OUR HISTORY

On the night of August 7, 1979, a group of ten adults along with Pastor Jim Clyde of the Clintonville Evangelical Free Church met at the home of Mike and Sue Kanuiga to discuss a dream of starting a new church in Waupaca.

Pastor Clyde suggested starting the journey by studying Gene Getz's book, "The Measure of a Church." The books were ordered and meetings began at the Parfreyville Church Hall on August 19, 1979, also initiating a children's class. Group members took turns leading the study, and fellowship grew as more people joined.

David McLaughlin from Neenah, WI, coordinated the meetings and served as the Bible teacher. He joined the fellowship for Sunday mornings and Wednesday night studies from September 1979 to September 1982. A photo taken shortly after captured about 40 adults and children attending.

In August of 1980, the name 'Faith Community Church' was chosen. In spring and summer 1982, consideration began for aligning with a denomination. During this time, Pastor Ed Riddick from a Stratford, WI, Bible Church visited to discuss the IFCA and EFCA. After careful research and prayer, Faith Community Church officially affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America.

After several years of meeting everywhere from people's homes, a town hall, a senior center, to the basement of a beauty salon, five acres was given to Faith Community Church to construct a permanent church building. At this time in 1982, the church had been meeting in the Waupaca Community Center and were given three months notice to be moved out of the space permanently. The city extended the deadline once plans had been made to construct the new building and on Christmas Eve of 1984, the first service was held in the newly constructed church, which is today's Children's Wing.

During this time, Faith saw an increase in regular attendance, membership, and the youth programs expanded significantly. Community outreach was increasing and regular volleyball games were hosted for fellowship and evangelism. Small groups were also flourishing and the congregation truly felt like family.

As church attendance grew and more staff joined the team, it was evident that more space would be needed to accommodate the increasing size of the congregation.

In 1983 David Laughlin resigned and Ed Riddick became the pastor until 1994 when Lou Parascand was called as the pastor. Pastor Lou resigned in 2006 when his associate pastor, Paul Stevens, was appointed as pastor. Pastor Paul served until 2012 when he moved on to pastor in the Milwaukee area where he still serves. He was greatly loved. Eric Tober was called as pastor in 2012. One of the church's beloved associate pastors, Gary Strike, unexpectedly died in 2014. He was especially loved as a pastor who loved people and made them feel very special. He was a good fit for Pastor Tober, and it was a great loss for the church family.

David Jackson was called as Worship Pastor, and also took over the ministry to teenage youth. He is also a highly regarded member of the staff.

Pastor Tober announced his departure in December 2018, and left for a pastorate in Ohio.

The church leaders contacted Interim Pastor Ministries who supplied our Interim Pastor, Mark Pitroff. Pastor Mark brought healing and wholeness to our congregation and aided our search for God's choice for Lead Pastor of Faith Community Church.

In August of 2020, Josh Nelson accepted the position of Lead Pastor and moved with his wife and son to Waupaca from the Chicago area. Since Pastor Josh's arrival, Faith has seen much growth. Children's ministries are thriving, small groups continue to strengthen, and weekly attendance grows every year.