About Us

Our Story
Vision & Values
Leadership
Beliefs

God loves to tell long stories of his grace. The story of how he planted this church in the heart of Harrisburg is no exception! We are a testimony to his grace and faithfulness.

JANUARY 2017

In January 2017, Ben and Greg met each other during a Greek class in seminary. They became instant friends.

APRIL 2022

Ben and a small group of people in Midtown started talking about the need for a new church in their neighborhood.

JUNE 2022

Ben and Greg began dreaming about planting this new church together. Soon, a partnership between them, and their two churches formed.

We are one church started by two churches. We didn’t share a denomination. We didn’t share a network.
We simply shared a love for Jesus and a passion for Midtown.

A group of people seated at round tables and a rectangular table in a large room with stained glass windows, wooden pulpit, and a large screen, attending a presentation or discussion.
A large group of people on stage, some holding instruments, taking a bow after a performance, with an audience clapping and raising their hands in front of the stage.

SEPTEMBER 2022

A core team of people began meeting for prayer, training, and planning for the launch of this new church.

OCTOBER 2023

For the first time ever, we met for a worship service and launched Midtown Community Church with 54 members.

NOVEMBER 2025

Launched a second service to reach more people who are finding community at Midtown Community Church

TODAY

We have been incredibly blessed by God in the short time we have been a church. We are excited to see what God does next in our midst.

We would love for you to be a part of it!

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Mission & Vision

Our Vision

Our vision is to see the weak, wounded, and wayward of Midtown Harrisburg encounter the living Jesus.

Our Hope

We long to see revival in our city. Revival is the target all of our ministry aims for. If the Holy Spirit blesses our vision, we believe it will result in revival.

Our Values

Sacred Rhythms

Humans are creatures of habit. Our habits form who we become. Since we long to become like Jesus, we prioritize ancient rhythms that order our lives around him.

Radical Hospitality

The good news of Jesus is radically inclusive. Since Jesus has welcomed us, we desire to be a people who welcome others into our homes and hearts without reservation.

City Renewal

Jesus loves Midtown and wants it to thrive. And so do we. We want to be such a blessing to the city that if we ever shut our doors, Midtown would notice.

Staff

  • Smiling man with glasses and mustache wearing a denim shirt over a black t-shirt, sitting in front of a beige wall with a potted plant in the background.

    Ben Bechtel

    Pastor of Preaching

  • A smiling man with curly hair, glasses, wearing a brown jacket over a black shirt, standing against a plain white background with a green plant in the background.

    Greg Kabakjian

    Pastor of Spiritual Formation

  • A young woman with curly hair wearing a green sweater and smiling, standing near a green plant with large leaves against a plain wall.

    Julianna Holderman

    Children’s Ministry Coordinator

  • A woman with dark wavy hair smiling, wearing a blue ruffled sleeveless top, in front of a plain white background with a potted plant on a table to her side.

    Lacey Labs

    Social Media Coordinator

  • A woman with long, curly red hair smiling, wearing a dark blue dress with a small floral pattern, standing indoors with a green leafy plant in a basket behind her.

    Macy Weller

    Church Administrator

Pastors

  • Our church is led by a plurality of ordained pastors with equal authority and different responsibilities. Meet our pastoral team.

  • A smiling man with glasses, a light blue denim jacket, a black t-shirt, and a mustache, sitting in front of a beige wall with a potted plant in the background.

    Ben Bechtel

  • A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a light-colored, checked button-up shirt, standing in front of a potted plant and neutral-colored wall.

    Brett Bonnema

  • A smiling young man with short, styled hair wearing a black t-shirt standing indoors with a light-colored wall and a green leafy plant in the background.

    Jeff Hojnacki

  • A smiling man with glasses, curly brown hair, wearing a brown jacket over a black shirt, standing in front of a white wall and a green plant.

    Greg Kabakjian

Women’s Shepherding Team

  • In a broken world that tends to silence female voices, the Women’s Shepherding Team acts as a bridge between the Pastors and the women of Midtown Community Church by advocating on their behalf, equipping them with resources, and assisting in pastoral care.

  • A woman with long, wavy brown hair smiling at the camera, wearing a black shirt over a white and black striped top, with a plant in the background.

    Whitley Bechtel

  • A woman with wavy brown hair smiling, wearing a dark navy cardigan with gold buttons over a light blue blouse, with a green houseplant in a woven basket on a table in the background.

    Lauren Bonnema

  • A woman with blonde, shoulder-length hair, smiling, wearing a dark teal top, standing in front of a pale background with a green plant in the background.

    Ellie Mearns

Our Beliefs

Midtown Community Church holds to historic Christian orthodoxy as laid down in the Apostles’ & Nicene Creeds. Additionally, we are a part of the Evangelical Free Church of America, and gladly affirm and submit to its statement of faith. 

  • The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions:

    God’s gospel originates in and expresses the wondrous perfections of the eternal, triune God. 

    We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.

    God’s gospel is authoritatively revealed in the Scriptures. 

    We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

    God’s gospel alone addresses our deepest need.

    We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.

    Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed. God’s gospel is made known supremely in the Person of Jesus Christ.

    We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus-Israel’s promised Messiah-was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.

    God’s gospel is accomplished through the work of Christ.

    We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.

    God’s gospel is applied by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

    We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.

    God’s gospel is now embodied in the new community called the church. 

    We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.

    God’s gospel compels us to Christ-like living and witness in the world. 

    We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.

    God’s gospel will be brought to fulfillment by the Lord Himself at the end of this age. 

    We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.

    God’s gospel requires a response that has eternal consequences.

    We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.

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    * Adopted by the Conference on June 19, 2019