History

In the summer of 1924 Mr. Gus Cramer gained permission from Mr. Samuel Tippett to hold services in an abandoned church in Cedarville, of which Mr. Tippett was the only living trustee. There was not much success that first summer. He tried again the summer of 1925, again without much success, so he went to the assemblies for help.

In October, 1925, a group of young people known as the “Crusaders: and under the direction of Rev. harry Collier, from the “full Gospel Church”, located at 930m Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., came down and held services. The meetings lasted six weeks and large crowds were attracted by the music and gospel as these young people witnessed. Another “meeting” was held in the Spring of 1926 with many folks attending. A large group came from around Cheltenham. Bro. Cramer worked very hard bringing down ministers from Bible Hall (9th and E streets, Washington, D.C.), repairing the church, gathering folks in his car, and was even known to lay his coat in the road to help cars cross over the mud. From these efforts came the organization of the church, Cedarville Full Gospel Church, set in order by Rev. F.M. Staudt, the District Superintendant, with Rev. J.A. McCambridge as pastor.

The building was in poor condition. It was lighted by seventeen oil lamps and a wood stove in the center supplied the heat. The tin roof leaked and much of the plaster had fallen. The patched up the walls and roof-but on November 9, 1926, a tornado passed through and gave the church a considerable shaking. Everyone gathered together and soon put on a new roof, more plaster and readied the building for services again.

The first “baptism in water” service was held in the fall of 1926 in a church in the City (Washington, D.C.). The second was held at Milltown, below Westwood, in the Patuxent River in August, 1927, which attracted a large crowd.

There were two outstanding happenings in the community that greatly affected the early church. One was the marvelous healing of Frank W. Richards when he was near death with tuberculosis, and the other was the glorious salvation of George Edelen, a known drunkard. The community saw them in living testimonies to the grace and power of God. These two men became members of the church and remained with the church all their lives faithfully working and serving wherever needed.

Rev. McCambridge was pastor until the Spring of 1932. In that time an open-air tabernacle for outdoor meetings had been built on the Ellis property at Cheltenham. Later a parsonage was built adjacent to the tabernacle (1928). Bro. McCambridge had a radio program over WJSV out of Mount Vernon Hills, Virginia. He often loaded his car and traveled many miles to new areas to sing and preach. (Over a period of years, we are told he turned over five new churches to the district.

When Bro. McCambridge left J.M. Sharer filled in as pastor until Rev. Homer Peterson came in September, 1933. It was during the early years of Brother Peterson’s pastorate that the Assemblies organized a youth program called Christ Ambassadors. Bro. Peterson became the first C.A. President of the Potomac District and he started a group in the church which remained an active organinazation through the years to the present. He was here during the Depression but the church kept going through the faithfulness of its members. During this time, two gasoline lamps were hung and another chimney was erected on the opposite side of the church allowing the area to be heated by two stoves. Around 1935, a small Delco plant was housed in a shed, which supplied the current for the lights until the power line was run in the early 1940’s. In the summer of 1944, the church was completely renovated. The old plaster was removed and a vestibule was built on the front, thus changing the appearance of the front from a two-door, two-aisle entrance to double door and center aisle entrance. An alcove was built on the back, a new roof put on and the outside covered with white shingles.

We lost the Tabernacle in Cheltanham on Palm Sunday, March 25, 1945. The roof collapsed under the weight of a heavy snowstorm.

Rev. Peterson moved on to another church in March 1946, and Rev. Richard Yunker came as Pastor. By that time, room was needed for more Sunday School classes so a wing was added to one side and a partial basement dug. A floor furnace was installed and the grounds cleared off.

There were many outstanding revivals in the church, each having special meaning to different people. There was one held in the spring of 1949 that stirred the young people deeply. Those who were still in high school founded a “Christian Youth Club” there, which lasted until they graduated. Four preachers came out of that club.

