History

The origin of what is now Centre Wheeling Fellowship goes back to the year 1835 in the settlement of Wheeling, Virginia. The meager records of that time relate that a small group of German pioneers began meeting on Market Street where itinerant German pastors stopped on their circuits. Sometime in late 1835 or early 1836 a formal congregation was formed with Andrew Schwartz as the first resident pastor.
Later in 1836 a parcel of land on 18^th street was purchased and the first church building was constructed where The Laughlin Memorial Chapel stands today. The cornerstone of the first church states “First German Lutheran Church in Wheeling 1836”, which is built into the current church. Also in 1836 Wheeling became a city and West Virginia became a separate state in 1863 with Wheeling as it’s first capital.
Around 1870 the church name became St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church along with the construction and dedication of the second church on December 22, 1872 located at 17th and Market Streets. In 1906 the church was compelled to sell the property to the B&O railroad as the site of the new passenger train station. The property at the current 22nd and Chapline Street location was purchased and the current building was dedicated on September 20, 1908. On October 21, 1928 the church became affiliated with the Evangelical Synod of North America, and in 1934 with the merger of the Evangelical and Reformed Churches it became known as St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed Church. The merger of the Evangelical and Reformed Church with the Congregational Christian Church took place in 1961 changing the name to St. John’s United Church of Christ.
In 1984 the church was included in the federally designated Centre Market Square Historic District, and is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. In 2006 the congregation voted to sever ties with the United Church of Christ and changed the name back to St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church, a name that had served well for over 60 years previously. The church became known as St. John’s Centre Wheeling Fellowship in 2016, and in 2019 the formal name of Centre Wheeling Fellowship was adopted becoming “the church where traditional and non-traditional meet”.
With these changes also came new ministries allowing Centre Wheeling Fellowship to expand it’s community outreach. The Free Bike Depot offer free bicycles, which enables mobility for those who lacked means of transportation for work, shopping, and even recreation. While the Christian Life and Recovery Services provide Christian based life coaching and resource referrals to those struggling with addiction, mental illness, and more. In the future Centre Wheeling Fellowship will continue to expand reaching to share Christ’s love to the community.