Centre County church stays true to its mission after 150 years. ‘A loving congregation’

If you’re ever trying to get to Mingoville, Pennsylvania, and your GPS spontaneously fails you, keep driving until you spot a distinct white church with grey roofing. As soon as you see the quaint chapel sitting along state Route 64 opposite a soybean field, you’ll know you’ve arrived at your destination.

Nittany Valley Alliance Church has served as a landmark in the small community for over a century, and on Sept. 21 its congregation will celebrate 150 years of ministry. Though the church is small, it plays a pivotal role in the community, the least of which is helping newcomers and visitors locate the post office that sits directly across from it.

“Because we are at that crossroads, it’s an easy reference point,” Pastor Ryan Miller said. “I’ll say I’m at the little white church across from the Mingoville post office and right away everyone … goes ‘Oh yeah, I know where that is.’”

Approaching his third year as the church’s pastor, Miller has come to consider NVAC home.

“It’s a loving congregation,” he said. “When there’s a need that they become aware of, they’re very generous in their giving, and that’s both for missionaries overseas and for people right here in our community.”

Though the congregation is celebrating 150 years, the church has actually existed for much longer, according to Miller, who has spent some time digging through archives to prepare for this weekend’s celebration.

Historical evidence suggests it was first established in 1832 as a Sabbath School, providing students with reading, writing and arithmetic lessons. Though the church no longer fills in education gaps to the extent it did in the past, they’ve stayed true to their mission of “serving the community” and “proclaiming Christ,” Miller said.

At most, the current congregation consists of 50 members, Miller said. And though the group doesn’t like to make a big “splash,” they do a lot for the community.

Twice a year, they offer a nine- to ten-week program coined “Explorers Express” to keep local kids occupied and provide childcare for parents without. They regularly donate classroom supplies to the teachers at Marion Walker Elementary School and are donors to Operation Christmas Box, a charity that provides gifts to children across the globe.

The church is in the process of building a pavilion, which will be dedicated after the anniversary service and that Miller hopes to use for community outreach and fellowship.

He has numerous goals for the future of the church, but growth isn’t necessarily one of them.

“We don’t expect to become a mega church in our community — we want to serve our community,” he said. “The way we look at numbers is yes, we want numeric growth because it helps us [fulfill our mission]. However our goal isn’t to become a large church. We think that should be a byproduct of us being who Christ called us to be.”

Miller’s proud to be a part of the church’s history and said he’s enjoyed exploring the depth and impact of its roots.

“I look back, I think of how many lives have been impacted in a positive way,” Miller said. “It’s a small church that has generations and generations of people who have done what we are doing ... touching individual lives and families, and that adds up over time. So we’re definitely thankful.”

Debbie Kerstetter, who has attended the church for as far back as she can remember, also expressed gratitude for the NVAC and the people who have been part of it.

Through the years, she’s watched the benches change, the pastors change, people come and go and the technology advance. When she was a little girl, they used a pot belly stove to warm the church in the dead of winter — now they have a heat pump.

Kerstetter and her four siblings were brought up in the church. They spent their youth singing in the choir, acting in plays and learning to play different instruments.

“I have lots of positive memories learning to play the flutophone ... the recorders with our whole youth group,” Kerstetter said. “I enjoyed participating in Bible School, church camp, Christmas plays and youth outings.”

Kerstetter has deep roots in the church and she honors them not only by being a familiar face in the crowd on Sunday, but by also serving as a trustee. In that role, she’ll be helping decorate for the church’s anniversary celebration. It’s a task she’ll have no trouble completing due to her years in the greenhouse business. Alongside the church is a stretch of flowers that Kerstetter dutifully tends to, with the garden serving as another way she’s leaving her mark.

“I feel connected to the church,” Kerstetter said. “It’s my home.”

The church is Bob Rightnour’s home as well. He’s worn many hats during his time there, one of which was as Kerstetter’s Sunday school teacher. Another was lending his hands to the church basement’s construction in the early 1970s.

It’s a process both Miller and Rightnour say was blessed by God. Church associates began digging out the basement shortly before Hurricane Agnes devastated much of Pennsylvania in 1972.

But while homes around Mingoville flooded, the church’s basement remained untouched, Rightnour and Miller said.

“I would call it a miracle, you know, I don’t know what else,” Rightnour said. “ Everything around was flooded ... it was dry.”

Now, approaching the anniversary celebration, Rightnour said he’s not one to use the term “excited,” but he’s feeling a similar emotion.

“I’m happy, I’m glad we’re doing it,” Rightnour said. “I think the outstanding thing is [the church’s] consistent messaging over the years.”

The special anniversary service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21. For more information on the church, visit www.nittanyvalleyalliance.org/.

This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 6:01 AM.