Sometime between 1797 and 1805 an attempt was made to build a church in Avonmore on a hill overlooking the Kiskiminetas. Logs were brought to the site, and construction was started. However, before many logs had been put in place, the question of ownership stopped all operations, so the edifice remained unfinished.

In 1890 another attempt was made to establish a church in Avonmore. A number of Lutherans from Leechburg were determined to start a church. Rev. J.W. Poffinberger formed a special committee of the Conemaugh Conference to secure the building of a chapel. The lot was donated by the Avonmore land and Improvement Company, and a Chapel was constructed at a cost of $900. Rev. Poffinberger dedicated this Chapel on December 6th 1891, and in this Chapel, Hebron Lutheran Church was organized on December 13, 1891.

In the summer of 1893, student Ellis B. Burgess succeeded in adding twenty-three new members to the congregation. On June 1, 1893, at a salary of $600 he became the first regular Pastor of Hebron. During the second year of his pastorate, the congregation united with Maysville Lutheran Church.

Soon the little chapel became too small, and Pastor M.S. Kemp laid the cornerstone of a new church September 27, 1903. This was a substantial building of brick and stone, fifty feet by seventy-five feet, costing $8750. Daniel W. Sober, an active member of Hebron was the contractor. The Building continues to house the congregation, with an addition of the porch, pastor’s study and sacristy being made in the early 1920’s.

During the pastorate of Carl E. Maier, in 1943, a third congregation was added to the Avonmore parish. This was Beulah Church, which had a difficult time and was finally disbanded in 1957. It’s membership united mostly with Hebron and Maysville.

The longest pastorate in this congregation’s history was that of Pastor Albert G. Fischer, from 1951-1962. Of all the pastors to serve the congregation, he is perhaps the most fondly remembered, giving of himself when the financial reimbursement was scant.

Maintaining the ministry of the congregation in times of failing industry and declining populations became increasingly difficult. And in 1973, the congregation took a deliberate step toward a more hopeful future. Hebron joined the Armstrong-Indiana-Jefferson Project, a seventeen congregation cooperative under the vice-pastor care of J. Samuel Johns.

The future turned out unfortunate for Hebron’s sister congregation, Maysville. On September 21, 1975, the congregation ended its ministry of one hundred twenty two years. Pastor Johns led the closing service of worship, the final hymn being ‘The Church’s One Foundation.”

In 1976 the congregations of the AIJ Project regrouped as the Congregational Development Center. Hebron joined with Luther Chapel, Brush Valley and St, Jacobs Lutheran churches to form the southern unit of a thirteen-congregation cooperative. And the next year, for the first time, Hebron was able to contribute 100% of its apportioned benevolence.

The most recent chapter in Hebron’s cooperative ministry began in 1985, when Town and Country Lutheran Ministry was formed. Growing out of the Congregational Development Center, TCLM brought together eighteen congregations in four parish units. Hebron and St. Jacob’s joined with Faith Lutheran Church to form the Westmoreland unit. But the unit was reduced to two congregations just three years later. Under the care of Pastor Ralph E. Jones, the small congregation of St. Jacob’s voted to close, and held their final service of worship on April 24, 1988. This was the month of their165th anniversary.

Hebron celebrated it’s one-hundredth anniversary in 1991, with Pastor Kurt Kusserow leading, Hebron rededicated itself to the ministry of Christ’s Gospel on December 1st, 1991.

Hebron received generous endowments from Mrs. Broadly East, Barney and Mary Bash and Bob and Eleanor Henry, which enabled Hebron to call an Evangelical Pastor. Pastor Phil May was called in July 1997 and started on a five year project striving to build the congregation up while ministering to Hebron and Avonmore.

Hebron with Pastor Phil was somewhat successful but Hebron was still not able to support a full time pastor. Pastor Phil left in November 2001 and Hebron was served by interim pastor support until calling Pastor John Ludwig in October 2002. Pastor John has worked and successfully negotiated a shared ministry with the Saltsburg Sons of Zebedee Lutheran Church in 2006.

Pastors serving Hebron:
J. W. Poffinberger-1891-1892, E. B. Burgess-1893-1895, C. F. Sanders-1895-1898
W.A. Hartman-1898-1899, J. C. Nicholas-1900-1901, M. S. Kemp-1902-1905, F. A. Heightman-1905-1908, M.R. Hamsher-1908-1910, H. C. Stuckenberg-1910-1912, W.A. Logan-1913-1914,
C.E. Liebegott-1915-1917, R.N. Stumpf-1917-1920, Edwin B. Boyer-1920-1926, A. B. Harper-1927-1930, T. Wilbur Eschenaur-1930-1937, G. Grant Harvey-1937-1940, Carl E. Maier-1941-1945,
E J. Nerthling-1945-1947, Richard L. Korber-1947-1951, Albert G. Fischer-1951-1962,
Herbert D. Dubler-1963-1966, Robert D. Boyer-1967-1969, T. Oliver Repo-1970-1972,
J. Samuel Johns-1973-1976, John J. Gropp-1976-1981, William Rush-1982-1985, Ralph E. Jones-1985-1989, Kurt F. Kusserow1989-1996, Phillip A. May-1997-2001, John Ludwig-2002-2009.

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*Some of the above information was taken in part from The Pittsburgh Synod Congregational History by Earnest G. Heissenbuttel, 1959.