Lehigh Valley Baptist Church in Emmaus was chartered 40 years ago and the first services held evoked images out of the Second Great Awakening.

“This was the last parcel of a fairly large farm that was subdivided through the years and this land was the final piece sold off,” Pastor Roland Hammett said. “Originally a barn was on the location and the first auditorium was the barn. We still use it. It’s not our auditorium anymore, but we still use it for functions in our ministry.”

Today’s main sanctuary is not only a house of worship, it’s also pragmatic.

“Our auditorium is designed as a multi-purpose area, we have pew chairs that can easily be taken down and moved around,” Hammett said. “It’s not unusual for us a couple times a year to set up the entire auditorium as a banquet hall with tables and chairs.”

The structure also includes a space for Christian school for children - called the Emmaus Baptist Academy - and a Baptist educational program for adults - the Lehigh Valley Baptist Bible Institute.

The church’s ministry extends beyond the wall of the building, Hammett said.

“One of the primary heartbeats of our church is missions, church planting and sending missionaries to other countries as well as here in the states,” he noted. “We go into the community and share the gospel. We go out on the streets and engage people in Allentown and surrounding communities. Door-to-door we speak with folks about the gospel and try to help them answer their spiritual questions and help them on their spiritual journey.”

While the church has many activities, Hammett maintains there is an underlying theme.

“We try to focus more on ministry type of activities as opposed to just getting together for the fun of it,” he noted.

This year marks Hammett’s eighth as Lehigh Valley Baptist’s senior pastor. His father, Douglas, served as the senior pastor for 23 years.

“I pretty much grew up in the church here,” Hammett said. “I was trained for the ministry here. I went through our Christian school, I went through our Bible institute, I served on staff here. I’ve worked in just about every area of the ministry that I could before I became a senior pastor.”