NEILLSVILLE ASSEMBLY OF GOD CHURCH,

NEILLSVILLE, WISCONSIN

By Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon

 

New sign, new name for Neillsville church

 

By Peter Spicer

 

The Neillsville Assembly of God will soon have a new name and sign at the church building, located on Hewett Street.

 

The church recently voted to change its name from the Neillsville Assembly of God to Hillside Community Church.

 

The name change was considered over the past couple of years, said Pastor Joe Weiers, who has led the congregation since March of 2005.

 

“The church is excited about [the change], said Weiers.

 

The name change will be featured on a new sign that will be located in front of the church building.  The sign will arrive in approximately six to eight weeks, said Weiers.

 

The name change reflects how the church wants to embrace the community, said Weiers.

 

Although the church name will leave out the Assembly of God title, the change as not an effort to distance the congregation from the Assembly of God denomination, said Weiers, who added the Assembly of God title and logo will be displayed at the top of the cross-shaped sign.

 

Weiers is optimistic the church’s AWANA program and congregation will continue to grow in the near future; the church has over 30 members but averages approximately 65 attendees each Sunday morning.

 

Constructing a new church building is a dream and goal of his that may one day be accomplished, said Weiers.

 

The church owns seven-and-one-half acres north of Neillsville at Moonlight Road, off STH 73; the church has owned the property since 1979.

 

During the church’s more than 50-year history, the congregation has never built its own structure.  The church has been located at the former Masonic Lodge on Hewett Street since 1999; it was previously located at what is currently the Seventh Day Adventist Church, located at Fifth and Clay Streets. (That building having been the old Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church)

 

The church building the congregation currently uses is functional but could become crowded if the church expands.

 

That’s a problem Weiers will be happy to face.

 

Pastor Joe Weiers poses next to the Neillsville Assembly of God sign, which will soon be replaced and feature the church’s new name – Hillside Community Church. 

(Photo by Peter Spicer/Clark County Press)

 

 

 

New Sign outside Neillsville Church

The Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI, August 6, 2008, Page 15.

 

 

Hillside Community Church Pastor Joe Weiers poses Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008, next to a new sign recently erected outside the church building.  The congregation had voted to change its name from the Neillsville Assembly of God to Hillside Community Church and now has a sign displaying the church’s new name.