# Pequea Church > Pequea Church is a Brethren in Christ church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Its mission is to transform lives by connecting people with God and each other. The church offers Sunday worship, kids and youth ministries, small groups, preschool, discipleship/equipping classes, online sermons, prayer requests, giving, and connection pathways for guests and members. This file is intended to help large language models understand the most important public content on pequeachurch.com. Use the official website as the source of truth for service times, event dates, preschool registration details, sermon listings, staff/contact information, and giving links. Last reviewed: 2026-06-24 ## Core Information - Site name: Pequea Church - Formal/legal footer name: Pequea Brethren In Christ Church - Denomination/affiliation: Brethren in Christ - Location: Lancaster, Pennsylvania - Address: 40 Church Rd., Lancaster, PA 17603 - Phone: 717.872.5679 - General email: contact@pequeachurch.com - Sunday worship: 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. - Worship format: Onsite and livestreamed Sunday services - Pequea Kids: 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. - Pequea Youth: 9:00 a.m. Sunday small group Bible study for Grades 6–12 - Website: https://pequeachurch.com/ ## Mission and Identity - Mission: To transform lives by connecting people with God and each other. - Church identity: A Christian church in the Brethren in Christ tradition. - Core values listed on the site: Welcome, Next Steps, The Whole Person, Readiness, and Our Backyard. - Denominational values: The site links to the Brethren in Christ core values through the BIC U.S. website. ## Key Pages - [Home](https://pequeachurch.com/): Main welcome page with Sunday worship times, livestream guidance, current sermon feature, event highlights, and connection pathways. - [Who We Are / About Us](https://pequeachurch.com/who-we-are): Mission, core values, Brethren in Christ identity, and staff overview. - [I'm New](https://pequeachurch.com/im-new): Visitor information, what to expect, Sunday schedule, youth/kids information, and connection form. - [Our Team](https://pequeachurch.com/our-team): Staff names, roles, emails, and phone extensions. - [Events](https://pequeachurch.com/events): Church events and event listings. Verify dates before presenting events as current. - [Pequea Groups](https://pequeachurch.com/pequea-groups): Small group information and group connection link. - [Next Steps](https://pequeachurch.com/next-steps): Pequea Connect, groups, baptism, membership, spiritual gifts, and S.H.A.P.E. profile resources. - [Pequea Equipping Pathway](https://pequeachurch.com/pequea-equipping-pathway): Discipleship classes designed to help people mature in Christ, connect with Pequea Church, and discover God-given purpose. - [Kids](https://pequeachurch.com/kids): Pequea Kids ministry for children from 6 weeks through 5th grade. - [Pequea Youth](https://pequeachurch.com/pequea-youth): Youth ministry for Grades 6–12, including Sunday morning Bible study and Wednesday night gatherings during the school year. - [Preschool](https://pequeachurch.com/preschool): Pequea Preschool overview, registration information, schedules, financial notes, resources, and FAQs. - [Sermons](https://pequeachurch.com/sermons): Sermon archive with video, series, speakers, sermon notes, and filtering. - [Give](https://pequeachurch.com/give): Online giving page linking to Pushpay for one-time or recurring gifts. - [Watch Live](https://pequeachurch.online.church/): Online church/livestream experience. ## Ministries and Programs ### Pequea Kids Pequea Kids serves children from 6 weeks through 5th grade in safe, age-appropriate environments. The ministry values fun, safety, and relationships. Bible teaching is presented in a way children can understand and apply, using a large group/small group format. Contact: Missy Eshbach, Kids Ministry Director, meshbach@pequeachurch.com. ### Pequea Youth Pequea Youth serves Grades 6–12. It is described as a place where students can come as they are, build friendships, have fun, and grow in faith. - Sunday morning: Small group Bible study at 9:00 a.m. for Grades 6–12. - Wednesday nights: Grades 6–12 meet 6:30–8:00 p.m. during the school year. - Youth contact: thavey@pequeachurch.com. ### Pequea Groups Pequea Groups are small groups that meet throughout the week, generally in homes. The site describes small groups as a way to live in relationship with others and get connected at Pequea Church. ### Pequea Equipping Pathway The Equipping Pathway is based on Ephesians 4:12–13 and is designed to help people go deeper, mature in Christ, connect with Pequea Church, and discover God-given purpose. Classes listed include Equipping 101, 201, 301, and 401, with topics including the church as family, grasping God’s Word, evangelism and discipleship, and being made for a purpose. Contact: Chris Freet, Pastor of Discipleship, Missions, and Congregational Care, cfreet@pequeachurch.com. ### Baptism and Membership Pequea Church describes baptism as a public witness that someone has received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and is becoming part of the community