History of Adelanto Community Church compiled by Rev. Clifton W. Lesley

Early Days 1932 - 1949

Adelanto Community Church began in the summer of 1932 as a Community Sunday School sponsored by the American Sunday School Union — now the American Missionary Fellowship. Rev. Ray R. Perry was the San Bernardino County representative of the American Sunday School Union and helped the, Adelanto Sunday School with his fatherly advice and leadership.

The records of the American Sunday School Union state that the Adelanto Sunday School was organized June 15, 1932 after various denominational and independent groups had tried and failed to get a work going.
One of the early leaders, Mr. Bill Widbin, was stationed at the Victorville Army Air Base, later named George Air Force Base, from 1942 to 1944. Mr. Widbin had some training from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, (BIOLA), and began to help the struggling Sunday school. The Sunday school grew rapidly and Sunday Morning Church services were begun.
Mr. Widbin described the first Communion Service as consisting of about 250 children and twenty—five to thirty adults. Because the group did not own communion ware, each person was instructed to bring a spoon. The grape juice and bread were provided, and each person served himself. Many of the spoons were provided by the Women’s Club. Bill Widbin mentioned this experience to Mr. and Mrs. Lockman of the Lockman Foundation. The next week a set of communion ware appeared in the mail as a gift from the Lockmans.

Following his service in the Air Force, Mr. Widbin completed his studies at BIOLA and sailed for the mission field of Indonesia in 1954, becoming the first missionary with roots in Adelanto. The church was incorporated October 3, 1949. The six lots comprising the basic church property were acquired partly by donation and partly by purchase between 1945 and 1960. The original church building was erected through the inspiration and labor of Dick Shillinglaw assisted by other men of the community. Mr. Shillinglaw also donated one of the lots on which the church stands. The concrete blocks were made by Mr. Art Hubbard, and the concrete block machine he used was later acquired by Mr. Burt Blake.

The concrete block church building was dedicated December 18, 1949 with Rev. Ray Baese giving the dedicatory sermon. On the day of dedication, Sunday School was held at 10 a.m., a potluck dinner at 12 noon, and the Service of Dedication at 2:00 p.m. Prior to occupying the new church, the congregation met in the Women’s Club on the opposite corner of Bartlett and Greening. When the church building was completed, there were no chairs so Mr. Shillinglaw, being a chicken rancher, sold a large number of pullets, that were ready to begin laying, to pay for the chairs.

Pastors and Progress 1950 - 1976

The first Pastor, Thomas Miller, was called in November 1950 and served the church until 1953. On July 21, 1952 the Tehachapi earthquake ruined some of the buildings at Adelanto School. As a consequence the Kindergarten was moved to the Womens Clubhouse (across from the church) and the First and Second grades met in the basement of the church. The Third and Fourth grades met in an intact building at the school site, and grades Five and Six went to Oro Grande. As soon as the school was rebuilt, the classes were all moved back to the school campus.

The second pastor, Howard Van Loon, served the church from 1953 to 1963 and lived in a building which had been moved on to the property during the ministry of Thomas Miller. The building had originally been three buildings which were put together to become a parsonage for the Pastor. This building was later known as the “Teen Hut”. A concrete block addition was later built—on by men of the church.

Under the ministry of the Van Loans, a Missionary Conference was held in 1954. It was during this conference that Barbara Cope felt called to missionary work. Barbara Cope was an Ohio—trained schoolteacher who was employed by the Adelanto School District. After investigating several possible mission organizations, she was led to join the Navajo Gospel Mission and became the second missionary to spring from the ranks of the congregation.

The church received its first paint job in 1956 when the concrete block structure was painted green. The green paint was the inspiration of Mrs. Van Loon who thought that the church should look like a green oasis in the desert. But the principal building improvement in those days was the acquisition of a Day Room from George Air Force Base. This was obtained by the church as surplus after World War II for one dollar. This seventy—two by twenty—four foot building was hauled in one piece on an extended truck and trailer rig and lowered onto a prepared foundation. There was extensive interior remodeling to make it suitable for classrooms. Mr. Walt Wieland took the lead in the considerable plastering job.

The Day Room, subsequently known as the Annex Building, did not have restrooms after the remodeling project was completed. It soon became evident that these were needed so two of the classrooms were remodeled for restrooms.

