Thirteen years ago, Oak Hill Fellowship opened in Quarryville with the vision of sharing the Gospel with the Solanco community. Since then, the congregation has met in two different buildings before its most recent location at the former Zion United Church of Christ, 902 Winter Hill Road, Strasburg. However, that property was sold to another entity a couple months ago.
Around the same time, the Mount Hope United Methodist Church congregation merged with Memorial United Methodist Church, 101 S. Hess St., Quarryville, which resulted in a vacancy at the former Mount Hope building and new home for Oak Hill Fellowship at 75 Mount Hope Road, Quarryville. This merger was completed on Aug. 29, and Oak Hill signed the lease on Sept. 7. According to Oak Hill pastor Ben Miller, the entire process was timed perfectly.
"The fact that we can use this place for ministry to serve our community and our church members is a really important thing to us," said Miller. "It's a nice, central location to the people who are already part of our congregation but also to the area we want to reach."
Since moving to its previous location on Winter Hill Road, Oak Hill began reaching people in Strasburg, Lampeter, and Willow Street. People also come from Pequea and Holtwood. At its new Quarryville location, the congregation believes it can use the facility as a mission center for the church to continue reaching the Solanco area and beyond.
"We believe at Oak Hill that the church is the people, not the building," stated Miller. "No matter where we are, we are still here to serve both the people in our church and the people in our community the best way we possibly can. While big things are changing, the core of who we are is not changing."
In addition to holding services and programs at the Mount Hope Road building, Oak Hill will meet in homes throughout the week in smaller groups called Gospel Communities. These communities are the primary way the church members try to live as followers of Jesus through intentional discipleship, intergenerational investment, community outreach, and leadership development. Oak Hill currently has five Gospel Communities spread out across Quarryville, Holtwood, and Strasburg.
Miller noted a connection between the church's new facility on Mount Hope Road and the congregation's mission. "It's so bright here," said Miller. "I think there's a sense in which that feels good. When the building is letting in light and the church is supposed to be a light, we're letting the light of Jesus shine into our hearts. It's nice to have that."
To learn more about Oak Hill, visit http://www.oakhillfellowship.com.
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