[Image: Grace Church Wallingford logo with 100 Years 1926-2026 badge]
[Image: Large group of church members of all ages posing together in a bright meeting room, with autumn pumpkins and gourds on a wooden table in front]
Grace Church Celebrates 100 Years of God's Faithfulness
New in this Issue
October 23, 2026
1
Did You Know?
It's All About Family!
In Other News
More Information Below
1
Sunday Worship
Sermon from Psalm 78:1-8
2
Centennial Keepsakes
Free pens and stickers in lobby, other merchandise available for purchase
3
Operation Christmas Child
Box collection begins Nov. 1; Idea table in Gym today
4
Did You Know?
It's All About Family!
5
Grace News
Congratulations Jacob and Paige Barton!
6
BFC News
Partners in Missions Fund-Raiser
7
Prayer Focus
Elizabeth Piasecki
8
Snapshots of Grace
Centennial Celebration
[Image: Grace Church 100 years banner (1926-2026) showing the church's brick building with cross, its entrance sign, and the GC logo]
Sunday Worship
This Sunday, October 25, 2026, 10 AM Worship
Order of Worship: HERE
Sermon: Mark Bickel preaching on "One Generation to Another" from Psalm 78:1-8
Centennial Video: Looking Ahead to the Next 100 Years
Elder Update: Andrew Piasecki
Fellowship: Join us for Coffee and Snacks in the Gym after Worship
In the Gym: Get more information on Operation Christmas Child
Online: Livestream and Past Sermons on YouTube, Worship Playlist on Spotify
Giving: Give to Grace Online, through the Mail, or Offering Boxes outside Sanctuary
Centennial Keepsakes
On Literature Table in the Lobby
FREE Pens and Stickers for all!
Additional Centennial Merchandise Is available for purchase: T-shirts, Polos, Mugs, Tumblers, and Notebooks. All available at cost (Grace is not making any money on these). You can order below or by scanning the code in the lobby. Use the "Registration" button in the event that pops up to place and pay for your order. The deadline for orders is Sunday, November 8 . See Pastor Markwith any questions.
Operation Christmas Child
Time to Pray and Pack your Boxes!
20-something Reyel tells this story about receiving a shoebox gift when he was 11 and living in Nicaragua. The Operation Christmas Child outreach event was held at his church. After hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ presented in a child-friendly way, a filled shoebox was given to Reyel. It contained lots of fun and colorful things and a WALLET.
“This wallet I did not need at the time, but I kept it because it looked so new in its case. It really meant a lot to me, so I kept it in the shoebox with a letter that was in English – I wasn’t able to understand at the time.”
More than 2 years later, he had some cash and opened the shoebox to put the money in his wallet. He found the note, which motivated him to study English. After 3 years of study, he was able to read and understand written English and could appreciate the details in the letter about the boy who packed his shoebox and why it was important to the family that sent it. The boy closed his letter with the words, “Jesus Loves You!”
Reyel eventually realized he needed to put his faith in Jesus, and his life started to change after that. He even began to serve as a translator for missionaries and shared with others the truth about God and His saving Grace.
“I cannot describe it. But that shoebox planted a seed, and it was a great reminder of the love of Jesus. So, I have kept this wallet for over 10 years now, because it’s a great reminder of that gift, but also, most importantly, the Greatest Gift, the love of Jesus. I want to encourage you that maybe you are not able to see who’s going to receive your shoebox, but I can guarantee you that it’s going to impact their life.”
“IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS!!!”
Continue to pack those shoeboxes! And remember to pray!
Shoebox collection begins in just over a week, on Sunday, November 1.
DEADLINE to return your boxes is Sunday, November 8!
Plan to visit our table in the gym this Sunday for WOW! gift examples that you can purchase at the store. We will also have sample-filled boxes to help you with packing ideas. Shoeboxes will still be available for pick-up at our table too.
[Image: A smiling young man in a blue polo holds up a worn, dark leather wallet outdoors in front of green trees]
These shoeboxes will be a wonderful blessing to the children who receive them. Please continue to pray over the shoeboxes you pack and for the children who will receive them, that each box would be a reminder of God’s love for them. ❤️
[Image: Smiling man in a blue polo shirt holding up a copy of "La Gran Aventura Nuevo Testamento" and pointing to it outdoors among trees]
Contact PJ Hartzell or Trish Lawton
[Image: Grace Church Wallingford logo with heading "Grace Family News" and subtitle "Submit News Items to Pastor Mark]
Congratulations, Jacob and Paige Barton!
On Saturday, October 10, Jacob Barton and Paige Lawton were united in marriage. Please join us in congratulating them and wishing them God’s richest blessings as they begin this new chapter of life together!
Partners On Mission Fall Fundraiser
The Bible Fellowship Church is united in making disciples of Jesus Christ. Victory Valley Camp (VVC) and the Board of Missions (BOM) share this mission—VVC by discipling future leaders through Christian camping, and BOM by equipping local churches to send global workers.
