PITTSBURGH CONFERENCE HISTORY: A Personal Perspective

Readers should be advised that this document will be of interest to those who are part of the Free Methodist Church of North America – and especially those with an interest in the Harvest Conference (formerly known as the Pittsburgh Conference).

I grew up in the Pittsburgh Conference [now Harvest Conference] of the Free Methodist Church. Because my parents were VERY involved in the [former] Rochester District, as well as the Conference, I attended regular events of these groups and made friends from far and wide [during the late 1950's and the 1960's].

I eventually attended Roberts Wesleyan College and then - after marrying Debbie - studied for three years at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky.  In 1976, I received my first full-time appointment to the Jeannette FMC - newly located in Harrison City, Pennsylvania.

Most of my memories of the Pittsburgh Conference are of the many colorful, animated, and influential older pastors of that day! Names flood my memory:

J.O. Archer [my great uncle and the only other pastor in my family tree. I remember him receiving a plaque for 60 years of service! He was appointed to a church as a young layman without having been asked if he would be willing to lead the church!]
R.L. Page
C.H. Canon
R.S. McGrew
R.D. Merkle
D.D. Rosenbaum
R.L. Armstrong
E.W. Cowsert
E.E. Gunder
Paul Hazlett
W.P. Jones
C.D. Little
J.S. Mitchell
A.G. Previte
G.S. Pugh
Fred Schreffler
S.H. Estel
Milo and Maxine Smith
Lee Spear
H.E. Stevick
O.R. Tessaro
C.H. Zahniser
R.L. Whoolery

And MANY others!

It’s notable that many of these [mostly men] pastors went by their first two initials rather than their first names! I grew up respecting these pastors and being familiar with their unique personalities. I must admit that some were rather strict and evoked fear in me; they did not give the impression of being happy men! Others, however, were characters who left a definite impression. Annual Conference sessions in the 1950’s and 1960’s lasted for five days – frequently held on what is now the Tri-State Family Camp in East Liverpool, Ohio. During vigorous debates, some of these skilled orators filled the tabernacle with laughter with their humorous tirades! Bishops often had a hard time restraining the zeal of these competitive, creative and passionate leaders.

However, during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s the conference saw an influx of much younger pastors – some of which were:

C. William Bailey
Paul Barrett
Gregg Bengry
Darrell Carney
Fred Craig
E.L. Daugherty
D.J. Eakin
Christina Ferris
Steve Gaines
David Gress
Michael Guthrie
D.J. Holiday
Keith Hulton
James Jobes
David Jones
John Kelley
Walter Kirkland
David Little
George McLaughlin
Melvern McRoberts
R.A. Neal
G.L. Newberry
T.L. Roush
Carl Sellards
Robert T. Singleton
Roger L. Yeager, Sr.

I was one of the last in this influx of younger pastors that were going to have a significant influence in the future of the conference!  Some were old enough to be the conference youth workers while I was still a teen. There was as much as a ten-year-gap between some of us, with very few filling the gap between us and the older pastors mentioned earlier.

I remember two pivotal moments in the history of the conference when these younger pastors were prevented from creating a much-needed period of transition.

1.   The first was when we were making a major transition from having three ‘District Superintendents’ to one 'Conference Superintendent'! It was obviously a significant decision.

The first ballot failed to produce an election with many names being put forward – as is customary. The two receiving the most votes, however, were J.D. States (the preferred choice of the younger pastors) and R.L. Page [who had formerly been a district superintendent for well over a decade].

The second ballot narrowed the field – but still failed to gain an election.

It became apparent that the true contest was between Page and States.

A third ballot also failed to produce an election as the conference pastors and delegates were encouraged to prepare their fourth ballot.

Finally, by a slim margin, R.L. Page was elected as our first Conference Superintendent.  The younger pastors were denied their choice of leadership.

R.L. Page had been an effective leader for many years and was held in high esteem by many of the conference delegates. Because the annual sessions extended over five days, most churches elected elderly women as delegates [sorry, I know that sounds sexist, but it‘s the way it was] – simply because they were willing and able to attend for the extended period of time!  My father mentioned to me once that these delegates often turned to watch either Reverend Page’s response or another man who was a respected lay leader. These delegates tended to follow their lead.

2.   Because of the new structure in the conference, the former district camps were thrown into disarray. Some new pastors who had come to us from the Genesee Conference [western NY] led the Tri-State Camp in forming a Camp Association to protect the camp from being sold by the conference.

This seemed to be a direct result of research that was being done by some of the younger pastors who dreamed of a ‘conference camp’ in the Laurel Mountains that would allow for swimming, hiking, camping, boating and a variety of outdoor activities.

To make such a purchase, however, would necessitate the sale of the current district camps. Thus, the panic move to create camp associations to prevent this from happening. Again – the dream of the younger pastors was denied.

It should be noted that the establishment of one conference leader signaled massive change for the district camps!  Churches were no longer aligned with the ‘camp meetings’ since we no longer had districts; all churches belonged to the Pittsburgh Conference. Where district assessments, assignments and mandatory attendance and support by pastors had formerly prevailed – these were subtly but persistently ignored!  This was the beginning of a major period of change and struggle for the Rochester District Camp [East Liverpool, OH], the Kiski Area Camp [Apollo, PA] and the Fairmont District Camp [Fairchance, PA]

Ultimately – in time – a younger leader was installed as R. A. Neal became the next conference superintendent. Having served as an associate of R.L. Page for a number of years, Bob’s transition to leadership was accepted gratefully. But some damage had been done by the previous denials as a number of the younger pastors left the conference for other fields of service.

Ensuing elections gave evidence that – sometimes - the conference leadership choices were  influenced by popularity [for instance: serving as camp evangelists at the various district camps] rather than leadership potential, innovation or skill.

All of this leads some to wonder if the trajectory of the conference – which has been characterized by systematically closing churches – could have been averted if different choices of leadership had been made? Currently, the proposed merging of conferences by the denomination seems to hint at solutions that will be more fiscally advantageous!