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History

Central Assembly is a church with a proud heritage that dates back over 90 years and is affiliated with the General Council of the Assemblies of God in Springfield, Missouri. In 1916, Reverend Joseph Lantz re-located his family from Warner, Alberta to shepherd a group of believers here in Great Falls. The original meeting place was on a small lot at 616 5th Avenue South.

For nearly 40 years our predecessors met in several locations, with several caring pastors until 1953, under the leadership of Reverend W. Paul Jones. It was then that they re-located to purchased ground at 20th Street and Central Avenue. In 1960, J. Burdette Wiles, a former missionary to the African continent, oversaw an addition to the building, allowing for a larger gathering.

CA_front Pastor Erwin E. Rohde came to Great Falls from Nebraska and was installed as pastor in 1967. Under his leadership, the church saw strength, stability, and growth - especially in the area of outreach. At the time of his departure to take the position of District Superintendent in 1983, the church had grown to around 200 faithful.

In May of 1983, Pastor Alan Warneke and his family came to Great Falls. In his 24 years of pastoring Central, the church saw its most significant numerical growth, with over 700 being touched by the ministry. Last year, Pastor Bill Ballance and his wife Mary Ann came from their native North Carolina to lead Central forward. We are believing that Central will become one with God's promise to do "even greater things" in 2009 and beyond.