Our Location

Clarks Valley Zion Church can be found at 210 McKelvey Road, a quarter mile west of Rt. 225 (Peter’s Mountain Road), just a mile and a half north of the Borough of Dauphin in Dauphin County, PA.

Our mailing address is Clarks Valley Zion EC Church, 210 McKelvey Road, Dauphin, PA 17018.

For a map to our location, click here.

The office phone number is 717-921-8153.

When Pastor Mike Knapp cannot be reached at the office, feel free to call him on his cell phone at 717-439-8355. Reach Pastor Mike by Email

  Beginnings

The history of Clarks Valley Zion EC Church begins with the pioneering work of circuit riders of the 18^th century “Evangelical Association”.  In 1844, a Dauphin Circuit was established, covering a rather large area from Harrisburg to Lebanon and north to Pine Grove and all the territory along the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg to Lykens.  By 1850, a Sunday School was organized in the Red Bridge School Building just two miles north of the borough of Dauphin.  Ten years later a congregation was founded with the name, The Zionsville Evangelical Church.  Its first building was constructed in 1863.  Sixty-seven years later, in 1930, just a couple of miles from Zionsville Church, Grace Evangelical Church was also begun.

Years later, terrific hurricanes took down the facilities of both congregations, and eventually led to their merger into one body.  A hurricane damaged Zionsville Church beyond repair in 1954.  A new building (our present structure) was erected on McKelvey Road in 1958.  Then, in 1972, Hurricane Agnes destroyed the facilities of Grace Church.  Rather than rebuild, the remaining folks of Grace Church merged with Zionsville Church and formed our present Clarks Valley Zion EC Church.

Working together, by the wonderful grace of Almighty God, Clarks Valley Zion has been enjoying exciting and steady growth for quite some time.  An addition to the building erected in 1958 was added in 1992.  Thereby much needed additional Sunday School classrooms were added, and air conditioning was added throughout.  The parking area was also expanded.  And, today, we're feeling the pinch of too little space again.  Glory be to God!

Denominational
Affiliation

Clarks Valley Zion EC Church is one of the approximately 150 congregations of the Evangelical Congregational Church. Found mostly in central and eastern Pennsylvania, the EC denomination dates back to the early 1800’s when Jacob Albright, a Pennsylvania-German farmer and tile-maker from Lancaster County, and also a Class Leader in a local Methodist Church, responded to a call from God to preach. A difference of opinion with a Methodist Bishop over the longevity of the use of German as a viable language led to Albright’s eventual establishment of far-flung preaching circuits among German-speaking immigrants in many counties of south central Pennsylvania.

In relatively short time God blessed the spread of “Albright’s People” far and wide, and a new denomination known as “The Evangelical Association” was born. Approximately two hundred years later, the EC Church has congregations, in addition to the many in central and eastern PA, in western PA, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky. There is huge block of EC Churches in northeast India, several in Tokyo, Japan, as well as, missions in Liberia, Mexico, and Texas.

Visit our denominational website by clicking on www.eccenter.com.

Basic Beliefs

Our beliefs have long been most fully expressed in our 25 Articles of Faith, as well as, our Statements on Christian Practice, all of which can be found in the EC Discipline, on our denomination’s web site (see above) on the page entitled “Who We Are”. 

However, in early 2005, the following brief statement of our beliefs was released. 

Believing the Bible to be our final authority for faith and Christian living, we affirm the following: 

That the universe is the purposeful creation of a personal, loving, almighty God. 

That all human beings are made in the image of the Creator and are of infinite worth. 

That our world is under the sway of sin as a result of a historical and a personal human rebellion against God, so that suffering, death and separation from God are the experience of humankind; and that without the intervention of God's grace, this will be the eternal state of all persons. 

That Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, through his virgin birth, sinless life, sacrificial death on the Cross, and glorious resurrection and ascension, graciously offers new life to all who receive him by faith. 

That the Holy Spirit, indwelling believers, gives them a desire and an ability to follow biblical standards of conduct in their personal lives and in society.  

That the Christian faith is lived in the community of the church, where worship and witness are embodied through the spiritual gifts of its members. 

That Jesus Christ will return to this world, bring an end to history as we know it, inaugurate the final judgment, and welcome believers into his eternal kingdom.