Local Church Celebrates 75th Anniversary

The Deer Park Church of the Nazarene is rebuilding after their church was condemned, and is inviting former members and people in the community to celebrate its 75th anniversary on Sunday, June 7. The celebration will start with a 10:30 a.m. worship service at the church, located at 305 N. Margaret Ave. According to organizers, several former pastors and the Northwest District Church of the Nazarene Superintendent David Mowry will be in attendance. A free luncheon will follow. The church is led by the Revs. David and Rhonda Ackerman, former missionaries who took positions at the church last year. The Deer Park Church of the Nazarene was founded by a handful of couples on May 31, 1951, said David Ackerman. The church building was constructed in 1963 and, at one point, the congregation met in a converted garage at the parsonage next door, Ackerman said. Over the decades, the number of members grew. According to Ackerman, the church has had a little over a dozen pastors over the decades. “We hope to have at least two or three of them at our celebration Sunday,” he said. In recent years, however, Ackerman said churches have struggled to retain members, particularly churches in small towns with aging congregations. Acker- man estimated the Deer Park Church of the Nazarene hit its membership peak in 2007. “It kind of dwindled over the years,” he said. “COVID didn’t help.” Ackerman said the congregation didn’t just have dwindling numbers to contend with, however. A couple years ago, the church building was condemned after snow damaged the roof, Ackerman said. The roof wasn’t just leaking. The entire structure was failing. “The walls were starting to move outward,” he said. The congregation was forced to meet in the Masonic Lodge down the street while they raised money for a new roof. In the end, Ackerman said the church’s insurance and the Northwest District also helped pay for the needed work, which included replacing all the roof trusses. “That meant redoing a lot of the inside, too,” he said. “It almost looks like a new building in many ways.” The congregation moved back in after the roof work was completed. Ackerman said the church has also added a front porch and a lighted cross on the side of the building. Ackerman and his wife split the duties that come with leading a small congregation. Ackerman said he handles the weekly preaching duties and his wife leads the children’s ministry. Ackerman, who grew up in Spokane, said he was previously a guest speaker at the Deer Park Church of the Nazarene twice during his 18 years as a missionary. “Every two years we came back and usually spoke at about 50 churches in three months,” he said. Ackerman added that the couple left behind 18 years of missionary work, most recently in the Philippines, because Rhonda Ackerman needed open heart surgery and they decided it was best she received healthcare in the states. She has since recovered. When the couple decided to come back to the area, Ackerman said the duo sent their resume to the district superintendent to see if there were any vacancies that might fit. One of the church- es the superintendent suggest- ed was Deer Park Nazarene, and the couple was hired after being interviewed and selected by the church’s board, Ackerman said. “The people had a big vision after the challenge of having to replace their roof,” he said. “The people were excited and willing to move forward.” It helped that Ackerman was familiar with the church, he said. “We liked the smaller community,” he said. “I’ve always been to places with challenges to help out where I can.” He said the couple has been focused on growing the children’s and youth programs at the church with a Kidz Klub every Wednesday afternoon and a Vacation Bible School scheduled in June. The church also has a full schedule of prayer meetings, Bible studies, and Sunday School classes. The work has been bearing fruit, according to Ackerman. Though average attendance is only about 40 people each Sunday, the num- ber has been growing. “It’s almost doubled in the last year,” Acker- man said. “We’ve had some new people come. We’re in the process of rebuilding.” Ackerman said he hopes com- munity members will attend the church’s anniversary celebration. “We’re excited to be a positive influence in our community for the next 75 years,” he said. “We have a fresh vision to reach out to our neighbors and be a positive influence in our community.”