Hillsboro churches announce merger

Two Hillsboro churches began operating as one this January, following a vote late last year to merge the congregations.

Pastor Mark Smith, of the Cornerstone Assembly of God, and Pastor Patty Burns, formerly of Resurrected Truth Ministries, said that their respective congregations voted to merge the two churches together due to their close proximity and similar goals and beliefs.

“We had voted in November to merge, and Pastor Burns’ church voted to merge about that time,” Smith said. “The merger took place January 17th of this year. It’s been a very delightful experience. It’s gone extremely smooth.”

Smith said that after his church moved from High Street in Hillsboro, the Cornerstone congregation met Burns, whose church was less than a quarter mile from their new property.

“It was kind of laid on our hearts by the Holy Spirit to reach out and extend an invitation to Pastor Burns’ congregation,” Smith said. “The two churches are only about a quarter of a mile apart on [state Route] 73, and when we met her, we were impressed with her love for God and could feel the Holy Spirit’s presence on her. We could tell she loved the Lord.”

The churches and their respective administrations decided “two heads are better than one,” Smith said.

“We can probably accomplish more for the kingdom if we’re united, being just a quarter mile apart, and two heads are better than one, as the saying goes,” Smith said. “Our congregation was overwhelmingly for it, so we shared an official invitation, and Pastor Burns’ congregation accepted.”

Burns said that the Resurrected Truth Ministries’ congregation was also in favor of the merger when she brought the invitation before them.

“When I was extended the invitation, I prayed about it, and I believed it was the right thing to do,” Burns said. “I took it before the congregation, and they were 100-percent for it also. We all got all excited about it. So we moved into action, and we’re glad we did.”

Since the merger, services are now held at the Cornerstone Assembly of God, located at 8343 state Route 73, north of Hillsboro. Smith retained his position as senior pastor, while Burns is now the associate senior pastor at the church.

“She preaches with me, and we took one of their board members and put it on our board,” Smith said. “All their members transferred as our members, and we just amalgamated. Sometimes churches split, so it’s nice to see churches coming together.”

The new congregation boasts about 90 to 100 members, according to the pastors. Both pastors said that the transition has gone even more smoothly than they even imagined.

“It’s been just perfect,” Smith said. “That just tells you it’s a God thing and not a man thing.”

“Everything has really been great,” Burns said. “It’s gone smooth, and everyone is happy and excited to join forces together and do the work of the kingdom and to help our community in an even better way.”

The pastors plan to add additional programming “as opportunities arise,” as they already have a variety of services offered each week.

“We have a lot now, but we plan to expand as opportunities and situations arise,” Smith said. “We want to reach out. We currently draw from Clinton County and New Vienna and Hillsboro, and even as far south as Lake Waynoka, so we want to keep reaching out in the area. We feel like we can do so much more with more resources.”

Services offered throughout the week include three church services on Sunday mornings, plus youth services on Sunday evenings; a book study on Monday nights; a prayer service at lunch on Tuesdays; and a Bible study on Wednesday nights.

“We emphasize prayer a lot,” Smith said. “The first Sunday night of the month, we have a big prayer service praying for needs. Every Tuesday, we have a prayer service. Then, every three months, we usually have a week of prayer or a 24-hour prayer chain, where we have someone take an hour and come up to the church and we pray for 24 straight hours.”

Smith said the Pentecostal church includes a “good group of young people for a church our size,” and Burns hopes to start a ladies’ program at the church.

The Cornerstone Assembly of God welcomes new members and interested ones to attend services or to contact the church for more information. For more information, call the church office at (937) 393-5188, stop by the church or visit their Facebook page, Cornerstone Assembly of God.