North, South, West, and East Bangor are individual communities that had once planned to grow together as one large town. There were once 26 Slate quarries throughout the area, which were the economic backbone of these communities. The towns of Pen Argyl and Wind Gap also contributed to the identity of the area, which became known as the Slate Belt. The Bangor Nazarene Church, officially called Calvary Church of the Nazarene, started as a ‘church plant’ of our Bethlehem Church of the Nazarene in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A satellite Sunday School Class began meeting in Bangor, and then, in May 1952, a formal charter was granted for the new congregation to emerge. There were 12 members with Rev. John Foltz serving as pastor from 1951 to 54. Between the years of 1952 and 1973, the ministry grew under the direction of five pastors: Rev. Dale Hilkert, Rev. Charles Corley, Rev. Fred Henck, Rev. John Sluyter, and Rev. Elmer Guthrie.

On May 16, 1973, Pastor Kenneth Bean arrived in Bangor, along with his wife, Sandy, and their nine-month-old son Bryan, to begin a long-term ministry here. Pastor Bean graduated from Olivet Nazarene College in 1969 and completed his M.Div. degree from Nazarene Theological Seminary in 1973. Upon arrival, the first thing accomplished was re-establishing the nursery in the basement of the small two-story church building. Young families began coming, and space constrictions caused the church to use the parsonage next door on 32 Miller Street for some youth Sunday school classes.

Growth forced the church to utilize the living room of a church member across the street, as well as moving the adult class to the upstairs of the Second Ward Fire Company, a half block away. In 1976, the church voted to purchase 5.81 acres of property on Bunny Trail in East Bangor for the purpose of erecting a new worship and education center. The church mortgaged a five-year loan, but with the sacrifices of the people and God’s blessing, we were able to pay it off in just over two years. The construction at the new site began in 1979 and was completed and dedicated in April of 1980. Constant updates to the building continued with the purchase of new seating for the sanctuary and paving for the driveway.

As the congregation continued to grow, so did the need for a new educational space for the church. The church purchased two portable classrooms to ease the need for additional Sunday school space. These accommodations adequately served in housing the ‘middler’ children and the pre-teens, along with the youth group students. In recent years, the need for additional classroom space became evident. The church decided to increase the volume of the church structure by implementing a major construction project to expand the building in 2014 to about twice its size. The new project embraced the idea that the building would be constructed ‘debt-free’. As funding would become available, the building project progressed.

It took some time, but the new addition passed its final inspection, and we were granted a certificate of occupancy in April 2024. Now that we have the additional space, it will be a blessing to have all our Sunday school classes under one roof. With the new space, we now have a new and spacious nursery for our babies and toddlers, and we are retooling our Children’s ministry, including the start of the Nazarene scouting ministry, Caravan, as our mid-week outreach to develop the youngsters of our church and community in holding a biblical worldview. VBS and other outreach ventures that are targeted to minister to kids and their families are easier to orchestrate with the new building completed.

The teens have also benefited from the new space as they now have a quality youth center that contains new classroom space, as well as a billiards and ping-pong table. The church also supports several adult ministries, which include our ladies' Bible study, men’s Bible study, our prayer shawl ministry known as ‘Nazarene Needlers’, 'Sweet and Discreet' women's outreach and other ministry events. We are now equipped to move into the future with the avenues that we have been blessed with. This includes new leadership that has recently come to direct our church in the days to come.

After 48 years of ministering at the Bangor Church of the Nazarene, Rev Ken Bean decided to retire and allow the next man of God to come and lead the church for the years ahead. In August 2021, the church voted to call Rev. Dennis Williams and his family to serve as the next lead pastor and parsonage family. With the COVID crisis beginning to subside, Pastor Dennis and his family embraced the opportunity to come to the Lehigh Valley to serve God and his people.

Pastor Dennis has been married to his wife, Debbie, since 1994, and they have two great children, Stephen, who was born in 2006, and Elizabeth, born in 2009. Pastor Dennis has served in ministry at the Bridgeton First Church of the Nazarene since 1983 and has been a minister in the Nazarene Church since 2008. He received his education from Nazarene Bible College, studying for his call to preach God’s Word and shepherding God’s people in truth and holiness. “I know that this is God’s will for my family and me because of all of the doors the Lord has opened for us to be here”, Pastor Dennis says. “The many sequences that had to be worked out could only have been worked out by God. It goes to prove that God will provide a way when we seek to do his will”.

We set aside financing for our expansion fund for many years and were able to break ground in November 2014 with the hope of completing the project on a cash basis. We received our certificate of occupancy in April 2024, mortgage and debt-free.

Now, we strive to strengthen our evangelism and discipleship ministries so God can use us and this place to build His Kingdom and produce fruit that will forever declare the Good News and the works of His Kingdom.

Miller and Northampton Streets in South Bangor

Photo by Ernie Dietz

Vision of Bangor Nazarene Church

It is a dream of a place where the hurting, the depressed, the frustrated, and the confused can find love, acceptance, help, hope, forgiveness, guidance, and encouragement.

It is a dream of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with many people of the Slate Belt, PA and Warren County, NJ areas.

It is a dream of welcoming 300 members into the fellowship of our church family – loving, learning, laughing, and living and serving in harmony together.

It is a dream of equipping every believer for a significant ministry by helping them discover the gifts and talents God has given them and utilizing them for His glory.

It is a dream of developing a Child Care and Education Ministry to reach children with Jesus Christ and provide them with a biblical worldview.

It is a dream of being a vital part of sending out many career missionaries and church workers around the world and empowering every member for a personal life mission in the world. It is a dream of sending some of our members on short-term mission projects.

It is a dream of starting daughter churches as God leads through multiplication of Christ’s true disciples.

It is a dream of expanding our facility to provide for efficient worship, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and mission, used for counseling, as a prayer center, classrooms for Bible Studies and training lay ministers, and some recreation area designed to minister to the whole person – spiritually, emotionally, physically, and socially.

This dream will become a reality as we unite together to expect great things from God and attempt great things for God.

Bangor Nazarene Church is all About Worship

The writer who titled his book, “Worship – the Missing Jewel,” knew exactly what he was talking about! Man, created in God’s image, is empty until he connects with his Maker and enjoys fellowship and interacting with Him in worship. There is something about exalting the name of Jesus and seeking God and His manifest Presence that opens the door for His glory to come. If you desire to seek God and all He has for you to experience, then join us each Sunday at 10:40 a.m. to worship our Great God in Song, Prayer, Giving, and His Word. It’s amazing how much harmony comes to our lives when we live in tune with HIM.