Our Story
From gathering in the Barrington Fire Hall, to gathering on Kingston Avenue, and now the Barrington Gospel Hall. God has preserved and been faithful to us for over 100 years.
Gathering in Barrington Since 1915.
It began with a neighbor who carried his Bible under his arm as he made his way out of his home on Sunday morning. Gustav Eisele was watching Samuel Hocking and the year was 1912. Several believers, the Hocking family in particular, lived in Barrington and traveled from Barrington to Philadelphia to remember the Lord Jesus in the Lord’s Supper, with fellow Christians at 20th and Dickinson Streets.
Mr. Samuel Hocking and several other men traveled to work by train. They would bring their Bibles and have a Bible study on the train. Mr. Gustav Eisele, a neighbor, traveled with them and became interested in them. He asked to join the readings and became increasingly interested in his own spiritual welfare. One evening while walking home from the train, he realized, ‘if you live to be 100, you’ll never be good enough in God’s sight!’
Just as quickly, the truth of Acts 16:31 came to his mind: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” It was February 13, 1913. They then joined others who traveled together via train, ferry, and trolley to meet with the assembly in downtown Philadelphia. They were convinced that just as God had one way of salvation, so He had only one way for believers to gather as a local church. Inconvenience did not matter.
The number of believers in this group grew during the period of 1913–15. It soon became evident that a testimony should be established in the area in which they lived. In full fellowship with the assembly in Philadelphia, the assembly commenced meeting on June 6, 1915. The assembly met for the first time in the Barrington Fire Hall at Haines and Second Avenues. It was composed of about 25 people at the outset. It then moved to Kingston Ave in 1920 before relocating in 2000, to the current Barrington Gospel Hall.
14 Barrington Ave
Barrington, NJ
