Who are we?

If you drive around the area where Deer Creek is located you may ask yourself, “Why is Deer Creek Church here? There are so many churches, is there a need for another church?” That is a very fair question. And, there is really no easy answer. In reality, Deer Creek is here because over two hundred years ago (one year after Thomas Jefferson was president) several individuals, acting as unified group, followed God’s leading to plant a church in the area where Deer Creek Church now sits. Two centuries later, we are still following that leading. We are here to invite folks to join us in a relationship with God.

Most folks are not aware of it, but they are on a quest. It is not a quest for an object, or a relationship. It is a quest for meaning. The desire of almost all of us is for our existence to be outside of ourselves. We genuinely want our lives to matter. We are tired of living for “stuff” that is constantly thrown in front of us. Some might call this a spiritual journey.

If indeed that is the correct term, we are all probably at different points along this journey. No matter where you are on this journey, we desire to assist and encourage you on your quest.

If you come to Deer Creek, we will give you your “space,” if that is what you desire. We will welcome you and let you fully participate with us if “that” is your desire. We see ourselves as a diverse community of real people who seek to walk the journey of faith together. We invite you to join us in this adventure.

What do we believe?

While Deer Creek is a member of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A, it would be untrue to say that our beliefs always align with our larger denomination. We have chosen to remain in it and be faithful to our understanding of the teachings of Scripture. At Deer Creek we hold to the historic truths of the Christian faith. It is safe to say our faith begins and ends in our belief in the person of Jesus and God’s ability to transform any person’s life.

History

In 1802, Robert Porter and others organized the Deer Creek Associate Reformed Church and began the long tradition of service to our Lord Jesus Christ. The first records of the church were destroyed in a fire, so the early history is not too well known. In the early 1800s, services were held outside or in homes in the case of inclement weather and in winter. People came from miles around to worship at the open-air pulpit, sitting on logs or on the ground. Worship services commonly lasted all day with families bringing their lunch and resuming with worship in the afternoon.

In 1811, the Rev. James McConnell, fresh from Ireland, was called as the first pastor. Rev. McConnell died in 1845 and is buried in the cemetery across the road from the present building. During Rev. McConnell’s tenure, a log church was built in 1817. The first brick structure was erected in the middle of the cemetery in 1834. The sanctuary of the present building was built in 1853.

The bell that hangs in the tower at Deer Creek Church was cast in Baltimore, Md. in 1876 and is thought to have been a centennial bell. It was purchased from a church in Ohio in 1947 and installed in a newly constructed bell tower. It is tolled every Sunday to call worshippers to service and to say farewell to those saints who are making their final journey from the church to their eternal home.

Deer Creek saw its biggest growth and prosperity under Rev. Walter Kenyon (1948-1975). However, disagreements over doctrines adapted by the Presbyterian General Assembly resulted in two serious splits in the congregation leaving about 150 members at Deer Creek Church by the year 1975. There is a rich heritage in Deer Creek U.P. Church – one of serving Jesus Christ in both the good times and times of trial.