Patterson Park Church (Dayton, OH)

The Early Years: 1950-1961

The Patterson Park Church was organized in 1949 with the Reverend C.S. Zimmerman as pastor. The first service was held in the home of Ivan and Regina Ashworth on May 21, 1950. Later the church met at the Belmont Elementary School, then moved into the new building at 600 Patterson Road on June 23, 1953. Nathan D. Casement was installed as pastor on January 1, 1958. Under his leadership, the sanctuary was built and the first service in the expanded facility was held on Easter Sunday, April 2, 1961.

The Transitional Years: 1962-1978

Patterson Park Christian School (later to become Dayton Christian Schools, Inc.) began in September of 1963 with 17 kindergarten students. Rev. Casement served as pastor until 1968, when John Terrell was installed as pastor. Upon his resignation, Dale Kurtz was called as Senior Pastor and was installed January 1, 1974.

In 1978 the church unanimously adopted a revised constitution, the name was officially changed to The Patterson Park Church, and the congregation was incorporated as an independent Bible church.

The Challenging Years: 1988-1992

In 1989 a recommendation by the Deacon Board to buy 13 acres of land at 3655 East Patterson Road was approved by the congregation. Contracts were signed and the land was purchased debt-free in November of 1990. A building committee was appointed and worked diligently toward the construction of a new campus which began on October 30, 1991. A bond sale was successfully conducted to finance construction, and the church property at 600 Patterson Road was placed on the market.

The first service in the new church was held on September 20, 1992 with nearly 1,000 people attending this worship celebration. The formal dedication of Phase I of the new Patterson Park Church was held on Sunday, November 15, 1992. The 100,000 square-foot facility houses the Family Life Center (Auditorium, Gym, Dining Room, you name it . . .), Christian Education building and administrative offices. To God be the GLORY!

The Present: 1993-2001

The Lord continues to work wonders in Patterson Park Church. We have seen our attendance jump to over 1,100 on Sunday morning. We praise the Lord for the wonderful people He is adding, and we are praying that we will be ready for whatever He desires of us in the future. In the final weeks of 1999 we were able to retire the debt that we had taken to construct our new church.

Without the burden of debt, we began the new millennium excited to see how God would expand our ministry. Since the year 2000 was the 50th anniversary of our church, we celebrated our Golden Jubilee in May by inviting charter members, former members, and former staff to join with us to praise God for how He built, preserved, and continues to use Patterson Park Church.

Two new associate pastors were called in June of 2000: Ryan Gordon came to be our Children's Pastor, and David Farrell joined the staff as our Pastor of Student Ministries. With the continued growth in attendance and ministry opportunities, we felt the need to hire someone to focus on encouraging church members to get more directly involved in ministry. In 2001 Dan Sietman was called to fill this need as Pastor of Assimilation and Equipping.

Rev. Dale Kurtz retired at the end of 2001 after 28 years as Senior Pastor. Following an interim period overseen by Rev. Terry Wright, Patterson Park Church welcomed Dr. Keith Moore as its new Senior Pastor on February 2, 2003.