Learn more about
The Lebanon Wesleyan Church
The Little Church with a BIG Heart!
Our Beliefs
As a Wesleyan Church:
- We believe in the Holy Trinity.
- God the Father, Jesus the Son, Holy Spirit.
- We believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God.
- We believe in free will.
- Each person has the ability to choose between right and wrong.
- We believe that Jesus died for the sins of everyone and rose back to life to never die again.
- We have two sacraments, baptism and communion.
- We believe that God gives all Christians spiritual gifts to use for the Kingdom of God.
To find out more about the beliefs of the Wesleyan denomination, please visit this link.
Our History
This church was started in 1957 by Bob and Irene Dill. At first, we only held weekly Bible Studies, but by 1958, we had grown enough to hold Sunday Morning Services.
After that point, our church has consistently been an active member of our community. We began to host an annual hymn sing over 65 years ago in which local Southern Gospel artists showcase their talents and spread God’s message through song. We still proudly host this event every Palm Sunday!
One of our most cherished memories happened in an unlikely circumstance. Many decades ago, the church tragically caught on fire, but our community was there for us. Our neighbors rushed in to save our pews from the building. We were able to hold on to this piece of our history thanks to our honorable neighbors and we are forever thankful.
One example of embracing our past is the restoration of our bell tower. After years of our bell tower being unusable, we made the decision invest in this component of our building’s past and restored the bell tower. Now, we toll the bell weekly before our Sunday morning worship services!
We are constantly trying to expand our outreach in ways that will benefit our community. One major step we have taken is opening our very own food bank. Years ago, we saw a need and God laid it on our hearts to help our neighbors in need. Though we have a modest congregation, we have never had to turn away any family. Praise God!
As our church develops over time, we value our long history and work to strengthen our ties to our community.
Our Pastor & His Family
Rev. James Couzens (Pastor Jim) was born in Allentown, PA. His father was a minister and served in churches all over Upstate New York.
God called Pastor Jim into the ministry when he was a senior in high school. He graduated from United Wesleyan Bible School and was ordained in 1993.
Roxanne grew up in the Syracuse, NY area and they met at a church in Brookfield, NY where she was the piano player and Pastor Jim had become the assistant pastor. They started dating by doing church work together and were married in the June of 1994.
Roxanne completed her master’s degree in social work and currently works for Delaware Hospice.
They have 3 children: Bryan – 19, Lis – 17, and Jaxen – 11. God has put this family together through natural child birth and adoption.
Pastor Jim and Roxanne have been serving the Lebanon Wesleyan Church, with their family, since July 2004.