Rafe, whose given name was Mahlon, grew up in the Old Order Amish church of Lancaster County. Lisa was born in Guatemala and is the youngest daughter of Elam and Barbara Stoltzfus, who had left the Old Order Amish Church and moved to the jungles of Guatemala as missionaries.
Following a back injury, Rafe began using painkillers and went into a downhill in a spiral of addiction. He experienced a powerful deliverance from addiction and wanted to share Christ with others. While raising their 3 children, they helped with hosting and leading small groups at The Worship Center in Leola.
Rafe and Lisa Smucker founded Forgiven Worship Center in their Gordonville home in February 2014. Rafe says, “I was simply following a call to be a voice for heaven, to keep Jesus famous in our region of the world, to provide a setting of worship, and to preach the Word of the Lord.” Pastors Sam Smucker and Mike Lusby served as board members along with Rafe and Lisa to oversee the work.
Lisa says what drove her to serve is a desire to teach people who God is and how to make Him a big part of our lives.
After meeting in their home, the new church group was commissioned in a Sunday service at Worship Center. They met at the Best Western Motel in Intercourse and later in the Intercourse Fire Hall. Eventually, they moved to our present location at 325 West Main Street, New Holland.
The commercial building has a large first-floor portion facing Main Street. A lot of work was done there by Randy Martin, who is now a missionary in Kenya, West Africa.
After 11 years as pastors, Rafe and Lisa have transitioned out of this responsibility on 1-5-2025 and Bruce and Rachael Webster are now filling this role.
Our congregation is led by a team of dedicated pastors and lay leaders who are committed to serving our community.