellowship hall with a half gym and stage, a kitchen, a conference room and library, two bathrooms, offices for staff, and an elevator that made both the new addition and the 1916 building ADA compliant. The vision for this new building was for Saron to be a place open for community events and the needs of the city. Now, nearing 25 years since this portion of the church was opened, we host Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, dinners for the Miner football team, dinners for those in need in a joint effort with Civitan each year, numerous meetings, parties, receptions, and overnights, in addition to the many ways the church itself utilizes this space. We certainly feel we have been blessed to be a blessing in this community.

OUR PASTORS

Saron has also been blessed with faithful and dedicated Pastors in our over 160 years of ministry. Dating back to 1960 our called Pastors include Rev. Boyd Stepler, Rev. George Berry, Rev. Paul Gettinger (Interim), Rev. Paul Bauch, Rev. Jennifer Amy-Dressler (Associate), Rev. Jim and Rev. Kathy Elliott, Rev. Mike and Rev. Erica Roth, Rev. Peter Haskins (Interim), Rev. Dr. Gerald Demarest, Rev. J.D. Rose and Assoc. Pastor Jeff Fulk, Rev. John Heckman (Interim). Rev. Ronald Haynes is Saron's 41st installed Pastor at Saron Church. He joins a long line of beloved ministers who have served Saron through the years.

OUR PURPOSE

Saron Church has always existed with one purpose in mind: the next generations will need a place to come to know Jesus and others who follow Him, to work out their faith, to ask big questions, to learn the traditions of Christianity, and to make a commitment to follow Christ. This was evident from the first Constitution of the church, written in February of 1854. The stated purpose for creating Saron was for the "future of the children in the community." Over the 160 plus years, focusing on the future of the young people in Linton and its surrounding areas has taken on a lot of different forms. Over a long lifespan, Saron has a track record of being a place of dialogue, of discipleship, of service to the community, and of deep commitment to understanding and following the teachings of Jesus; especially for young people. This is evident today in Children's Church, which is centered around solid Bible teaching, music, prayer, and application. This is clear in the way our kids in the 3-5th Grade Youth Group are beginning to form lifelong friendships as they study and grow together. This is the case at our Middle and High School Youth Groups, as each week they are challenged to learn and given the space to explore what being a Jesus follower looks like for each of them. There are great experiences for adults as well, a solid worship every week, and incredible opportunities for fellowship and mission.

Looking back, this has been the hallmark of Saron Church: meaningful worship, a focus on the future, room for deep growth, and committed service to one another and the community.

Looking forward, these things are still what have us most excited for you to explore the rest of our website, and to learn a little more about the spirit of Saron! And we pray, should our faith family be a good fit for you and yours, that you will be a part of the story written of the days ahead.

OUR DENOMINATION

Saron began as a German Reformed Church, was a part of the merger that created the Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1934, and again part of the denominational merger that created the United Church of Christ in 1957. What we value in our identity as a UCC congregation: we are connected to UCC churches all over the country, but have the autonomy to make decisions for ourselves at the local church level. We hire our own Pastors, create our own worship order, choose our mission, and support our ministry financially with no outside authority intervening. We feel we have a great mix of covenantal relationship to the wider church and independence to hear God's voice speak clearly to the path forward for Saron.

For more information on the wider United Church of Christ please visit https://www.ucc.org