Penuel Assembly of God

BY JACLYN ROSE –

Penuel Assembly of God, originally Hatfield Assembly of God, is located at 100 Polk 282 across from the old Hatfield High School.  For the past 60 years, this church has been serving the people of Hatfield, Arkansas.  Pastor Kevin Price explained the reason he felt lead to change the name of the church.  “Penuel is the place, in the book of Genesis, where Jacob wrestled with God and saw His face.  It is a place of encountering God and the love of God, which is what we desire: to encounter God and the love of God.”

Penuel Assembly of God, which meets on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. and on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. for Bible Study and youth activities, operates on the core value that God is good and is always in a good mood.  They also concentrate heavily on freedom in worship, “we want to worship how God leads us to do it, not just the normal way,” explained Price.

Price and his wife, Angela, who also serves as the Worship Leader of the church, have been married for 15 years and have 4 daughters.  “I felt the call to preach in 1995 while on a mission trip to a North American Indian Reservation in New Mexico.  I attended the Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Dallas and was a youth pastor for 10 years.  I got a call to come to Hatfield and instantly fell in love.  It was an immediate attraction.  My people are very kind and supportive and we have a strong board.  They are a great group, creative and amazing, they keep me on my toes,” explained Price.

Recently, the church has partnered up with the Covenant House, a ministry originally started in 1993 to provide a place of refuge for women and children in crisis situations, particularly those facing unplanned/undesired pregnancy and victims of domestic violence.  After years of serving women and children of all walks of life, the ministry of the Covenant House was put on a hiatus to see where God would lead it in the future.  One day Price was walking out of the church thinking about the future and God gave him a vision of the Covenant House and the question, “how many rooms do you need?”  He pictured in his mind a house that had previously been donated to the church and the Covenant House was reborn.

This ministry will operate as their own entity, with a Board comprised of many different denominations, but will act as an arm of Penuel Assembly of God.  Their goal is simply to end abortion and will do so by providing education, job skills, lots of love and a safe place to women and children.  While long term goals include a men’s center to be located in the old Covenant House property in Mena and one day a family center, they have currently been working on remodeling the home Price originally saw in his vision and it will be able to house four families as well as a house manager.  Covenant House has also teamed up with Fresh Start Pregnancy Center to teach prenatal classes beginning April 17^th at 6 p.m.  Price explained, “We are passionate about Covenant House above all other projects and all other charities, it is our heart and soul, our heartbeat.  This is us making a huge, lasting, lifelong difference in women and children’s lives.”

About Author

Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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