Back in 1739, the great Evangelist George Whitfield visited Pike Creek. On December 3rd 1739, he preached to 8K-10K on Drummond Hill, across the street from our church. Three thousand were said to "call out their sins" , and ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. The great move of The Holy Spirit split the Presbyterian church into two factions- the "old" side and the "new" side. These meetings in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland turned out to be the spark that ignited The First Great Awakening!
Whitfield stood on a hill adjacent to the log cabin church which seated 60 people. His voice resounded throughout the Valley as it was a natural amphitheater.
Fast forward to 2015 and when Rev. Chris Dito arrived at Parkview Assembly, folks mentioned to Pastor that Whitfield preached a Tent Revival somewhere in the area. Pastor Dito felt prompted by The Holy Spirit to erect a Tent on Parkview's beautiful property and invite the nation's leading evangelists to preach God's Word.
As the Dito's searched for a home, looking to put down roots in Pike Creek, a born-again real estate agent led Pastor Chris & Denise to view a home across the street from the church in April 2016. The home on Dewalt rd. was on a hill, adjacent to the original White Clay Presbyterian Church, built in 1721. Unfortunately, a bid was placed on the home, and it looked as if the Dito's were out of contention for the home. But, The Holy Spirit prompted the born-again real estate agent to "look again" at the listing a week later. She found the house was again on the market. She called Pastor Dito and he quickly spoke with his wife (smart husband). They both sensed they were to place a deposit on the home immediately. As they dropped off a deposit at the real estate agents office, the homeowner was enthralled that a Pastor was purchasing the home, and asked Pastor to wait for him at the office. Pastor waited 2 hours but had to leave for evening Mid-week service. On his drive to church , the real estate agent called him, as the homeowner had arrived with ORIGINAL documentation from the state of Delaware that noted in 1739, George Whitfield stood on that hill (where the house is now standing) and preached to 8 thousand people.
The home was built on the "Old Well of Revival" !
As you could imagine, all involved were deeply moved by the timing of God's purposes and plans for a possible 3rd Great Awakening. Parkview Assembly would go on to purchase their own tent and continue to hold Tent revival services, inviting Rick Curry (Appeal to Heaven), Evangelist Jordan Morris, Evangelist Frank Shelton and many others.
In 2017, the congregation from White Clay (who still own the corner lot) met with Delaware State Representatives to officially "Land mark" the property where the original church was built in 1721.
Needless to say, our Church at Parkview Assembly senses a deep call to Revival here in America. We are committed to Christ to foster in the next Great Awakening in America. And we truly believe that God is going to visit our area again, as He did in 1739-1750 during the 1st Great Awakening,
The cry of our heart has become- DO IT AGAIN, LORD !