Wasilla Bible Church is a

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

located in

Wasilla, Alaska Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the st ...

History

Wasilla Bible Church was founded in 1977. It asked Larry Kroon to become pastor in 1978. Wasilla Bible Church's first building in Wasilla was completed in 1979 at the former location of the

Wasilla Assembly of God The Wasilla Assembly of God is a Pentecostal church in the town of Wasilla, Alaska. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God USA. The church gained national attention in 2008 when United States presidential candidate Senator John McCain chos ...

, which had moved to different location. The original church's capacity was 250 seats. A second story was added in 1984, and a larger sanctuary was added in 1996. The property was then sold to another church, enabling Wasilla Bible Church to buy of land elsewhere in Wasilla. The new church building was dedicated on October 1, 2006. The church hosts up to 1,000 parishioners. Wasilla Bible Church's former location became the home of a different church, King's Chapel. As of 2020 Ashley Brown serves as head Pastor and

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of Wasilla Bible Church's Elders.Our Elders
. ''Wasilla Bible Church''. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

Beliefs

Its beliefs are

and

. Wasilla Bible Church website lists five "Core Commitments" at its website, "The Centrality of Christ, The Authority of Scripture, The Priority of

Prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

, Authenticity in our Spiritual Life, ndCommunity in our Congregational Life". In 2008,

Pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

Larry Kroon describes the congregation as "

socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...

".Johnson, Kirk; Severson, Kim (September 5, 2008).
In Palin's Life and Politics, Goal to Follow God’s Will
. ''The New York Times''.

Media scrutiny and controversy

Following nomination of congregant and then-

governor of Alaska A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

as candidate for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

, Wasilla Bible Church became a focus of the media. "When a presidential candidate surprises the country with a relatively unknown choice, then all hell breaks loose,"

Larry Sabato Larry Joseph Sabato (; born August 7, 1952) is an American political scientist and political analyst. He is the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, where he is also the founder and director of the Center for Po ...

said. "It did with

Ferraro Ferraro is an occupational surname of Italian origin meaning blacksmith in Italian (from "ferro", the Italian word for iron). Notable people with this surname include: * Chris Ferraro (born 1973), NHL hockey player, brother of Peter Ferraro * Emanu ...

, it did with Quayle, it's happening with Palin." A ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' correspondent reported a Wasilla Bible Church program insert announcing a program to help gays "overcome" their homosexuality. Then

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

, Larry Kroon, responded to this article in a

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

interview on September 9, 2008. When Fox reporter

Greta Van Susteren Greta Conway Van Susteren (born June 11, 1954) is an American commentator, lawyer, and television news anchor for Newsmax TV. She was previously on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. She hosted Fox News's ''On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren'' for 14 y ...

asked for comment about inclusion of the announcement, Pastor Kroon replied, "When the subject of homosexuality comes up, people that matter to me come to mind. And over the past year, I've had different people in our congregation speak of homosexuals in ways that I did not want to hear our people speak. ... And I wanted my people, if at all possible, to hear somebody in their tone and their manner because I don't think the church has done a very good job of speaking of this issue in a gracious tone and manner."

Arson

On the evening of December 12, 2008, the church building was damaged by a still unknown arsonist with damage estimated at $1 million. An accelerant was poured around the entrances while five women were inside; they escaped without serious injury. Palin apologized to her fellow church members in case the fire was connected to "undeserved negative attention" Wasilla Bible Church has received since she became the vice presidential candidate on August 29.

Notable congregants

, former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate. * Wes Keller, Wes Keller (born April 24, 1946) is a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the 14th District. ... Keller is a member of the

American Legislative Exchange Council The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share model legislation for distribution among state governments in the United State ...

(ALEC), serving as Alaska state leader.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://wasillabible.org/ 1977 establishments in Alaska Buildings and structures in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Evangelical churches in Alaska Christian organizations established in 1977 Wasilla, Alaska