In 1962, Mr. Marvin Burt, built an amplifier for the church from a Heathkit. This was in use until 1995 and was still operative when replaced. On May 26, 1963, in the last year of the Van Loon’s ministry, the Jessie Summerfield Memorial Organ was dedicated in her honor. At the same time, the Dan Crawford Memorial Building Project was dedicated. Jessie Summerfield, sister of Dick Shillinglaw, faithfully played the piano in the church for many years. She was followed by Ruth Blake, wife of Burt Blake, who played the organ from 1954 to 1989. Ruth Blake said that she played for the first wedding in the church which was in 1956. An American serviceman was united in marriage with an oriental girl. Dan Crawford was a courtly southern gentleman who had retired from military service. His will provided funds for the church to construct the cry room at the rear of the sanctuary, build partitions in the basement for classes and remodel the pulpit area. His will also provided funds for an automobile for outgoing missionary Barbara Cope. About the year 1965, the church sponsored a Sunday School in El Mirage which met in an old service station. After about two years, that project was discontinued and the children were then brought into Adelanto f or Sunday School by Mr. David Barkman.

Adelanto Community Church joined the IFCA, (Independent Fundamental Churches of America), on May 15, 1971. This affiliation permitted the church to retain its independent, self—governing status while enjoying the amenities of a broader church fellowship. In 1972 the church also affiliated, for a short time, with Village Missions. Two ministers were obtained through Village Missions: Howard Langston and Hershel Starling. Because Village Missions required that the church provide a parsonage for the minister, a. house at 11867 Hardy Street, adjacent to the church property, was purchased in 1975 for $16,000 and was occupied by Hershel Starling who was pastor at the time. The old parsonage continued to be used for
Sunday School and storage until it was mostly torn down in 1986.

Recent History 1977 to 1997

Rev. Clifton W. Lesley became pastor of the church in May of 1977 and became the pastor with the greatest number of years of ministry in the church. In 1978 the church entered into agreements with the City of Adelanto which provided curbs, gutters, sidewalks and major street improvements on both Bartlett and Greening Streets. In 1989 the City added another 125 feet of sidewalk on Greening Street.

In 1979, the church house on Hardy Street was remodeled inside, and a forced air heating system was installed in the main church building. New front doors were also installed in the main church building in 1979, followed by the purchase of nineteen pews, in 1980, from Lenwood Community Church near Barstow. These pews replaced the old opera chairs which had been in use for many years. Carpeting was extended beneath the pews at the same time. Other building improvements included the installation of stained glass windows in the front of the church and over the main entrance, in 1982. The stained glass windows were made possible by a memorial gift from the family of Murial Pearle McDaniel. A chair lift for the handicap was added in 1985, at a cost of $3,770, and an extensive rebuilding of the roof, ceilings, and electrical systems in the church house was done in 1987. These, and numerous other improvements, were accomplished largely through the use of dedicated teams of volunteers from the Mobile Missionary Assistance Program, (MMAP). The old parsonage was torn down in 1986 by a MMAP crew, with the exception of the concrete block addition which was retained as a storage building. It was renamed the MMAP building in honor of the MMAP crews.

On August 1, 1987 the Community Bible Church of Victorville merged with Adelanto Community Church resulting in a strengthening of the church’s ministry. The Community Bible Church pastor, Rev. Randall Edewards, was retained as Assistant Pastor for a few months. In 1988, a new pulpit and communion table were donated to the church by the family of William A. King in memory of his many years of service as a faithful layman in the church. New platform chairs were donated by Grace Barkman, in 1989, in memory of her late husband David Barkman. In September 1990, the church began Awana Clubs for boys and girls from three years of age through the sixth grade. In 1991 an Awana Jr. Varsity club was added for seventh and eighth grade young people. Awana Varsity club for High School young people was added in 1993.

On Sunday April 18, 1993 a ribbon cutting was held at the close of the Morning Worship Service to commemorate the completion of a new 9,800 square foot concrete parking lot. The parking lot was completed at a cost of about $15,000. In 1993, the church also began a Hispanic Department. The first service was held on Friday May 14, 1993. The ministry was co—sponsored by the Bible Church Mission of the I.F.C.A. Rev. Jesus Cordova, from Los Angeles helped to start the work and Jose Luis Gallegos became the first Hispanic pastor with the introduction of Sunday Spanish services on October 14, 1993. His ministry continued to June 19, 1994. Rev. Frank Suarez became the Hispanic Pastor on June 26, 1994 and remained until June 1995 when the work temporarily ceased.

In 1994, the corporate name of the church was changed from Adelanto Community Church (non—sectarian) to Adelanto Community Church. The Certificate of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation was filed with the Secretary of State on March 17, 1994. On January 22, 1995, the Family Life Community Church of Victorville merged with Adelanto Community Church. This group had been meeting in the home of its Pastor, Weldon Alexander. In February 1997 two Hispanic Bible classes were begun under the leadership of Mr. Jesus Gutierrez Many of the Spanish— speaking people, who had been part of the previous effort to begin a Hispanic church, returned to become a part of the work.

Adelanto Community Church looks forward to continued fruitful ministry throughout Adelanto, and the Victor Valley, for many years to come.

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