Bill Rudge Ministries in Hermitage, Pennsylvania.Former Ministry Center we sold for additional funds to provide free books to people throughout the US and world.
Ministry Center during fall.
Bill Rudge Ministries’ center becomes a winter wonderland.
Where It All Began
In August of 1977, Bill and Karen started the Bill Rudge Ministries in the upstairs apartment of Bill’s parents’ home on the West Hill of Sharon, Pennsylvania. Bill used the kitchen table as a desk and Karen used a file cabinet in the bedroom to store records.
In 1978 Bill and Karen moved to the Highland Apartments, where their basement was used for the growing ministry. They borrowed or rented gymnasiums, auditoriums and other facilities for various outreaches the ministry sponsored.
In 1979 Bill and Karen were led by the Lord to rent a small brick house on North Buhl Farm Drive. Its location was key to the advancement of their ministry; the basement provided office and ministry facilities, and the large field adjacent to the home was available for outreach and ministry activities. (This field, later donated to BRM, is where the ministry facility would be built.)
In 1980 we rented additional office space at the 811 Professional Building on East State Street in Sharon, until the Lord provided the ministry center (below).
In 1981, 3.7 acres of prime land appraised at $80,000 was donated to Bill Rudge Ministries. A spacious ministry center was built in Hermitage, Pennsylvania on faith, and without a penny spent on interest. During construction, coordinated by Gordon Urmson, God faithfully provided people who donated labor, materials and finances. In 1986, under the supervision of Mike Dunder, a large addition for the expanding ministry was started. By 1987, without any loans requiring interest, and with virtually all volunteer labor, the ministry complex became a reality.
In January 2001, after much prayer and fasting, Bill felt strongly led of the Lord to make the difficult decision to divide the land and sell the ministry center. BRM was heading into a new and expanded phase of ministry that could be more effectively accomplished with less overhead in modified facilities. Randy Carnino and Gordon Urmson coordinated the building project on the west side of the parsonage while Mike and Rick Dunder coordinated the construction on the east side. The strategy of selling our former ministry center and restructuring our ministry has expanded the ministry outreach and maximized the funds. The current Bill Rudge Ministries’ Center in Hermitage has proven an efficient fulfillment of Bill’s Acts 1:8 vision in growing a local, national and international ministry.