Established in 1839, Kennonsburg Church has a rich 186-year history with many seasons of God’s anointing upon the ministry of the local congregation. Unusual for a UMC church, KC had been faithfully served by two pastors in the decades between 1989 and 2023. Rev. Sturman Moore served the congregation for 12 years until 2001 when Pastor Mark Slay was called.
In June of 2023, KC disaffiliated from The United Methodist Church due to irreconcilable differences in doctrine and practice of the faith. Pastor Mark Slay led KC through the disaffiliation from the UMC and subsequently retired after 22 years of faithful service to the congregation.
After disaffiliation, KC did not immediately join a denomination. Several members of our administrative board were assigned the task of determining whether KC should function as an independent church or join a denomination that was in line with our core values and doctrinal beliefs.
It was October of 2023 when KC sought details from Interim Pastor Ministries and called Rev. Alan Stover as our Interim Lead Pastor. In the 17 months of Pastor Alan leading the IPM Intentional 5 Stage Process and a transition team of 9 members, KC has sought God’s perspective and vision for the church to develop a statement of faith, bylaws, examine possible denominations/affiliations, if any, and identify core values, and develop specific strategies for moving forward into God’s plan for the church.
In December 2024, KC joined the Missionary Church USA denomination and became the 31st church in their East Central Region.
Want to know more about the history of Kennonsburg Church? In 2023 we published a 62-page, full color book detailing much of KC's history, dating back to the early 1800's.