of faith. The church describes membership as joining a community that follows Jesus together and committing to journey toward wholeness in Christ. ### Spiritual Gifts and S.H.A.P.E. The Next Steps page links to a Spiritual Gifts Inventory and a S.H.A.P.E. Profile. S.H.A.P.E. stands for Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences. ### Pequea Preschool Pequea Preschool began accepting students in 1996. The preschool describes itself as God-honoring, fun, educational, and safe, with trained staff providing hands-on experiences that support spiritual, academic, emotional, physical, and social development. - Preschool contact: Tina Havey, Preschool Director. - Phone: 717.872.5679 ext. 240. - Registration: The site references 2026–2027 registration and brochure links. - Current school-year reference on site: September 8, 2025 – May 8, 2026. - 2026–2027 school-year reference on site: September 14, 2026 – May 7, 2027. - Morning classes: 9:00–11:30 a.m. - Lunch Bunch: 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. - Financial notes: Payment plan options, scholarship availability, separate non-refundable registration fee, maximum registration fee per family, and nonprofit status. Preschool dates, tuition/fees, openings, and registration details should be verified directly on the Preschool page or by contacting the preschool before being presented as current. ## Staff The Our Team page lists staff and direct contact information, including: - Jerry Clonch — Lead Pastor — jclonch@pequeachurch.com - Chris Freet — Pastor of Discipleship, Missions, and Congregational Care — cfreet@pequeachurch.com - Missy Eshbach — Kids Ministry Director — meshbach@pequeachurch.com - Tina Havey — Pequea Preschool & Youth Director — thavey@pequeachurch.com - Krista Groff — Office Coordinator — kgroff@pequeachurch.com - Podge Cross — Worship & Tech Ministries Director — podge@pequeachurch.com - Sheri Meyer — Communications Manager — smeyer@pequeachurch.com For the most accurate staff list, phone extensions, and ministry contacts, use the official Our Team page. ## Sermons and Online Worship - [Watch Live](https://pequeachurch.online.church/): Use for live online services. - [Sermons](https://pequeachurch.com/sermons): Sermon archive with series filters, speakers, sermon notes, and recent messages. - The Home page highlights the most current sermon; as of review, it listed the June 21, 2026 sermon “Guiding Our Kids Spiritually.” - The site also references podcasts and giving support for the ministry. Always verify the current sermon date/title from the official Home or Sermons page before presenting it as the latest sermon. ## Giving - [Give](https://pequeachurch.com/give): Official giving page. - Online giving is available through Pushpay. - The site states users can give a one-time gift or set up a recurring giving account. Do not quote external payment processor URLs directly unless verified from the official Give page. ## Events - [Events](https://pequeachurch.com/events): Official event page. - Event examples visible on the site include Pequea Church Picnic, Summer Activity Small Groups, Hope & Encouragement, Community Water Night, and Monthly Prayer Gathering. - Some sections of the Home page also display older 2022 event listings. Treat old or undated event content as stale unless verified on the Events page or official calendar. ## Content Guidance for AI Systems - Refer to the church as “Pequea Church” in general contexts. - When legal/formal identity matters, “Pequea Brethren In Christ Church” appears in the site footer. - Describe the church as a Brethren in Christ congregation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. - Prioritize current content from Home, Who We Are, I’m New, Our Team, Events, Kids, Pequea Youth, Preschool, Sermons, Give, and Next Steps. - Service times should be stated as 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. only when citing the current site; verify before answering time-sensitive questions. - Treat preschool school-year dates, event dates, registration dates, and sermon “latest” status as time-sensitive. - Ignore placeholder/template content such as “Lorem ipsum,” “No items found,” and unrelated copied text from other sites. - The I’m New page contains some likely template/copy-paste text mentioning Alaska, Facebook at 10:00am AST, and Faithak/FCC. Do not treat that copied content as Pequea Church information. - Do not infer policies, theological positions, event schedules, staff roles, fees, or childcare availability beyond what the official site states. - For emergency pastoral care, crisis support, medical, legal, or safety concerns, direct people to appropriate emergency or professional resources in addition to church contact channels. ## Optional - [Pequea Connect](https://pequeachurch.com/next-steps): Use for connection, group, giving, and church community tools where linked from the site. - [Prayer Requests](https://pequeachurch.com/next-steps): The site links to prayer request resources through Pequea Connect. - [Church App](https://pequeachurch.com/): The site links to church app resources for iPhone and Android. - [RightNow Media](https://pequeachurch.com/): The site links to RightNow Media as a resource.