Gerry Stoltzfoos

Gerry Stoltzfoos is one of those guys whose personality draws you in. I’d want to go to his church! Now, I’m not saying that he’s got a lot of charisma and can fly by on that. No, anyone who listens to Gerry talk can instantly tell that his heart’s desire is to share the hope of Christ, and it is that passion deep within him, and the love of Christ that draws people in.

            Gerry admits that he struggled through schooling at Valley Forge Christian College, but with a lot of hard work and by the grace of God, he graduated! It was during that time at VFCC, in the same chapel services I attend every day, that his passion for church planting was first sparked.  After graduation, Gerry planned to plant 10 churches in the Philadelphia area.

            Gerry was excited and passionate about this vision, and decided to fast and pray for Philadelphia. In the middle of this time of fasting and prayer, someone came to Gerry and told him that he thought God had spoken to him about Gerry planting a church near Gettysburg. Gerry was confused and a little bit upset by this. All of the time, thoughts, prayer, and effort he had been pouring into his vision for Philly was all to go to waste?

            As the weeks passed, it seemed as though God was holding onto Gerry’s shoulders and guiding him through open door after open door, all leading to Gettysburg. Even though looking back now, Gerry can see how obvious it was, at the time, he was still bitter and upset about the change of course. A committee of pastors of the Gettysburg area invited Gerry to meet with them, and to discuss the spiritual state of the area, and the possibility of him working there. Gerry didn’t think that he had any wisdom to offer, in fact, he knew he couldn’t impress these wise, experienced men. He didn’t think that he was the man for the job and was sure that they’d realize that too; he didn’t even agree with everything about the Assemblies of God. To his bafflement, the committee affirmed him, saying that they were only impressed with Jesus.

            From that day forward, Gerry was almost forced to change his attitude toward the situation, as he witnessed the Lord’s providence manifesting so vividly in his life.

            Gerry started Freedom Valley Church in Gettysburg, PA in 1992. There were 42 people in attendance. Today, there are approximately 2400 people attending every weekend.

            How did this drastic change take place? Gerry’s first order of business was a mass flier letting the community know that they were there. The next thing was giving away food. Gerry said that food is the biggest draw for all people. Freedom Valley Church started hosting themed Sundays such as Friends Day, and Man Fest, which drew a lot of people in. They still do these today.  These were only a few of the many little jumpstarting things they did, but the real reason for their growth was the relationship foundation Gerry built in the community. Gerry is real. He wears Harley apparel, etc., because he likes it, and because of his approachability, people treat him like a normal guy. He would have neighbors over for dinner before the church was even started, he got to know the business owners in the immediate town, he showed people the love of Christ, and through that, people came to find that love for themselves.

            Gerry has a huge heart for reaching the lost, specifically those whom the church in general is failing to reach.  He wrote a book called 83 lost sheep that talks about the percentage of people who don’t know Jesus.  Gerry says that “America has given up on church as a solution.” I think that this is due to the fact that Christians in America have given up on dying to self and carrying the Gospel to their neighbors. In fact, Gerry said that he tried to get other local churches to join him in some of his endeavors to reach more people in the city with the Gospel, and their response was one of rejection.  Gerry said, “I thought that all churches were interested in Kingdom Expansion.” Apparently this is not the case.

            Today, Gerry has a vision to plant 1000 churches. His game plan is based on a multiplication process: Every pastor of every church he plants has to swear to plant more.  What if this were the vision of all pastors? What if it were the vision of all Christians? What if every time someone came to know the Lord, they actually followed through and told more people?

I believe that America, for one, would be a very different place.