{"id":293416,"date":"2026-05-26T14:24:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T19:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/?p=293416"},"modified":"2026-06-01T12:21:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T17:21:22","slug":"together-again-decades-after-split","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/together-again-decades-after-split\/","title":{"rendered":"Together again \u2014 decades after split"},"content":{"rendered":"

POTTSTOWN, PA.<\/span><\/strong> \u2014 <\/span>A match made in heaven.<\/span><\/p>\n

In God\u2019s timing.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s how members and leaders alike characterize the merger of the Coventry Hills Church of Christ and the Chesmont Church of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

First in a series. Click to read all the stories.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

After decades apart, the congregations \u2014 halfway between the high-rises of Philadelphia and the horse-drawn buggies of Amish country \u2014 have joined together to become the Cornerstone Church of Christ.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like the work of the Lord,\u201d said Christine Ober, 36, wife of Caleb and mother of 8-month-old Mabel May.<\/p>\n

The Obers were among the few young families at Coventry Hills, which averaged Sunday attendance of roughly 30. Chesmont, which met at a Christian school 6.5 miles away, drew about 110 men, women and children on a typical Lord\u2019s Day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe members that were here at Coventry Hills were willing to come under the leadership at Chesmont,\u201d said Josh Dove, who was one of three elders at Chesmont and now serves in that role for Cornerstone. \u201cIt just seemed like it was God leading us that way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The pieces fit.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

Coventry Hills had a church building. Chesmont had a full-time preacher and elders. Both congregations had members eager to serve the Lord and reach the lost.<\/span><\/p>\n

Together, members and leaders believe, the new intergenerational body offers a brighter future.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen God\u2019s people do God\u2019s things in God\u2019s ways, we let all the extra stuff go, and we can dwell in unity,\u201d said minister Thomas Wise, pointing to the apostle Paul\u2019s admonition in Philippians 2:3-4<\/a> to \u201cdo nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit\u201d <\/i>but \u201cin humility value others above yourselves.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Visitors<\/a>

Visitors take photos during the baptism of Ariana Boyd at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018Wounds were deep\u2019<\/span><\/h2>\n

In the case of Coventry Hills and Chesmont, \u201call the extra stuff\u201d included trauma, hurt feelings and lingering concerns about past differences that caused a church split in the early 1990s.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elder Rick Elam came to the Chesmont church with his wife, Kathy, in 1996 after the split occurred, so he has no firsthand knowledge of what transpired.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut I know that those wounds were deep and painful for those involved,\u201d Elam said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Emmmitt<\/a>

Emmmitt Channell and Rick Elam pose for a picture at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis has been a big healing process,\u201d he said of the merger, which became official earlier this year. \u201cPeople have joy here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the years, the frosty relationship between <\/span>the congregations in Pottstown \u2014 a town of 23,000 about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia \u2014 had thawed.<\/p>\n

Chesmont had used the Coventry Hills baptistry from time to time since the school didn\u2019t have one. Members of both congregations had enjoyed hymn singings together.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCoventry Hills was dying. That was true,\u201d Wise said. \u201cAt Chesmont, we had just grown stagnant in the environment we were in. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe elders recognized it, and for (the merger) to work, each group of people needed to see who they are and where they\u2019re at clearly,\u201d the minister added. \u201cAnd I believe that starts with God\u2019s authority \u2026 and will we choose to put others above ourself?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Coventry Hills members had a knack for greeting visitors and making them feel welcome, Wise said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

Chesmont members were known for engaging and teaching young people and for their volunteer spirit, he said. That spirit has come in handy as the merged body works to refurbish the church building, which was constructed in 1973 and could use a few improvements, such as new carpeting.<\/span><\/p>\n

In becoming one, the previously separate congregations have brought those talents together.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Minister<\/a>

Minister Thomas Wise teaches an adult Bible class at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018God\u2019s timing\u2019<\/span><\/h2>\n

