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HISTORY OF HAMMONTON FIRST ASSEMBLY OF GOD                 Hammonton First Assembly of God traces its beginning to 1927 in Rosedale, a small rural community outside of Hammonton. The following is an account of the beginning through the year 2007.   In 1927, Mrs. Linda Johnson of Rosedale, who sporadically attended the Methodist Church, became terminally ill with cancer and had wasted away to 86 pounds. After a visit to a hospital in Philadelphia, she was advised to return home, build up her body and strength for a period of time, and to return for an operation. In the meantime, her sister, Carrie Stiles, a Christian from the Millville Pentecostal Church, came to see her during her illness and testified to her about salvation, Christianity, and healing from the Lord. A few days after Mrs. Stiles returned home, Mrs. Johnson declared to her family that she had been miraculously healed. She became a devout believer and lived to be 78 years of age.   Mrs. Johnson’s, neighbor, Mrs. Mary Tomasello, owned and operated a peach farm.  (Mrs. Tomasello is the mother of Rose DeLucca.) One day, the packing shed caught on fire and burned down. Mrs. Tomasello thought that her 5 year old son had run back into the shed to retrieve his bicycle. She became so distraught that she almost had a nervous breakdown. She confided this to her neighbor, Mrs. Johnson when she came for a visit to encourage her. She invited Mrs. Tomasello to go into Hammonton with her and Charles W. Snyder, a deacon in the Vineland/Millville Pentecostal Gospel Lighthouse, to pray for a woman to whom Mrs. Johnson had been witnessing. She hoped that with Mr. Snyder’s help, she might win her to the Lord. Unfortunately, the woman did not want to hear anything Mr. Snyder had to say. However, unknown to anyone, Mrs. Tomasello desired prayer for herself and wanted to know more about the Lord. She then invited Mr. Snyder to the farm and offered him a basket of peaches. He thanked her and said he would return the basket on his next visit to Hammonton. He began witnessing to Mrs. Tomasello each week when he came to Hammonton and shortly thereafter, she gave her heart to the Lord.   Mrs. Tomasello, Mrs. Johnson, and a few others began holding church meetings at the home of Mrs. Tomasello’s parents, Mr. & Mrs. Domenic Errera. Brother Snyder and his wife would come from Millville to minister to the tiny congregation. The home meetings continued in the Errera home for about a year. News of the meetings spread, and soon people from the neighborhood and several miles around began attending.  The attendance became too large to hold services in a home. The group then moved to Errera’s Dance Hall,   which was located next to the farm and owned by Jenny Errera, Mrs. Tomasello’s sister.   Many of the attendees were Italian and some could not read or speak English at all.  Those who spoke Italian translated for them and the congregation continued to grow.   Mr. Snyder continued to “shepherd” the new converts, most of whom were Italian Roman Catholics. He and the members of the congregation met with great resistance from other Italian Catholics in both Rosedale and Hammonton, and were often harassed and even threatened. In June of 1928, Domenic Errera passed away. He was a member of the tiny church, but his sons were still Roman Catholic. Because there was no “official” church or pastor, they had no where to have his funeral. His sons, who were against the Pentecostal congregation, asked the priest if the funeral could be held in the Catholic Church. The priest agreed, but only if the congregation would no longer be allowed to hold their meetings at the dance hall.   This precipitated a move to Mrs. Johnson’s house. This house was also too small to accommodate the number of people attending the meetings. So, Mrs. Johnson, who was the Rosedale School janitor, received permission from the Hammonton School Board to hold services at the school on Thursday nights. The school was then located on 15th Street in Rosedale. However, the Lord protected the fledgling church, and it continued meeting and growing.      In the interim, the Methodist Church, on the corner of 15th Street and Atlantic,  was destroyed by fire. For some reason, the insurance money from the fire was paid to two members of the church council. Mr. Lindsey, one of the two who had received the money, donated his share of the insurance money and the land to the members of the Rosedale congregation. A simple chapel was soon built and named the Rosedale Pentecostal Church. The first service was held on Christmas Day in 1931.   The church was dedicated in September 1934, after the congregation retired the mortgage. The guest speaker for the dedication was Rev. J. Roswell Flower, who later became the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God General Council.   Mr. Snyder continued to be a part-time “pastor” and the church joined the Pentecostal movement. In 1936, Reverend William J. Belbin, who had been a visiting pastor, became a full-time pastor of the church for about two years. Several different pastors served as interim pastors until January of 1942 when Pastor Jordan moved part of the congregation to Hammonton.   