In 1917, Charles C. and Florence Personeus, Christian missionaries from the then newly-formed Assembly of God, disembarked in Juneau on a rainy November day.
“I believe you are an answer to my prayers,” local widow Hannah Krogh told them. “I’ve been praying for someone to come and open a mission for the fishermen, miners, and others who do not go to church.”
Herself a missionary, Krogh preached out of a tent before it collapsed. With her help, the Personeuses established a mission on South Franklin Street, the Bethel Assembly of God. Fifteen people filled the room during its first service on Thanksgiving Day, 1917.
Nearly 100 years later, the church’s location and methods — even the name (It’s now known as the Juneau Christian Center) — have changed. The message hasn’t.
“Love God, love people, love life,” said senior pastor Mike Rose at JCC on Wednesday. In his third decade at the church, Mike Rose and senior pastor Deenie Rose, his spouse, and four other pastors minister to around 400 Assembly of God adherents.
The Roses now preach from a newly remodeled, spacious facility next door to Fred Meyer. There’s a preschool and a 6,200-square-foot youth center (the “HUB”); a performance stage and a cafe-like welcoming room.
JCC is celebrating its centennial anniversary this weekend with a banquet and several services. Tickets for the Friday, 6:30 p.m. banquet are $15. AnnaLee Conti, granddaughter of the Parsoneuses, will be the keynote speaker. (Conti has written a book about her grandparents’ life in Alaska, titled “Frontiers of Faith.” The opening anecdote and quote were both taken from its fifth chapter.)
Speaking to the Empire at JCC on Wednesday, Mike Rose said that despite the church’s long history, JCC is not dwelling on the past. The congregation has always been focused on families and youth; A forward-thinking philosophy comes along with that.
“Our focus is not in the past. We’re celebrating the past, but we believe that we are surging into the future,” he said.
With church attendance declining nationwide in recent years, a forward-looking philosophy is a luxury most churches don’t enjoy. The number of Americans declining religious affiliation rose from 6 percent in 1992 to 22 percent in 2014, according to a PEW research poll. Among millennials, that number rises to 35 percent.
Churchgoers aren’t as adherent to “name-brand loyalty,” as they used to be, Rose said.
“People are much more mobile and they have a lot of things going on. It used to be you’d see everybody at church every single Sunday, but families aren’t quite like that anymore,” Rose said.
JCC’s focus on taking care of youths and families may be what’s kept them going. People looking for a new church mainly make their decisions based on the message and tone of the preaching. But services and programs for children are important priorities as well.
According to that same Pew poll, 56 percent of adults who have looked for a new congregation say the quality of educational programs available for children was an important factor in their decision.
JCC’s afterschool program, housed in the six-year-old “HUB” on the south side of the building, meets those needs. From 3-6 p.m. there, youths can enjoy video games, music listening stations, pool and foosball tables. The afterschool program lasts from 3-6 p.m. The first hour of is reserved for studying and the next two features games and socializing.
HUB emerged a little after JCC moved its elementary and middle school to Auke Bay. It’s a 503c nonprofit separated organizationally from JCC. There’s a lot of overlap between those in the congregation and families who utilize HUB.
“We think about 1917, that (youth) emphasis was there. We’ve always emphasized youth and that heritage has continued through this facility,” HUB manager Jonathan Mollick said.
Those wishing to attend the banquet can purchase tickets can contact Juneau Christian Center, 8001 Glacier Highway at 789-2176 or visit jccalaska.org. JCC will hold a Saturday service at 6 p.m. and a Sunday service at 10:30 a.m.
• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com
Mike Rose, senior pastor at the Juneau Christian Center, talks about the center’s 100th Anniversay celebration to be held his weekend. The center is located at the corner of Glacier Highway and Old Dairy Road, next to Fred Meyer. Rose has been a pastor at the center for 30 years. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