This fall, the Partners On Mission Fall Fundraiser offers a unique opportunity to support both ministries through one gift! Our goal is $50,000, with all donations divided equally between VVC and BOM.
Your gift will help Victory Valley Camp complete a new maintenance building, freeing staff to focus more on discipling teens, and support the Board of Missions’ upcoming global mobilization events.
Give Online
You can give a gift of any amount using Apple Pay or a debit/credit card by clicking the button below.
Give by Mail
Prefer to give by check? Make your check payable to BFC Horizon Fund and mail it to:
Bible Fellowship Church
PO Box 3555
Allentown, PA 18106
Thank you for your generous support and prayers as we work together to make disciples of Jesus Christ!
[Image: Aerial view of a brick church with a steeple beside text reading "100 Years 1926-2026" and a circular logo with the letters GC]
Did You Know?
Part of a series of fun facts from the first100 years of Grace
[Image: Architectural drawings of Grace Bible Fellowship Church's proposed Christian Life Center, showing north and west elevations]
[Image: Vintage church fundraising page titled "The Challenge" with a grid of black-and-white and tinted photos of church members outside a brick building]
It's All About Family!
Grace moved to Wallingford in 1963. By the 1970s they had grown as a family and were feeling the need for more space. So in 1979 they began a campaign to expand the building, adding classroom, offices, a lobby and a gym.
What is most interesting is the brochure for that building campaign. While it has a few drawings of the new building, it is mostly filled with pictures of people. The caption is "A Family Church". While Grace has occupied several buildings over the years, we have never been about the buildings. We have always been about people, and about the church as a family. The buildings have just been places to gather and to minister as a family to one another and to the community around us.
[Image: Vintage church newsletter page titled "Family," with a grid of black-and-white family photos from the 1970s and 1980s, a building floor plan, and the]
Prayer Focus ~Elizabeth Piasecki
[Image: Graphic announcing Elizabeth Piasecki as a Grace Missionary appointee with World Team, showing her photo seated on a stone bench]
Snapshots of Grace ~ Centennial Celebration
[Image: Two smiling older adults standing arm in arm in a church hallway, with a "Main Office Moved to Room 112" sign on the wall behind them]
[Image: Two smiling people standing in a lobby by glass doors; the man on the right wears a "Here to Help" name badge]
[Image: Three smiling adults posing together in a hallway, one wearing a "Here to Help" name badge]
[Image: Two smiling men in suits stand side by side in a hallway, one holding a black leather Bible with an old photograph tucked inside]
[Image: Three smiling people posing together in front of a church history display panels reading "Scripture" and "Proclaiming God's Word]
[Image: Two smiling people stand on a staircase indoors; one holds a white cane and an envelope, and the other stands beside them in a navy jacket]
[Image: Woman in a green sweater smiling down at a toddler in a rust corduroy outfit in a room with a green wall]
[Image: Two smiling women standing in a doorway, one holding a bag of Dole 6 heads romaine lettuce]
[Image: Man speaking at a podium in a sanctuary with autumn pumpkins, under a banner reading "100 Years, Grace Church Wallingford]
[Image: Man in a dark suit speaking at a wooden lectern with a Grace Church 100 Years (1926-2026) banner, with an open Bible and a congregation in the]
[Image: Speaker at a podium with a Grace Church Wallingford 100 Years 1926-2026 banner, addressing a seated audience]
[Image: Two smiling adults posing together in front of a lit stone fireplace with a wooden mantel]
[Image: Man in a striped sweater speaks into a handheld microphone while a woman stands beside him and seated congregation members look on in a church]
[Image: Man speaking at a podium before a seated congregation, with a historic photo on the screen and a sign reading "100 Years, Grace Church Wallingford]
[Image: Speaker at a podium with a Grace Church Wallingford 100 Years (1926-2026) banner, hands raised in front of a lattice wall]
[Image: Worship band leading music in a church sanctuary, with a guitarist, a keyboardist, and singers, while a congregation member raises a hand]
[Image: Three people singing into microphones on a stage with autumn pumpkins and a Grace Church Wallingford 100 Years banner]
[Image: Congregation standing and facing the front as a young woman sings with a microphone beside a lit cross in a church sanctuary]
[Image: Congregation standing and singing together in a worship service, with a woman at a microphone in the foreground]
[Image: People seated in rows of chairs in a room, listening attentively to a speaker, with an older woman in the foreground holding a folded paper]
[Image: Congregation seated in rows of pews, with more people watching from a balcony above]
[Image: Large group of church members crowded together in a wood-ceilinged sanctuary, with fall pumpkins on the stage in front]
Photos from the Centennial Meal and Kids Activities coming Next Week
Also available as Markdown.