Lance Creek, A Day in the Life - Lance Creek Community Church
Lance Creek, a Day in the Life was held on Sunday, September 13, 2026 as part of America's 250th and Explore Niobrara events.
VIDEO: Lance Creek Community Church
History of Lance Creek Community Church as shared by Pastor Dennis Findorff.
One-time mega-church pastor Bill Hybels once wrote, “The local church is the hope of the world." I don't know whether you would agree with that, but I think Henry and Irene Stiles did when they founded the Carbon Black Sunday School in Lance Creek in August 1934. They saw a place that was booming with oil production and a place teeming with people who needed to know Jesus Christ, the light and hope of the world. They decided to start with a Sunday School to educate children about God's redeeming love for people.
The Sunday School met in the school house that was located east of the creek, perhaps in the vicinity of the current J-P Oil building. Irene was a teacher at Carbon Black school in Lance Creek while Henry worked for Ohio Oil Company. Attendance at the Sunday School ranged from six to 20, with a high of 40 on Easter Sunday.
The next year, in 1935, the group affiliated with the American Sunday School Union. The second oil boom also hit that year bringing additional families to the area. The Sunday School grew with an average attendance between 75 and 110 over the next few years with adults taking part as well.
Two years later in October 1937, the Argo Sunday School merged with Carbon Black and they moved to a building called Ohio Hall (that building was still standing in 1999). The merger resulted in a new name: Lance Creek Union Sunday School. They purchased a piano to facilitate hymn sings. The Sunday School also held summer vacation Bible schools for children.
By 1940 the Sunday School had outgrown its building. Twenty-five women from the Sunday school formed a group solely for the purpose of purchasing a building. They raised about $300 from local oil companies and individuals. With that money they were able to purchase a house in West Lance Creek and have it moved to some leased ground east of the road from Manville near the southern gateway to Lance Creek. The lease from Guy & Myrtle Mosier read "said land shall be used for the erection of a church building to be used exclusively for public worship and Sunday School purposes."
The busy ladies group then purchased a small building to be used for a parsonage. By May of 1941 the Lance Creek Union Chapel had been set on a permanent foundation and paid for in full. The chapel became known as the "Little Chapel on the Hill." It served as a meeting place for 17 years. A cross was constructed on the hill above the building and was used for Easter sunrise services for years before a tornado destroyed it in 1984.
By 1944 it became apparent that the Sunday School required a pastor to shepherd the work. Rev. John Kullburg of the Covenant Association became the first pastor that year. He also taught science in the Lusk High School where he and his family lived. The Kullburgs drove the 30 miles to Lance Creek every Sunday and spent the day leading services here. Later in 1944, the church joined the Evangelical Covenant Church of America as their denominational covering.
The first resident pastor in Lance Creek was Gordon Johnson. A bachelor, he came to Lance Creek from a Bible college in Chicago in 1947. The church formally organized the next year as Lance Creek Community Church with 16 charter members. Twenty-one more members were added later that same year. By 1952 the church had grown in membership and saw 203 people on Easter Sunday.
Once again, it became apparent that a larger building was needed to house the growing congregation, particularly since the attempt to drill a water well at the Little Chapel on the Hill site failed to produce the water needed to modernize the building.
In 1954, twenty years after the beginning of the Carbon Black Sunday School, the church purchased the former Marvin Howe’s Drug Store building (later the Sagebrush cafe) located in Midway, the church building’s current location. Work commenced to remodel the building into a sanctuary with Sunday School rooms, a well-equipped kitchen, and a pastor's study. A new piano was purchased in 1956.
One last service was held at the Little Chapel on the Hill in 1957, a county-wide Good Friday service. The new church building in Midway was dedicated to the Lord's service in May of that year. The Little Chapel building was moved and served as an addition to the church parsonage located in Mosierville, about a mile south of Lance Creek proper.
The decline of the oil field in the late 1950s saw transitions in the church's leadership. Church membership stood at 39 in 1959 and the Sunday School had an average attendance of about 45 each week. A 25th anniversary celebration of the Sunday School's founding was held that year.
The 1960s saw more changes with pastoral changes and the sharing of pastors with the Manville church. The church was without a pastor for a year or two in the mid-60s. The church leadership grappled with the changes but persevered through these uncertain times. The parsonage was sold in 1969. The church incorporated that year when average attendance at Sunday School and worship services were 28 and 35, respectively.
In 1970, the church changed their denomination relationship from the Evangelical Covenant Church to the Christian & Missionary Alliance. The Alliance remains our denominational covering. Throughout the 70s, the church was served by various pastors, some ordained and some not. Pulpit supply was also provided from the Frontier School of the Bible in LaGrange.
By 1982 the Lance Creek and Manville churches agreed that each church should call their own pastor because of the vast geographic area. ln September 1982 the Lance Creek Church called their first resident pastor in 22 years. Memorial funds provided the means to make improvements to the church building in the years that followed. The average Sunday attendance in 1983 was 57.
A new Fellowship Hall addition began the following year. It was completed in 1985. During this time the church purchased the house next door, remodeled it, and named it "the Inn". The Inn served as a retreat for pastors, guest speakers, and visiting missionaries. The church men also assisted with the rebuilding of an Alliance church building in Saratoga, WY.
A new cross was assembled on the hill in Lance Creek during the Easter sunrise service in 1990. Those in attendance had to carry parts up the hill. A bell tower and bell were installed on the church building in 1993 and the present church sign was installed that same year. The little Lance Creek church also helped to plant the Lusk Alliance Church in 1993, a tribute to the vision of the congregation and their love for the people of Lusk.
Many of you probably knew cowboy evangelist Gary Walker who was installed as pastor of Lance Creek Community Church in 1997. Gary and Vonda Dee served the church for many years, retiring in 2012. After a vacancy of about 2.5 years, Steve and Deb Kellett next took the reins as the church's pastor until they retired in June of last year. My wife, Lori, and I officially started a year ago in our service to the Lord and His church here in Lance Creek.
Bill Hybels said that the local church is the hope of the world. Those who pioneered the Lance Creek Community Church believed that as did the many faithful souls who haven't given up meeting together over the past 90 years to ensure that God's word is proclaimed every Sunday. I believe that too. Why? Because we proclaim Jesus Christ as Savior and the world's true Lord. He is our only hope in this crazy world. I invite you to come join us, each and every Sunday at 11:00 am, for our worship service. Sunday School is at 10:00 am. – just like it has been for 92 years!