On the weekend of January 10-12, 2003, the congregation of the Apostolic Faith church at 206 Court Street in Dallas, Oregon, celebrated a special event. More than seventy-five years previously the congregation had purchased property containing an old Baptist church, with the plan to raze the building and build a new church. The property had been designated for church use only, so the plan fell right into place. The purchase price was $2,100.

What a thrill it was to think of having a new church for the fast-growing congregation! Work on the construction site began almost as soon as the deal was closed. Mr. W.W. Paulson, a building supervisor from Portland, came to oversee the project. Working with horse-drawn equipment, excavation for a full basement was begun in the late fall of 1927. A crew of approximately thirty men worked double shift on the structure, many of them volunteer laborers.

The rapid progress of the building construction was illustrated when two large girders, 12 inches by 28 inches by 50 feet in length, were sawed at the Willamette Valley Lumber mill, delivered to the building site and placed as roof supports for the main auditorium the very day the logs were dumped into the pond! The church is 50 by 70 feet in size with a ceiling height of 16 feet. The architecture is a miniature replica of the former headquarters building at Sixth and Burnside Streets in Portland, Oregon, with the red brick body and glazed white brick trim. The former co-pastor, Mrs. Frank Holman, laid the first brick and her husband placed the last one.

The new church was completed and ready for dedication by January 8, 1928, just a few months from the first day of construction. More than 450 people gathered in the new church for the service. Reverend Raymond Crawford, the assistant overseer from Portland, Oregon, came for the occasion. The Dallas church orchestra furnished the music, and the Morning Star quartet provided special singing. By dedication day, Reverend Crawford could announce that the church was entirely free from debt. That amazed the people of the city,

Reverend N.C. Swensen and Reverend Mrs. Frank Holman were co-pastors of the Dallas church from 1913 until their retirement in 1948. Brother Swenson was 75 years old, and Sister Holman was 80 years old at their retirement. They had labored faithfully and tirelessly through the years of their ministry. Many people are in Heaven today as a result of their efforts. There are still some members in the church who remember these pioneers of the Gospel in Dallas, Oregon.

A number of Apostolic Faith ministers have pas tored the Dallas church over the years. The present pastor for the Dallas church is Reverend Jack Chasteen, who was appointed to that position in July 1999. Reverend Elmer Luka, and Reverend Elvin Phillips assist him.

Because of its close proximity to Oregon State University in Corvallis, and Western Oregon University in Monmouth, many college-age young people have made Dallas their church home while attending these schools.

Information about the schedule of services for the church in Dallas is available here.