The story of Lancaster Baptist Church is best described by Psalm 118:23: This is the LORDs doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

In 1986, the Lancaster Baptist Church consisted of a handful of families that were meeting weekly in a small upstairs classroom of an old downtown building. The church was deeply in debt and getting closer to closing its doors. The building was in foreclosure, and the grounds were in disrepair, yet the spirit of the few remaining families was hopeful. They wanted to see God work in their church and in their valley!

In June of that summer, a young preacher, Paul Chappell, passed through Lancaster as a guest speaker at Lancaster Baptist. He was on a family vacation and looking forward to getting back home to northern California. But God had other plans.