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April 19 Today in OPC History

Dayton, Ohio

2022

 

On this day in 1971, Redeemer Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio officially came into existence. The beginnings of this congregation date back to the fall of 1967. The PCUSA had just adopted the Confession of 1967, a move that further undermined the doctrinal standards of that church. An elder in a PCUSA congregation in Dayton, Mr. J. Elmer Baird, decided it was time to leave and find a more Reformed option. Mr. and Mrs. Baird then asked the OPC Committee on Home Missions to start a Reformed work in the Dayton area. The organizing pastor was the Rev. Lawrence Eyres, who continued his ministry at Redeemer until 1982. In September of that year, the church called Michael Frangipane to become the next pastor. His ministry of 22 years concluded in February 2005. He was succeeded by the Rev. Robert Eckardt. Redeemer has been instrumental in planting other churches. In 1996 the church called the Rev. Charles Jackson to plant Covenant OPC on the north side of Dayton. Redeemer also aided the work in Columbus, Ohio. Interestingly, the current General Secretary for Home Missions, the Rev. John Shaw, came from Redeemer and Covenant. Reflecting back, Rev. Eyres once said, “In my days of ministry there, I was often overwhelmed with distress at the lack of growth.” By God’s grace, the little seed planted in Dayton, Ohio has grown into a flourishing tree.

Picture: Mike and Sue Frangipane

 

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