Our History
The Beacon of Hope Church was established as the First Assembly of God Church of Vandalia, MO in 1973. The prior year, a small group of families began meeting at the Faith Tabernacle Church on Sunday afternoons, later they moved to the VFW Hall which is now the Modern Maturity Building.
The Church Opens
Official church services were started on Sunday, January 7, 1973, with a week long Revival Meeting.
Over the following years, six ministers served as pastors:
- Rev. Kenneth Figard 1973 - 1980
- Rev. George Bingham 1980 - 1986
- Rev. Rick Krietemeyers 1986 - 1988
- Rev. Bill Hollis 1988 - 2005
- Rev. Dean Frey 2006 - 2017
- Rev. Nathan Geesey 2017 - Present
The Church moved into a Small House
601 E US Hwy 54
A house on the corner of Harris Street and 54 Highway became Beacon of Hope's first church building.
Small Platform in the Corner of the Room
Split Auditorium
The interior walls of the house were removed to create an auditorium.
Expansion of the Building
The roof and siding was removed.
A new roof and walls were added.
Parts of the original house was retained within the new structure.
Transformation Complete
Pews were donated in 1983 by a church in Wright City that had been hit by a tornado.
Vacation Bible School
Each year the church provided a week long VBS for the Vandalia community.
Many of current adults of Vandalia attended the annual VBS when they were children.