Churches awarded for ‘bold ministry’ at 2026 Accelerate Conference

HARRISBURG (BRN) – Several churches were recognized by the Baptist Resource Network for their bold ministry and received awards at the 2026 Accelerate Conference on Oct. 6 at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey Hotel.

Bold Baptisms Accelerator Award

Plaid Community Church in Pittston, Pennsylvania, was the first award recipient of the day, receiving the Bold Baptisms Accelerator Award. This award was presented by BRN Executive Director Barry Whitworth.

Starting as a Bible study, Plaid Community Church opened during Covid in 2020 and has since baptized approximately 128 people, 119 of those since 2021 alone. Already this year, Plaid has baptized 26 people, with another baptism scheduled for Nov. 15.

Nearly every baptism came from a person of an unchurched or non-evangelical background, and 90 to 95 percent remain active in the church today, with over 60 adults now growing together in weekly LIFE Group Bible studies. Plaid Community Church is led by Pastor Stan Oschman.

Bold Church Planting Accelerator Award

The Bold Church Planting Accelerator Award was presented to Pastor Brent Phillips and Reclamation Church New Kensington by Send Network PA/SJ Director John Cope.

Phillips relocated his family from Kentucky to plant Reclamation nearly two years ago as they church will soon celebrate their second anniversary. Currently, Reclamation is averaging 110 in attendance, with 60 adults in discipleship groups.

Cope encouraged the church in its “consistent engagement in the community,” attributing their “strong, steady attendance” to their heart for the people of New Kensington and commitment to the gospel.

LovePASJ Accelerator Award

Compassion ministry is near and dear to Buff McNickle, BRN director of compassion ministry and partnership development, who took the stage during Accelerate to present the LovePASJ Accelerator Award.

“Loving and serving our neighbors are the essence of what LovePASJ is all about. The mission is [to] both share the gospel and be the gospel to the communities they [churches] have been called to reach. The House Church is a model of that mission,” said McNickle.

Located in Sewell, New Jersey, The House Church, led by Pastor Matt Pilla, exemplifies loving their neighbors by consistently engaging in compassion ministry and creating service opportunities within their community for their community.

“Families in Camden are being fed, served and prayed with monthly; free backpacks, camps, and other opportunities to love and serve their neighbors are constant. They [The House Church] are truly a model of what it looks like to accelerate kingdom movement through love,” said McNickle.

ServePASJ Accelerator Award

McNickle remained on stage to hand out another compassion ministry related award: the ServePASJ Accelerator Award. This award seeks to honor a church that displays an “others first” mindset and takes every opportunity to serve others for “His sake and His glory.”

This year’s ServePASJ Accelerator Award recipient was Hillcrest Baptist Church. Led by Pastor John Barkley, Hillcrest Baptist Church recently tackled a series of projects to help other churches, pastors and church planters simply because “there was a need.”

“Jesus modeled for us what our posture should be by grabbing a basin and a towel. Hillcrest Baptist has followed that example by grabbing a hammer and saw to serve other churches,” said McNickle.

Bold Church Award

BRN Director of Church Advancement and Evangelism Larry Anderson and BRN Executive Director Barry Whitworth teamed up to present two Bold Church Awards. The first Bold Church Award went to Pastor Chuck Fricker and Harvest House Community Fellowship in Towanda, Pennsylvania.

Harvest House has faithfully engaged in community events, such as Riverfest, Reclaim prayer gatherings and statewide compassion opportunities, such as Serve Lehigh Valley.

“Today, we celebrate Harvest House Community Fellowship for boldly showing up, stepping out and helping advance the gospel in their community,” said Anderson.

The second Bold Church Award was given to a church that turns “partnership into meaningful impact.” Under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Tom Dawson, The SOAR Church in Woodbine, New Jersey, has consistently engaged with the BRN, while serving its community through initiatives such as Care Portal, Unity in the Community and an autism walk that brought together more than 100 participants.

“Their ministry demonstrates that partnership is not simply about being connected — it is about using those connections to serve people and advance the gospel,” said Anderson.

Bold Next Level Award

The final award of the day was the Bold Next Level Award, which was also presented by Anderson and Whitworth. The Next Level award is awarded to a church that demonstrates measurable growth in stability, partnership and ministry, and is actively pursuing what God calls them to next.

This year’s recipient of the Next Level Award was Travelers Church in Pittsburgh. Under the direction of Pastor Wes Winebarger, Travelers has progressed from a church plant to a reproducing and reinvesting established church, while continuing to expand its involvement in evangelism, outreach, prayer and BRN partnership.

“Pastor Wes and the Travelers family are not only participating but increasingly helping lead, influence and strengthen ministry beyond their own congregation. Today, we celebrate Travelers Church for refusing to remain where they were and boldly moving to the Next Level of ministry and Kingdom impact,” said Anderson.

Congratulations to all of this year’s award recipients! Each one of you play an important role in accelerating Kingdom movement in Pennsylvania, South Jersey and beyond!