Marland Heights Community Mission

Two or three weeks after resigning as pastor of a church, John Westling was in the Marland Heights community
doing a real estate appraisal when he noticed a school building that had been closed.
The thought came to him that it would make a good building for a church.
A few weeks later he was in the same area doing another appraisal when the
Lord said to him that he was to buy the building for a church start.
He and Mike Rutledge, a fellow pastor in Steubenville, went to the building and anointed the
front door knob with oil thus claiming it for the Lord’s church in Marland Heights.
He called the Hancock County School Board to ask them about the building.
They said they had earlier put it up for sale and no one had bid on it.
He asked them to put it up for sale and told them that he would bid on it.
They set a date and John prayed asking God what to bid for the building.
He felt the Lord told him to bid $10,000.00 for the building. He determined to make one bid of $10,000.00.
The day of the auction came and many business men came to bid on the building.
They asked what John was doing there and he said that God had told him to buy the building for a church.
The auction began and John made the bid. All others kept silent and John wrote a check for the full amount and marked the check “paid in full”.
The following Monday he received a call that the closing on the building would occur on the following day.
They closed and the building was given to the church.
John met with the city council and told them his plans for a Christian school, a school for pastors, a church and much more.
The city council did not want the church to be built there and tried to stop it.

After several meetings, the city council approved the use of the building to be used as a church building but added restrictions:
the church would have to pave a parking lot with a certain number of spaces and the church could not
start until the zoning board approved the parking, storm drains and curb changes.

The Marland Heights Community Church opened on Easter; April 20, 2003 several weeks ahead of the city’s approval.
The first service had John and Emmal Westling and 68 other people attending services.
Some of those present were reporters who expected the pastor to be arrested. No such event occurred.

The first gas bill for heating the building was $2,700.00, the second was $2,400.00 and
before April 20 the total gas cost was approximately $8,000.00.
The steam boiler was replaced with an efficient hot water boiler and the cost of heating dropped drastically.

The Piedmont Okefenokee Baptist Association came to Marland Heights, framed the pulpit area and installed a baptistery.
A group from Forrest City North Carolina came and built the sanctuary.
And a group from Baltimore, Maryland gave the church 26 ten foot pews.

The church is still going and still seeking God’s direction.

Marland Heights Community Mission
3900 Bright Way
Weirton, WV 26062
Phone 304-748-4897
Rev. John Westling
www.MHCConline.com

Sunday School 9:20 AM
Sunday Morning Worship 10:30 AM

Travel SR-2 to US-22 East (toward Pittsburgh) Take Downtown Exit (first exit)Turn right on Main St.
Turn left on Marland Heights Rd. Travel to top of hill turn right on Euclid Ave Turn left on Brightway St. Church is on left