Pastor Josh Roberts of the Christian Life Center in New London recently served as Pennsylvania Senate chaplain for the day at the invitation of state Sen. Andy Dinniman.
Dinniman invited Roberts and his family to visit the state Capitol in Harrisburg and lead the Senate invocation as a representative of the Christian Life Center, which currently serves hundreds of members in southern Chester County. Dinniman also gave Roberts and his family a personal, behind-the-scenes tour of the Capitol.
The Christian Life Center, one of the largest churches in the region, traces its roots to the New London Presbyterian Church. The New London Presbyterian Church was founded by Francis Alison, who in 1743 also opened the New London Academy, a free school that taught logic, ethics, metaphysics, classical languages, history, rhetoric, math and science. There, Alison personally instructed several prominent leaders and statesmen, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence.
In 1751, Alison left the New London Academy at the behest of Benjamin Franklin to serve as vice provost of the College of Philadelphia, which would later become the University of Pennsylvania. In 1767, he returned to New London and led students to expand and relocate the institution to Newark, Del., where it eventually became the University of Delaware.
Originally from Georgia, Roberts, 38, grew up in the church as the son of a retired pastor. Prior to coming to the Christian Life Center, Roberts planted churches in northwest Georgia and then oversaw campus development of a large church in Montana. He has an undergraduate degree in math education and a degree in Bible education ministries, as well as a master's degree in theology from Liberty Baptist Seminary. He is currently working on his doctorate in Christian leadership.
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