History
In 1962 John Wilson felt that God had called him to leave his profession as an engineer and enroll in Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. He completed his work there and moved to St. Louis to study at Covenant Seminary while his wife, Connie, taught in the Parkway School District. It was during this time that the Wilsons met five other families who shared their vision of starting a new congregation. As a result the first service of West County Assembly of God was held on June 8, 1969. Twenty-one people met in a rented classroom at Missouri Baptist College. The church also met for a short time at Mason Ridge Elementary School in 1972 just prior to occupying their new sanctuary.
The seed grew quickly and within five months the congregation began to support a missionary in Alaska. This emphasis on missions became a distinguishing mark of West County Assembly of God. Missions giving by the church increased from that small beginning in 1972 to 30% of the church budget in 2007. The congregation also began to pray and trust God to supply their need for a permanent facility. God honored their request and in July, 1970 they purchased three acres of land located just west of Mason Road on highway 40.
A building program was instituted, and the first service in a new 200 seat sanctuary was held on October 15, 1972. As the church continued to expand its ministry, the congregation grew rapidly. In 1976 the church house, which had been on the land when it was purchased, was remodeled to help ease the cramped classroom and office space. Overflow worship crowds were alleviated with the addition of a second morning service before Sunday School. It soon became obvious that a youth ministry was necessary. So in November of 1976, the church called Charles Arsenault as its full time youth minister.
The measures that had been taken to facilitate overcrowding provided only short term relief. In the summer of 1977 attendance had reached an average of 400 and plans were laid to build a new sanctuary. On March 30, 1980 the congregation moved into its new sanctuary, which has a capacity of about 500 people. The present schedule of two morning worship services with Sunday School in-between was started on Easter Sunday, 1982. The intention of the leadership was that when church attendance reached the capacity of the current building, a sister congregation would be started. That, in fact, came to pass in 1991 as West County Assembly of God began a mission work that came to be named Rockwood Harvest Assembly of God. In 2000-2001 WCAG sponsored the formation of Full Life Community Church in Fenton, Missouri under the leadership of the Reverend Dan Walker.
Finding space for classrooms and office facilities was a constant problem, so in 1987 a facility named the “Christian Life Center” was built. The facility contains 14 classrooms, a full sized gymnasium and locker rooms, a dining room, and an industrial type kitchen. All of these facilities are used to their fullest advantage, both as outreach tools and to minister to our own congregation. Currently the CLC facility is occupied during school days by West County Christian School. WCCS rents the space and is not affiliated with West County Assembly of God.
Lack of space, especially for the youth ministry, was identified as a hindrance to its growth. As a result, in 2000 a facility named the “Faith Center” was erected. The newest building has two levels. On the lower level is a 150 seat pie-shaped auditorium for the youth ministry, two classrooms, and a lounge with a coffee bar and bathrooms. On the upper level is a dining room that will seat up to 120 people and that divides by means of sliding partitions into three classrooms. The facility contains an elevator for easy access to the lower level.
On December 17, 2006, Pastor John Wilson announced his retirement after nearly 38 years of being the Senior Pastor. Retirement celebrations were held the weekend of March 31-April 1, 2007. Jared Stoner, Young Adults pastor was selected as the Interim Pastor.
A group of WCAG elected leaders and lay people formed the Pastoral Nominating Committee. They worked their way through more than 50 senior pastor resumes and senior pastor candidates that had been recommended to them. A special business meeting was conducted on Wednesday, May 21st for the purpose of voting on the next Senior Pastor of West County Assembly of God. On May 7th, the Pastoral Nominating Committee turned over the results of their work to the Deacons, Elders and Pastors. Their unanimous selection for the first Senior Pastor candidate was Pastor Jared Stoner. The Joint Board unanimously confirmed their choice. On Wednesday evening, Pastor Jared received a 95% positive vote and becomes just the second Senior Pastor in the history of WCAG.
