In the beginning of the 20th century, when the Borough of Folcroft was still very much a farming community, a group of residents gathered to establish a local church. After much prayer and discussion they settled on the current name of the church mostly because it spoke of the intent to unify people in the community under the common purpose of worshiping God through a relationship with His Son, Jesus. In 1926 the Folcroft Union Church was officially incorporated.

 Throughout the years the physical property has undergone many changes including additions to the main footprint, creation of a large Family Room and parking lot. In the 1970s we were able to purchase the former firehouse next door and have been using that building for a variety of meetings, a local polling place and the chance to host sister churches who needed a physical building in which to meet.

 While history has provided a picture of the many changes, what has not changed is the original purpose of this incorporated church, and that is to worship and honor Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and share that relationship with others.   To better illustrate that, we are focusing this anniversary celebration around a scientific and natural phenomenon of something that is occurring in the life of the Folcroft Union Church.  It’s the “Ripple Effect!”

 100 years ago, God created a “drop” that was formed when a group of Bible-believing, Christ-following men and women decided that a local church was needed in the young borough of Folcroft.  From the time of the official signing of the Charter, this small, single action began to create a Ripple Effect of God’s powerful work. Not only among those founding members, but it also began a significant impact among countless people who were not a part of that humble beginning.

 The symbolism of the Ripple Effect is where a single action creates a chain reaction of waves that extend outward.  The waves from the initial “drop” called the Folcroft Union Church have been expanding outward literally throughout the world.  God’s plan has seen those small beginnings draw hundreds of people through the doors over the century.  Some people stayed within the “drop” while others expanded the influence outward.  God has caused His Ripple Effect to be experienced through community interaction and involvement, through summer mission programs and foreign mission fields.  The Effect has been taken into secular job markets as well as global mission agencies and other worldwide church ministries. Each and every person whom God led to be a part of the Folcroft Union Church family has somehow been a part of the Ripple Effect.  Some in simple ways, but others in more profound endeavors.

The Ripple Effect continues through the generations of families and individuals who have been impacted by this church. 

 It is with great excitement and praise to our awesome God that we are able to see just a touch of His blessings through the Ripple Effect.  May these impacts continue to spread out, far and wide, until the whole world knows that Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son, loves them so much that He gave His life as payment for their sins.

 We will not know the full impacts of the Ripple Effect until we are in heaven with our Savior, but that’s what faithful service is designed to do.  For 100 years the Folcroft Union Church has been a safe harbor for those searching for hope, a place to get involved, a place to learn and grow and a place that would ultimately send disciples of Jesus as waves into the world.  To God be the glory, great things He has done!