Talk of the possible merger began organically \u2014 as Wise remembers it \u2014 with Chesmont elder Jeff Custer, who was preaching at Coventry Hills once a month.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJeff made some kind of comment in a sermon about not knowing why the churches weren\u2019t together,\u201d Wise said. \u201cAnd then one of the younger Coventry Hills members was inspired by it and made up a survey about merging and got the ball rolling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n
\n

The merger possibility had prompted conversation in the past, but this time the idea gained traction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely seems like God\u2019s timing is always the right timing,\u201d Wise said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGod\u2019s timing is always the right timing.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Emmitt Channell, 90, has preached for more than 70 years. Channell said he and other Coventry Hills members welcomed the latest overture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were down to about 20 or 25 members at that point,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had a lot of deaths, and a lot of people moved back to the South, so we were very glad to have new life. So it\u2019s been really great.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wise, 34, recalls that he was 12 years old when he was baptized \u2014 by Channell.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy how the circle goes,\u201d said Wise, who later moved away from Pennsylvania before returning five years ago to serve as Chesmont\u2019s preacher. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see old faces, like Emmitt, whom I\u2019ve known my whole life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Channell emphasized that brothers and sisters in Christ \u201cneed to be working together and healing all kinds of personal problems that we\u2019ve had.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChrist is our focus, and that\u2019s where we should put our efforts in working together for the Lord,\u201d added the retired minister, whose late wife, Betty, once served as the secretary for Olan Hicks, who founded The Christian Chronicle <\/i><\/a>in 1943.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jack<\/a>

Jack Turner leads singing at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018Don\u2019t hold grudges\u2019<\/span><\/h2>\n

Nancy McGrady, who attended Coventry Hills in past decades, said she left the church for \u201ca very long time\u201d because she didn\u2019t feel like she belonged.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the merger inspired her to return to worship.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Cornerstone came together, it was amazing for me,\u201d said McGrady, 52. \u201cI just love being here. \u2026 It\u2019s everything that I\u2019ve ever dreamed for a church family to be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

Ken Anderson, 71, was a part of the Coventry Hills congregation before the merger. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was always taught that you don\u2019t hold grudges,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cYou just prayed that things will change. And I know it took a lot of years, but we prayed about it, and we\u2019re all together as a family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Elders<\/a>

Elders Josh Dove, Jeff Custer and Rick Elam and member Pedro Delgado pray for Ariana Boyd after her baptism at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.<\/p><\/div>\n

A building to call their own<\/span><\/h2>\n

Coventry Hills served as the original home for Coventry Christian Schools,<\/a> which has roots dating back to 1984 and has grown to more than 630 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade.<\/span><\/p>\n

By 1993, Coventry Christian moved to a new location,<\/a> and the Chesmont church began meeting in a school auditorium.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Matt Richard \u2014 now a deacon at Cornerstone after serving in that role at Chesmont \u2014 attended Coventry Hills in the early 2000s.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe funny thing was that originally, the church here would talk about that church being progressive over there,\u201d Richard said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

But then Richard visited Chesmont when Coventry Hills canceled services during an ice storm.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe wound up going over there, and we were like, \u2018There\u2019s nothing crazy going on,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cSo then one of the ladies invited my wife, Meredith, to a Bible study, and we started visiting with Chesmont. And then we just decided to change churches.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Daniel<\/a>

Daniel Niehls, pictured with his 9-year-old daughter, Penelope, serves as a deacon of the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.<\/p><\/div>\n

Now the deacon and his family \u2014 including two young children \u2014 are back worshiping in the Coventry Hills building.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were definitely excited about having our own space,\u201d said Richard, who is also the facilities supervisor at nearby Camp Manatawny,<\/a> which is associated with Churches of Christ. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always hard when you\u2019re a tenant in a building \u2014 we were renting from the Christian school \u2014 because nothing\u2019s your own as a congregation,\u201d Richard added. \u201cYou always had to worry about what the kids were doing after church.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another deacon, Daniel Niehls, echoed Richard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re a tenant anywhere, if you\u2019re renting, you\u2019re kind of limited with what you can do,\u201d Niehls said. \u201cSo it\u2019s just nice, and it feels more like a church, when you have your own building. So that\u2019s really been a benefit and blessing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, not all of my family decided to come join us here, so that\u2019s been a little bit of a challenge at times,\u201d he added. \u201cBut we\u2019re very happy here. We\u2019re excited to be here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>

