Greater Miracle Ministries holds dedication weekend at site of former Social Security site

AMBRIDGE – For months, the Rev. Laneer Fisher had been preaching patience and faith to his congregation, but admitted his faith was started to diminish in regard to a search for a new church building.

Fisher, who is co-pastor of Greater Miracle Ministries, said around 2016-17, the church’s now former building in Aliquippa was literally starting to fall apart around them and he was desperately searching for a viable building.

That was when, by chance one day, he and his daughter Charity were driving through Ambridge when she saw a “for sale” sign in front of 120 Merchant St., which at the time was the building of the Social Security office before it moved to Baden.

Fisher said his daughter asked him about that building for the church.

He admitted he assumed it was just the lot next to the building that was for sale, not the building itself.

He said Charity took it upon herself to not only take a picture of the for sale sign but called the Realtor for the property, who told her the building itself was for sale.

Fisher said when he and his wife, co-pastor Sharon Thomas-Fisher, first toured the property, he knew this would be the spot for the church.

Now, years later, Greater Miracle Ministries is set to host an official dedication weekend of events and services at the location, with Fisher noting that all of this was possible thanks to “finding member” Charity.

“We’re here today because of her,” he said. “It was the best thing from God.”

More: Flock folding: Diocese of Pittsburgh to consolidate, make three new parishes

Dedication weekend festivities

There will be an official ribbon-cutting ceremony from 6-8 p.m. Friday at the church.

Fisher said the ceremony will be the church’s chance to publicly thank everyone who was involved with the renovation of the building, from the architect to the contractor, to the workers, to the congregation and other donators, to the bank itself.

Members from both the county and local government, including Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning and Ambridge Mayor Gerald McCoy, will be in attendance.

There will be a tent outside that will serve appetizers before the ceremony, and a buffet-style dinner afterward, with attendees able to take a tour of the building.

There will be a “Community Day” from 12-6 p.m. Saturday at the church.

Fisher said there will be activities for children including a bounce house, activities for adults in the tent, carnival food like popcorn, snow cones and cotton candy, and a community bookbag giveaway, as part of their annual tradition to donate bookbags and school supplies to those in need.

The church’s official dedication ceremony, “Building Dedication,” will be held at 11:15 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday.

At the 11:15 a.m. sermon, Bishop Carrington Morgan, the pastor from the Rehoboth Church of Deliverance, from the Beth-El Nation Presiding Prelate in Baltimore, Md., will be a guest speaker.

At the 4 p.m. sermon, Bishop Sterling Porter, the pastor from Kingdom Life Cathedral Ministries in Charles Town, W.Va., and Bishop Wilbert Baltimore, the pastor for the Holy Temple Cathedral and the chief apostle for Kings Apostle Church World Ministries, in Baltimore, will be guest speakers.

More: Bouncing back from fire, Midland church finds new home in Beaver

Timeline to the dedication weekend

Greater Miracle Ministries was founded by the late Rev. David A. Armstead, and his wife, Corelia Armstead, in 1970.

Fisher said the church was based in Aliquippa for 50 years, in two different buildings, before relocating to its current location.

He said Armstead had a vision to keep the church in Aliquippa, with Fisher, upon taking over the church following Armstead’s passing, even buying a piece of land in Aliquippa in order to build a new space.

However, around 2016-17, he was told they were not allowed to build in the city, which led to the story of how his daughter discovered the building of the Social Security office in Ambridge.

Fisher said while they had fond memories in Aliquippa over the years, the building was falling apart before their eyes, necessitating the need for a new space.

Upon securing the lease for the Social Security office building in 2019, work began on renovating the building.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic helped them out in a way, as they weren’t preaching inside the Merchant Street property, meaning contractors could work around the clock.

He also said their contributions went up during the beginning stretch of the pandemic, since people were in lockdown, and not able to go out and spend their money.

Fisher noted that pretty much everything they would have wanted for a new church space in Aliquippa was able to be accommodated in this current location.

The sanctuary part of the building was completed around Easter 2020, but sound equipment was delayed by six months due to supply chain issues.

The first official in-person service was held with a small crowd around Easter 2021, with the church opening its doors to more and more people throughout the year, taking necessary safety precautions.

It was during last year when work began on other renovations, such as office space and classrooms.

With renovation work essentially complete, Fisher said the church leadership feels now is the time to have the official dedication ceremony.

More: 'Tour of Heaven' captures faith and remembrance in Ellport

Full list of renovations and services

Fisher said the renovations greatly transformed the building.

There are now three classrooms for their children’s ministry.

There is a computer lab where they will teach adult literacy and their college of theology, which is accredited by the North Carolina College of Theology.

There is a “welcome center,” right before the sanctuary, different adult classrooms, and offices for both himself, his wife and Armstead'w widow, who is still the church administrator and a member of the board of directors.

There is also a conference room next to the sanctuary and a “warming kitchen.”

“I’m very pleased with how it turned out,” Fisher said.

The church has a Bible study on Zoom every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., as well as a Sunday morning service at 11:15 a.m. both in-person and on Facebook.

Fisher said there is also a separate Latino congregation that meets in-person every Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m.

The pastor, the Rev. Melvin Lopez, met Fisher by chance.

Through his interpreter, Lopez went to the building, not knowing the Social Security office had moved.

He asked Fisher what the building was and who he was. When Fisher told him it was a church, he asked Fisher if he could use the building.

Fisher said he believes the Lord has blessed his family with the building, in order to share, as in the future, the American Red Cross will have classes, as well as courses with the Second Chance program, which helps those who are former felons or having a hard life.

“We believe in the power of restoration, and that God is a God of second chance,” Fisher said.

While the renovations for this building have just finished up, Fisher said he is already planning for the next church building within the next 3-5 years.

He said he would love to build a new sanctuary, to hold 500 people, in the lot next to the current building, in order to use the current building for other types of events and fellowship.

More: Mother Elizabeth - A lifetime of service in God

Feeling the support of the congregation and community

Fisher said he can’t thank the church congregation enough for the support they have given over the years, particularly over the pandemic.

“My congregation is a very supportive congregation, a very loving congregation,” he said. “I love how they exemplify the love of Christ to the world.”

Added Fisher: “During the COVID season … when it really hit, it gave us all an opportunity to be the hands and the feed of Jesus.”

Fisher said he, his family and other younger members of the church went and collected food, toilet paper and cleaning supplies for the senior citizen members of the congregation, as well as checking in on them, as safely as they can, at their houses or in nursing homes, to let them know they were thinking about them and praying for them.

More: Spirituality increased during the pandemic as religious institutions enhanced outreach

“We’ve been there with one another during this COVID time. Being the arms and hands of Jesus Christ,” he said. “Our mission, our motto, is reaching out, touching souls, operating within the will of God. I saw the congregation come up to that mission, to that motto, and really, really exemplify the love of Christ.”

During the July 28 Beaver County Commissioners meeting, the board officially issued a proclamation celebrating both the church and the dedication of the new space.

Fisher noted they are very thankful for their support.

He said anybody in the community that is looking for a place to feel the love of God, to hear messages of hope and healing, as well as salvation and deliverance, the church is the right place for them, as their main mission is to make people feel the love of Christ.

“The name of the church is miracle, Greater Miracle Ministries,” Fisher said. "We believe in miracles. We’ve seen miracles happen in our former house, as well as this house.”

More: Unity Prayer event in Beaver celebrates National Day of Prayer

Nicholas Vercilla is a staff reporter for the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at nvercilla@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Ambridge's Greater Miracle Ministries to hold dedication ceremony this weekend