On Sunday, June 7, I was privileged to be part of a weekend celebrating 150 years of ministry at the LaValle Advent Christian Church in La Valle, Wisc. The celebration began with Praise in the Park on Saturday afternoon. The event, held in the La Valle Village Park, featured four praise bands performing on the main stage, activities and games for kids, a car show, a basket raffle and concessions. University of Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Brad Davison was the guest speaker for the event.
Sunday morning, Rev. Andy Johnson, pastor of the La Valle church, and his congregation extended an incredibly warm welcome to me as I joined them for their worship service. The service was a wonderful time of lively singing and praying together, and I was honored to share the morning message, “The Church: A Preview of Eternity” from Revelation 21:22-22:5. After the service, everyone joined together for a sumptuous fellowship meal.
After the meal, Mrs. Joyce Johnson, whose husband Richard pastored the church from 1971-2021, gave an excellent and encouraging history of the church, which held its first service on July 23, 1876. The church later built its first sanctuary that is still in use today as a Sunday school building. In 1980, the current sanctuary was constructed, and the debt retired just five years later. Music has been a significant part of the ministry of the church for more than half-a-century now. Several musical groups from the church have ministered in the church and the surrounding areas. One year, one of the most significant groups, the Valleytones, ministered through music in more than 40 different places.
The church has also been deeply invested in camping and missions. Rev. Richard Johnson worked at the conference youth camp for 40 years and Rev. Johnson has continued that commitment. The church has supported and participated in missions to Guatemala with Pastor Chris Anderson for more than 20 years. They also announced their 2026 Penny Crusade total of nearly $4,000 while I was there on Sunday.
The church continues to be a winsome, lively and vibrant witness for Christ in La Valle. The church presents a living Last Supper annually and has served children through VBS every summer for the last 55 years. Love for their neighbors is displayed through their annual Christmas day meals, bi-weekly community food distribution and the Potter’s Meal, a free community meal the church has held every month for the last 13 years. This church of more than 100 people, in a town of fewer than 400, is a wonderful reflection of a community of faith committed to loving one another, their neighbors and Christ, faithfully preaching biblical truth and seeking the glory of God in all they are and do. It was a great encouragement to be with them during this major milestone in the life of the church.
