WHY ARE WE HERE?

Hanover Valley exists to assist people in knowing Jesus Christ, until there is a visible difference in their quality of life and in the community. We believe that the Gospel of Christ has a tremendous power to produce positive transformation spiritually, psychologically, socially, and culturally – first through ourselves and then through the community by word, deed, and community.

What kind of church do we need to be to make a difference in Hanover? To help people know, love, and serve God through Jesus Christ? We are striving to be a church with an open door to those who seek Christ and a clear path for those who are journeying toward Him.

AN OPEN DOOR

Hanover Valley is committed to maintaining an open door to anyone interested in knowing more about Jesus Christ. We welcome the questions, objections, and problems of people searching for truth, and we are committed to responding with honesty and compassion, not hostility or condescension. While some churches are almost completely for those skeptical of Christianity and others are only for those who are confident believers, we hope you’ll find people here all along the spectrum of discovery – those who are convinced, those who are perplexed, and those who are skeptical of the Christian faith. We revel in this diversity.

OUR CONNECTIONS

Hanover Valley is a congregation of the Susquehanna Valley Presbytery and the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

OUR VALUES

Joyous, Biblical Worship

We must focus on both private and public worship for the former drives the latter. We expect to experience joy in our worship since the message of the gospel tells us that we are accepted and forgiven through the work of a Savior and not our own frail efforts. The worship service will be Biblically based, God-centered, & Grace-focused. It will reflect God’s desire to reveal Himself by being understandable to those present and marked by excellence.

Outward Focus

We must focus on both private and public worship for the former drives the latter. We expect to experience joy in our worship since the message of the gospel tells us that we are accepted and forgiven through the work of a Savior and not our own frail efforts. The worship service will be Biblically based, God-centered, & Grace-focused. It will reflect God’s desire to reveal Himself by being understandable to those present and marked by excellence.

Incarnational Ministry

God is at every moment building and spreading his healing presence in our world. We want to honestly assess the community’s needs and meet them Biblically and holistically as the Lord provides leadership and resources. Our commitment is to incarnate the gospel in Hanover in such a way that people are drawn to trust the church and to lower their sense of the church’s hypocrisy. We desire to meet spiritual and physical needs at the same time so that there is real change socially, culturally, spiritually and physically.

Gospel Orientation

The gospel is the good news about what God has done and is doing through Jesus Christ. It is not a law that we must do or achieve. Because of this, we seek to motivate one another with grace, not with guilt and shame. Religion makes nice people; the gospel makes new people. Religion reforms you on the outside; the gospel transforms you from inside out. For this reason, we tend to focus on the heart and motivation rather than a concrete set of outward behaviors. To be a Christian means that you have been given a new identity, a new Father, and a new family.

Discipleship Through Small Groups

We hope to see folks exploring the work of Christ in all of life. The best and most authentic means to this is through ongoing small group interaction and through mentoring rather than simply through a smorgasbord of programs. We value relationships over structures and believe that needs can be met more affectively within the context of committed relationships.

Every Member Ministry

Every member of Christ’s kingdom is gifted in some way to care for and serve others. We want to unleash people for ministry so that more and more are involved in the work that Christ is doing in his church and world. We want people to discover what they really love to do in the kingdom and then help them do it.

Prayer

We want to be a church saturated by prayer in every aspect. Prayer changes our hearts so that we can be used to change our world. Prayer is one of the main ingredients needed for healing our broken world. We want to be so built upon prayer that it could said that if we haven’t prayed about it we can’t do it yet.

Excellence

Excellence is one of God’s characteristics. We believe the church ought to reflect this character in all it does. What can we expect others to think if God’s children give Him the leftovers in their lives? We desire to be purpose driven rather than slaves to preference or tyrannized by the urgent. We are committed to doing a few things well rather than many things with mediocrity. This doesn’t mean we go beyond our means but that we truly strive to present Him with the best He has given us and not simply settle for the best we can do.

MEET OUR STAFF

REVEREND DREW DERRETH

PASTOR

Drew Derreth is a native of Baltimore, MD and a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (degree in mathematics) and Westminster Theological Seminary (graduate degree in theology and pastoral care). While in seminary, he was involved in the work of church planting in Bucks County, PA. Before coming to Hanover, he was the associate pastor for youth and family in a growing church in Baltimore for nine years seeking to develop disciples of Christ in and through the church. His wife, Becky, has roots in the Lancaster County area and is an accomplished fine artist. They have been married since 1986 and have 3 children: Tyler, Hannah, & Kate.

NOAH TRASK

DIRECTOR OF YOUTH & FAMILY MINISTRIES

Noah Trask grew up in Hanover and is a graduate of Lancaster Bible College (B.A., Worship Arts & Biblical Studies). He has completed coursework at Westminster Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing a masters degree at Covenant Theological Seminary (M.A.). Before coming to Hanover Valley, he served as the director of youth and young adults at a church in York, PA. His wife, Sarah, is also from Hanover and is a graduate of Millersville University (B.A., Social Work). They are high school sweethearts and have been married since 2016. They have two children, Norah and Paul.

ELLIS LANKFORD

KIDS GROUP COORDINATOR (INTERIM)

Ellis grew up in Hanover and works full time with a local arborist while serving our youth and children in a part-time capacity. He is currently pursuing a degree at South African Theological Seminary (BTh). He enjoys brewing the perfect cup of coffee, studying theology and church history, and spending time with friends and family.

SARAH TRASK

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT & MERCY COORDINATOR

Sarah grew up in Hanover and works part-time as our administrative assistant while also volunteering as our mercy team coordinator. Her mercy work is greatly aided by her B.S. in Social Work which she earned from Millersville University. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, and reading.

OUR ELDERS

COLBY BREWER

GARY HARRITY

(Emeritus)

BRUCE SWARTZ

MINISTRY LEADERS

JESSICA STAUFFER

Music Director

SUSAN SCHWARZ

Children’s Sunday School

ANGELA BREWER

Kid’s Group

FRED MARKLE

Website Administrator

STEVE KIRKPATRICK

Social Media

DOTTIE WICKE

Sunday Operations