Evangelical churches share common roots in the Protestant Reformation and later “awakenings” that established new denominations stressing personal salvation, holiness, emotional worship, and simplicity. Centre County welcomed new churches that blended both German and Scots Irish evangelical traditions.
University Baptist & Brethren Church, founded in 1922, was the first Baptist church established in State College. Originally founded as University Baptist Church, it affiliated with the Church of the Brethren in 1968.
St. John’s Episcopal is one of the oldest churches in Bellefonte and the last to still have its spire. Episcopalians began meeting in Bellefonte in 1825, first in a cabinet shop and later in the Masonic Lodge.
Foxdale Village is a Quaker-inspired, non-profit continuing care retirement community in State College. When Foxdale opened in 1990, it fulfilled a vision shared by members of the State College Friends Meeting and supported by community members.
The Advent Church is a historic evangelical church in Boggs Township maintained by the local Advent Historical Society. The church, originally known as the Advent Chapel at Marsh Creek, was built in 1849 by followers of William Miller, a New York farmer and minister.
St. John’s United Church of Christ is a historic church in Boalsburg that is home to the oldest pipe organ in Centre County. It organized as German Reformed congregation on May 31, 1822 and the current church was built forty years later.
The First Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte was one of the oldest churches in Centre County until it closed in 2021. Its members included many of the early founders of Bellefonte and Centre County, including James Dunlop, Robert Boggs, James Harris, Jonathan Walker, Andrew Curtin, Henry McAllister, and James Beaver.
The Egg Hill Church in Potter Township was one of the first Evangelical churches in Penns Valley and is considered an outstanding example of the early country churches built in Centre County. The church building, located on an isolated hilltop on Short Mountain, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Aaronsburg Story was pageant and panel in aftermath of World War II that garnered worldwide attention with message that people of all backgrounds should accept one another despite their differences.
The Union Church, better known as the “Old Mud Church,” is a Philipsburg landmark on Presqueisle Street that initially served as the town’s first schoolhouse and place of worship for all denominations. The cemetery’s more than 500 graves include those of a Revolutionary War veteran and thirteen veterans of the Civil War.