John Eli Richard, right, indulges in the dessert offerings at a fellowship meal of the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018A pleasant view\u2019<\/span><\/h2>\n

About one-third of the previous Chesmont congregation did not make the move to Coventry Hills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those members, including Mark Niehls, Daniel\u2019s uncle and a founder of Coventry Christian Schools, formed the new Pleasantview Church of Christ,<\/a> which meets at the school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThose of us that are still meeting on the school\u2019s campus have felt that our initial vision and mission for the church to reach out and evangelize in our community is still very valid and needed,\u201d said Mark Niehls, the school\u2019s president emeritus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur initial vision and mission for the church to reach out and evangelize in our community is still very valid and needed.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Coventry Christian draws students from about 70 churches in and around Pottstown, he said. Only a handful of those congregations are Churches of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pleasantview Church of Christ that\u2019s meeting on the school\u2019s campus sees that as an opportunity to reach those people who are maybe not really churched,\u201d Mark Niehls said. \u201cThey may be on an attendance or membership roll somewhere, but they don\u2019t regularly attend, or they\u2019re dissatisfied with where they\u2019re at.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark Niehls declined to discuss the merger of Coventry Hills and Chesmont.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still meeting on the school\u2019s campus on Pleasantview Road,\u201d he said, \u201cand we\u2019ve kind of adopted the motto that we\u2019re going to have a pleasant view.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Elam, one of Cornerstone\u2019s three elders, said he doesn\u2019t believe any hard feelings exist between Cornerstone and Pleasantview. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe at the outset, but those seem to have calmed down,\u201d Elam said. \u201cWe all feel like we\u2019re wishing them well and godspeed, and they\u2019re doing the same for us. We\u2019re praying for each other.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Pedro<\/a>

Pedro Delgado baptizes Ariana Boyd as Kelly Smyth watches at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.<\/p><\/div>\n

BOBBY ROSS JR.<\/b>\u00a0is Editor-in-Chief of\u00a0The Christian Chronicle.<\/i>\u00a0He\u00a0traveled to Pennsylvania<\/a>\u00a0to report this story. Reach him at\u00a0bobby@christianchronicle.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

POTTSTOWN, PA. \u2014 A match made in heaven. In God\u2019s timing. 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In God\u2019s timing. That\u2019s how members and leaders alike characterize the merger of the Coventry Hills Church of Christ and the Chesmont […]","og_url":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/together-again-decades-after-split\/","og_site_name":"The Christian Chronicle","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChristianChronicle\/","article_author":"bobby.ross","article_published_time":"2026-05-26T19:24:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-01T17:21:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1367,"url":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pottstown13.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Bobby Ross Jr.","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bobbyross","twitter_site":"@cofcnews","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bobby Ross Jr.","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/together-again-decades-after-split\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/together-again-decades-after-split\/"},"author":{"name":"Bobby Ross Jr.","@id":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fcaf66e84715382d9a94ebb1ba9bb5e9"},"headline":"Together again \u2014 decades after split","datePublished":"2026-05-26T19:24:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-01T17:21:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/together-again-decades-after-split\/"},"wordCount":1863,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/together-again-decades-after-split\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pottstown13.jpg","keywords":["Chesmont Church of Christ","church mergers","church splits","Cornerstone Church of Christ","Coventry Christian Schools","Coventry Hills Church of Christ","Pennsylvania","Philadelphia area","Pleasantview Church of Christ","Reunited"],"articleSection":["National","News","Top Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/together-again-decades-after-split\/","url":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/together-again-decades-after-split\/","name":"Together again \u2014 decades after split - 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