Rev. Yunker was pastor for five years and after him came Rev. Albert Ark in September of 1951. Rev. Ark himself, preached the first revival services after he became pastor. His message was mainly ‘love”. Many were saved and at the end of two weeks, there had been 13 to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The young people’s group, with the pastor, held street meetings and once a month went to LaPlata to sing for the patients in the hospital and to conduct a service in the jail there. In 1952, the church was carpeted. A well was dug in 1955 at the church and an electric pump installed. The first electric organ was purchased in 1956 and dedicated to the service of the Lord. Before Bro. Ark moved on, the parsonage in Cheltenham was sold and a new one built in 1958 on Ash box Road in Cedarville, near the church.

Rev. Worth M. Johnson took over the pastorate in May, 1959. His youth and enthusiasm seemed to bring new life to the church. The second year he was here, again there was a need for new classrooms. An addition was built on the back of the wing with basement and the complete basement finished off. When finished, there were two new classrooms and nursery upstairs and four classrooms, two restrooms and a small office for the pastor in the basement. A new furnace was installed with ducts to all the rooms, a drinking fountain was put in the wing and the walls of the whole church were painted. Later the pews were refinished, and a new piano and larger organ purchased. The church has always been “missionary minded”. There was a Ladies Missionary Society serving in 1928, 1933, and 1935. In 1963, the ladies met with Rev. Johnson and organized a WMC (Women’s Missionary Council) group. Out of that organization came the Missionettes for girls and later, the Royal Rangers for boys. Bro. Johnson held a Sunday morning Radio Broadcast over WPGC in 1965 and WSMD in 1968. In the annual business meeting of October 22, 1968, the members voted to change name of the church to Cedarville Assembly of God. As the church grew air conditioning was installed and in 1969, the parking area was blacktopped. By the time Rev. Johnson left in January, 1970, it was obvious the church was going to need even more room.

When Bro. Johnson accepted a pastorate in Richmond, Virginia, Rev. Clyde N. Lee came to Cedarville from Hopewell, Virginia. A business meeting held in the fall of that same year (September 9, 1970) resulted in the purchase of additional land adjacent to the church property, owned by the Rosalie Richards family (five acres – November 23, 1970). In that same meeting, the decision was made to have the graveyard plotted and there was a unanimous vote of the members present to build a new church and use the old church for additional Sunday school activities and additional meetings. Rev. Lee strove unceasingly toward that end, the main problem being obtaining a clear deed to the property in its entirety, including the old church and grounds. Upon receipt of the deed (January 6, 1974), the basement was dug for the new church and the work began (January 15, 1974). The congregation prayed, worked and sacrificed together with much enthusiasm. It was a great emotional shock to have our dear pastor fall (May 7, 1974) while working on the building and suffer serious injuries. The responsibility of completing the building and care of the congregation was left to the official board members, under the direction of the District Superintendant Bro. Wallace P. Odlum. The district sent preachers to fill the pulpit. Rev. Robert Gaertner stayed through the summer and was with us when we held our first service in the new church on Thanksgiving Eve, November 27, 1974. The accident to Bro. Lee saddened the hearts of the entire community and was a time of “passing through deep waters “ for the church. Bro. Gaertner stayed on through Christmas into the Spring of 1975. In April, 1975, the doctor recommended Bro. Lee for total disability and Sis. Lee wrote a letter of resignation, effective May1, 1975. The church chose to keep Bro. Lee as “Pastor Emeritus” or honorary pastor of the church.

Rev. Samuel D Beiler, from Virginia Beach, Virginia accepted the pastorate of the church on April 30, 1975. He plunged into the work of the church, trying to help complete the details of the new building and buying furnishings, and almost immediately undertook the departmentalization of the Sunday School, as Bro. Lee had planned.

This church has always been supported by the tithes and love offerings of those who worship here. They have helped to support at least seven missionaries, one being Hilda Meyrick, who has been in Venezuela, South America, since 1929 and was one of the “Crusaders” of the first meeting held here. Another is one of our own girls, Virginia Sasscer, who has been in Brussels, Belgium, since January, 1965.

The new church was dedicated on October 26, 1975.

[From the Dedication Service Program, October 24, 1975]