Our history our pastor - Church of the Word International

Pastor

Sydney and Jennifer Ropp together with their beautiful family of four children, currently reside in Lancaster County, PA where Sydney is serving as the Senior Pastor of Church of the Word International. Jen serves as the church book keeper, secretary, and assistant to many of the different ministries within the church. Sydney also operates a business and is involved in the security world.

Since 2015 he has amassed hundreds of hours with multiple organizations in tactical shooting, hand-to-hand combatives, and TCCC medical training, with a special focus on third party protection and church security.

Both Sydney and Jennifer were raised and married as conservative Mennonites (Sydney from the Ozarks of Missouri and Jen from Northwestern Ohio), together they established their home and family in southwest Colorado where they remained the next 11 years as business entrepreneurs. At the beginning of 2009 they experienced a life changing encounter with the Lord that radically shifted their world view and understanding of Christianity; which resulted in them planting our sister church in Colorado. At the instruction of the Lord they moved in 2011 to southeastern PA to assist Apostle Dale Armstrong with the work of Church of the Word International as the assistant Pastor. Since 2014 Sydney has been serving as the senior pastor of Church of the Word International in Landisville, PA and also provides apostolic oversite to their sister church in Delta, Colorado.

Sydney travels frequently throughout the Middle East, and various other countries around the world to both encourage, and provide a support system for both the local and international Christians in those places.

His greatest passion is to see others encounter the love of Jesus Christ, and experience the life changing personal relationship with Father God that is available to anyone who desires it.

Their minor passions include physical fitness training together, playing league sports, and being a personal trainer to their children as they compete in various sports.

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History

A Short History of Lancaster Church of the Word.

It all began in 2006. On the 28th of May, my wife Teri and I gathered in a home with three other couples to pray. The Holy Spirit came on us so strongly in that little meeting that I remember mentioning to our host how “something was born in the Spirit tonight.” We all agreed to return the following Sunday evening for another time of prayer. That following week there were dozens more who gathered, and as before we prayed only, and sought the presence of the Lord. It really surprised me how the word had gotten out, and how many hungry hearts responded. That quickly we had outgrown a large home. Following the Lord’s direction, we held our first service the next week, on June 11, with over a hundred people in attendance. The following weeks were very foundational to all that the Lord has done and is doing. I encourage you to enjoy these messages, as important now as they were then: The Gospel is the Power of God, part one The Gospel is the Power of God, part two The Gospel is the Power of God, part three