New Pastor Serves In Area He Loves
Larry Dunlap, who became pastor of Bird-in-Hand United Methodist Church (BIHUMC) on July 1, was familiar with Route 340 in the Conestoga Valley area of Lancaster County. "My wife and I vacationed here every year," said Dunlap. "We loved the area." According to Dunlap, he and his wife, Kathy, would pass BIHUMC, and she would say, "Is there any way you could be appointed to that church?"
It was not possible at the time, but after Kathy died of cancer in 2015, Dunlap moved to East Petersburg and began attending Lampeter United Methodist Church. When the pastor position at BIHUMC opened up, Dunlap's pastor, John Smith, asked the UMC district superintendent if Dunlap might fill it.
"The district superintendent called me and asked if I would be interested in BIHUMC," recalled Dunlap, who added that the superintendent offered to give Dunlap a day to think about the offer. "I told him I didn't need one," said Dunlap. "I think my wife went to the Lord and said, 'I want you to tell the bishop to send my husband to this church.'"
Dunlap first received the call to ministry in the early 1970s. "My father was a minister," shared Dunlap. "I was helping him serve Communion, and while I was holding the tray of Communion cups, I sensed the Lord saying, 'Larry, this is where I want you to be.'"
At that time, Dunlap's father was serving in Kings Park on Long Island. After Dunlap finished high school, he went to Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan., where he majored in radio communications. Following college, he went to St. Paul School of Theology, then in Kansas City, Mo. The first church he pastored was located in Quarryville, N.Y. He met his wife there, and they married in 1981. Their first son, Chester, was born a year later, and they had two more sons, Drew and Adam.
Over the years, Dunlap served congregations in a number of areas in New York and Connecticut. He also served as chaplain of the East Quogue Fire Department, organized a Meals on Wheels program, hosted "The Rock of Jesus" radio program on WRIV-AM, and raised funds for a homeless shelter, among many other activities. He is Stephen Ministry trained, and he currently volunteers at Lampeter UMC running the media board and editing the newsletter.
His approach to pastoring BIHUMC is a little different than might be expected when a congregation consists of mostly retired people. "There is a train of thought in church growth that you have to go after younger families and have a strong children's program," said Dunlap, who believes that church growth should be tailored to the congregation. "I took a course on church growth," said Dunlap, who took note of a case study on older churches in the course material. He said that instead of trying to attract young families, the church members in the case study focused on retired people. They planned activities that involved things retired people like to do, including taking trips, watching movies, square dancing, and shopping. "Their friends started coming, and they started inviting friends," said Dunlap. "The church began to grow because they were attracting retired people. That's my approach with BIHUMC."
BIHUMC is located at 2620 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird-in-Hand. Worship is held each Sunday at 9 a.m. A Bible study is held immediately following the service. More information about the church may be found at https://bihumc.com.
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