Memorial at Grace & Truth

This is the memorial grove that was made to honor Pastor Tom Gunther at Grace & Truth Bible Church.

Grace & Truth Bible Church June 1981-April 1999

Grace & Truth Bible Church was able to purchase 7 acres on Pleasant View Road in Hummelstown in the early 1980's and began the process of clearing the land and beginning to build.  The garage was the first building constructed which served as a construction point for the building project of the new church building.  The original sanctuary (the part of the building with the steeple) was constructed first.  It is a two story building which used the auditorium as its fellowship hall and Awana circle.  The early days consisted of a lot of setting up and tearing down.

The addition was built in 1995 and consisted of new classrooms, offices, a gymnasium and a new kitchen.  Pastor Gunther and Harry Fleisher built the kitchen themselves.

After Pastor Gunther's death, the church remodeled the existing sanctuary and enlarged it by removing some of the classrooms that were in the back.

Tom Gunther at Grace & Truth - approx. 1987

Woodlawn Memorial Gardens - Harrisburg

Pastor Tom Gunther is buried at the Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Harrisburg PA.

Grace & Truth first church building - Hershey

Grace & Truth Bible Church rented their first church building in Hershey, PA.  It was a former Milton Hershey Boys orphanage on North Hockersville Road at the intersection of Hesheypark Drive.  This home is now within the entrance to the Hershey entertainment complex.  This would be the home of Grace & Truth for almost three years.

Grace & Truth Bible Church - 1981

In June of 1981 a group of believers met in the home of Fred and Darlene Wise in Hummelstown, PA to form a new congregation.  There were 12 people that first Sunday.  This gathering would quickly outgrow the Wise's home and begin to look for a rental facility.  The church chartered under the name of Grace & Truth Bible Church.

Pastor Tom would work the night shift at AMP Inc. of Harrisburg for a couple of years while working to build and grow the church during the day.  God richly blessed this new work which saw steady growth during those early years.

In 1983 and 1984 Grace & Truth Bible Church took a leading role in organizing a summer Tent Revival in Hershey, PA.  The use of the land was donated by Hess Ford on the location of what is now the Giant Food Store on Route 743.  Dr. Joe Boyd and Dr. Randy Taylor were brought in for a joint effort tent revival among the independent churches in the Harrisburg area.

1980-81 at Sand Beach

In June of 1980 Tom became the Pastor at the Independent Bible Church of Sand Beach which is a small village near Hershey Pennsylvania.  The family moved to the area and ministered at the Sand Beach church for one year.