The mission of Kutztown Bible Fellowship Church is “…to build the Kingdom of Christ by worshiping God, equipping one another to serve, making disciples, and living in biblical community.” We believe that by God’s grace, our history as a local church reflects that mission.
KBFC was first established in 1981 when Pastor Randall Grossman began evening services in the Kutztown Fire Hall, later growing to include morning services, Sunday schools, and Wednesday Bible studies in members’ homes. Pastor Grossman envisioned the church as a place that would serve the community of Kutztown, but also provide a welcoming home for college students, motivating them to go and make disciples elsewhere upon graduation.
1984
Building Purchased
In 1984, God enabled the purchase of the Gonser stone chapel next to the campus of Kutztown University.
1985
Accepted Into the BFC
Within a year of purchasing Gonser Chapel, the congregation was accepted as an independent congregation of the Bible Fellowship Church.
1991
New Pastor: John Studenroth
In the summer of 1990, God called Pastor Grossman to accept an invitation to pastor Grace Bible Fellowship Church in Reading. Pastor Grossman continues to pastor Grace BFC today and remains a good friend of our congregation. Six months later, Dr. John Studenroth, member of Hatfield BFC, requested that the pastoral search committee consider him for the role of pastor here at Kutztown BFC. Pastor John soon began to shepherd our congregation and served the church for more than nine years.
2000
Campus Ministry
After his tenure as lead pastor, Pastor John resigned in order to focus on campus ministries and become a chaplain for colleges in Berks and Lehigh counties. Today, John continues to attend KBFC and plays a crucial role in our outreach to students and faculty at Kutztown University.
New Pastor: Allan Vivona
In the spring of 2000, Allan Vivona began to pastor our congregation. Pastor Al continued the tradition of sound biblical teaching and missional focus. Pastor Al also pursued the mission of Kutztown BFC, emphasizing discipleship of church members and Kutztown University students. This discipleship has now multiplied, as several of these students have gone on to become pastors and leaders in churches and ministries throughout the area, including our own Pastor Zeke Mack. Pastor Vivona retired in the winter of 2013.
2015
New Pastor: Ezekiel Mack
Following Pastor Vivona’s resignation, KBFC launched a search committee to find a new full time pastor. In March 2015, Ezekiel Mack accepted the call to fill the position and has been serving us faithfully since then. Pastor Zeke is a graduate of Kutztown University and attended KBFC as a college student. He is also a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary and is an active chaplain in the Pennsylvania National Guard. Under Pastor Zeke’s leadership, our church has continued to focus on making disciples at Kutztown University and in our community.
2022
New Pastor: Sandy Holbert
When Pastor Zeke announced his resignation in January 2022, the elders already had a potential candidate to replace him. With that hard part done, the search committee met with and evaluated Sandy Holbert, who served as our interim pastor during the process. In May, he was presented with the call to become our next pastor. Pastor Sandy is a graduate of Lancaster Bible College and previously served as an elder and Youth Pastor at Grace BFC in Reading, PA.