Brother Steelburg, pastor of the Philadelphia Church and Superintendent of the Pentecostal movement in our district, (at that time, New Jersey and Pennsylvania were one district) advised the group to start a church in Hammonton if they wanted to advance. The congregation voted on the issue, and the majority opted to move to Hammonton. The others remained at the Rosedale Church while the majority rented an old closed theatre on Bellevue Avenue (now the site of the First Federal Association building) and held meetings there for about 6 months.  On June 14, 1942, the church purchased another old movie house (The Eagle Theatre) at 202 Vine Street and remodeled it for a permanent place of worship. An apartment was constructed at the back of the building to serve as a parsonage for the pastor’s family. During this time, the congregation had only interim pastors provided by the “Pentecostal movement”, Brother Carlson, Brother Simkins, and Brother and Sister Jordan. Both the Rosedale Pentecostal Church and the new Hammonton Pentecostal Tabernacle were operating and people were being added to both church groups as the Lord brought the people in by the witnessing and prayers of the members.   The Rosedale church continued as an independent Pentecostal Church for many years.   Rev. William Belbin, now affiliated with the “Assemblies of God”, returned to pastor the Pentecostal Tabernacle on Vine Street.   In 1948, the church voted to become an Assembly of God affiliate, and renamed the church “Hammonton First Assembly of God”.  Brother and Sister Belbin lived in the apartment and paid $65 per month rent to the congregation.  Rev. Belbin remained with the church until he was relieved around 1958 by Rev. Vernon Stoops from Indiana.               Rev. Stoops led the congregation to purchase property at 811 Old Egg Harbor Road and began construction of a new church building. The building included an apartment in the rear to serve as a parsonage. The church was completed and dedicated to the Lord on May 1, 1960. Rev. Stoops remained with the church until 1962, when he was relieved by Rev. Leland Paris from Arkansas.    In 1966, Brother Paris led the church to construct a parsonage on a lot next to the church property. Also, a field house was added as an unattached unit to the church. He remained as pastor of the church until 1971, and was succeeded by Rev. Steven Bogden. Brother Bogden was succeeded by Rev. Carl Colletti who was elected on October 17, 1974.   In 1976, under the leadership of Pastor Colletti, the field house was joined to the sanctuary building and renovated into a totally functional fellowship facility.  In 1981, sensing the timing of God, the congregation employed Church Growth Services, a professional consulting firm. An extensive study of needs and potential church growth resulted in a plan for church growth designed to achieve specific objectives in the development of facilities, finances, and ministries of the local church.   As an initial implementation step, a 4.99 acre parcel of land situated on Route 206 was purchased.  This site had previously been home to a burned-out nightclub.  Working through delays and sometimes discouraging circumstances, the congregation persevered and entered its building program for a new church facility in 1987. In March of 1988, the congregation moved into their new church home and a dedication service took place. Ministry objectives were expanded, both internally and externally, and the congregation showed great stability and growth. The church enjoyed a stable influence in the community and expanded ministries that reached outside of the local congregation and into other local church fellowships.    The congregation, as a whole, ministered to the community in the production of the “Living Drive-through Nativity.” The nativity was presented in ten scenes that depicted the birth of Christ in an outside forum that allowed cars to drive around and view the scenes. This ministry was a very popular event for eleven years. Pastor Colletti also initiated a missions program that continues to this day. October is set aside to emphasize missionaries and their ministries. Annual pledges of support are received from the congregation to support foreign missions as well as national ministries.   Brother Michael Henely, Assistant Pastor since 1983, was voted by the congregation as the new senior pastor when Brother Colletti left in 1998 to become the Superintendent of the New Jersey District of the Assemblies of God. Brother Henely remained as senior pastor until 2003 when he felt the Lord call him to minister to Spanish speaking people. Assistant Pastor Dan McAnney served as interim pastor until August of 2004, when Rev. Steven Goodwin from Rhode Island, was elected by a 100% majority vote to fill the position of senior pastor. Pastor Goodwin resigned in the Spring of 2007.   On June 10, 2007 Assistant Pastor, Rev. Dan McAnney, was elected to serve as the Senior Pastor of the Assembly.