Where We Began

Ephrata Community Church began with twelve people meeting in a house basement. It quickly moved into a converted barn in 1979 as the church began to grow. In 1981, Barry Wissler was installed as the pastor.

At a church retreat in 1990, the ECC congregation adopted the ancient church of Antioch as its model for development. This vision later expanded to becoming a sending and receiving church that has a regional vision and a heart for missions and community transformation.

In July 1994, during a time of corporate prayer and fasting, ECC began to experience a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Many regional pastors and churches enjoyed the outpouring through renewal meetings and conferences.

In 2005, the new ECC facility, including a 750-person auditorium, a café, a children’s ministry area, and banquet rooms was opened, ready to accommodate the harvest. The new building also hosted HarvestNet’s headquarters and many of its conferences and events.

ECC established the Gateway House of Prayer in 2005 in order to honor God with prayer and worship. Gateway went 24/7 in November 2008. The prayer room is staffed by volunteers from over forty local churches.

In 2009, ECC expanded its youth ministry by hiring the first full-time youth pastor to prioritize reaching the younger generation. A children’s pastor was then added in 2011.

Kevin Eshleman was installed as the lead pastor in 2014 after having served as an executive pastor to Barry Wissler.

ECC commissioned and launched Lifeway Church, in Lebanon, PA, with Jimmy Nimon as the lead pastor, along with sixty-eight leaders from ECC.

ECC completed a building expansion project, and Connections Café opened in 2023.

ECC opened Thrive Counseling Services with Lauren Keller as the Director and Mike Wenger as the Assistant Director.