Our Story

The Wabash story begins on October 7, 1906 when a group of seven adults and fourteen children met at the Wabash school for the first time for Sunay school. According to the Sunday school report, that morning’s lesson was on the two great commandments and $0.24 was collected and two hymns were sung.

A year later, the Sunday school teachers officially organized a church and on November 10, 1907, the Presbytery of Olympia chartered Wabash Presbyterian church. There were thirteen charter members from diverse church backgrounds – Presbyterian, United Brethren, Salvation Army and new converts. C.L. Jensen and Samuel Storrs were elected as ruling elders. Four new converts were baptized.

A few years later, in 1911, the fledgling congregation outgrew the Wabash school and moved one mile east to our current location on land donated by the Jones family. The original church building, which still stands today, was constructed mainly by members of the church. The building was dedicated on October 13, 1912.

The early years of Wabash were marked by a thriving Sunday school. An abundance of local farm kids would attend Sunday school on Sunday mornings. Pastors from Presbyterian churches in Enumclaw or Auburn or student pastors from local seminaries would preach on Sunday afternoons to the adults. Wabash would not have a permanent pastor until the 1970’s.

One faithful saint in the early days of the church was Mr. Fred Garrett. Mr. Garrett became a member shortly after the church was chartered. He served as ruling elder at various times from the 1910’s to the 1940’s. Mr. Garrett was also the handyman for the early church building, arriving early on Sunday mornings to light the wood stove. In these days when the church budget was under $500 and a major expense was firewood.

Mr. Garrett’s biggest impact though, was on the Sunday school program. He was present at that first meeting of the Wabash Sunday school in 1906 and served as superintendent of the Wabash Sunday school for 52 years, until he was nearly 90 years old. Fred Garrett died in 1958.

The church continued to slowly grow during the 1930’s and 1940’s, adding Sunday school rooms to the original building (now the low-ceilinged sides in the youth room) and a well was dug for a drinking fountain inside the building. The bathrooms were still outhouses though.

 As the children grew up and the early members passed away, attendance started to decline in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. The church may have been closed permanently if not for the dedication of five ladies who prayed earnestly for the small country church to continue. Gena Berg, Marion Newman, Vivian Hall and two women who were children in the early days of the church – Phyllis Murray and Marguerite Alcorn prayed that the church would survive. Their prayers were answered in the 1970’s when new families moved to the area and joined the church.

The church had grown large enough by the late 1970’s that it could hire a full-time pastor. Up to that point, a series of seminary students, lay pastors and supply pastors from the local Presbytery had filled the pulpit. Wabash called Rex Bell as its first permanent pastor, and he was installed on October 1, 1977.

Pastor Bell oversaw the continued growth of the church, and it was soon realized that more space was needed. A commission led by Elder Arlin Gunderson was formed in 1978 and they decided a fellowship hall should be built. A half-acre of land was purchased from the neighboring farm, and construction began in June of 1982. Like the original building, much of the work was done by members under the supervision of Elder Larry Bullock and the entire project was completed debt free. The new building, named Garrett Hall in memory of Fred Garrett, was dedicated on November 20, 1983.

The congregation quickly grew during the 1980’s and Mark Patterson was called as Associate Pastor in 1987 and Keith Vandegrift was hired as Missions Pastor in 1990. There were eventually four weekly services in the old sanctuary, three on Sunday morning and one on Saturday evening. Most services were packed to capacity. Christmas and Easter services were held at the nearby Seventh Day Adventist church or the Enumclaw Junior High School gymnasium. Sunday school met during the middle Sunday morning service. To accommodate all of the classes, some Sunday school were held down the hill at the local Grange hall and other classes met across the street at the Johnson’s home. More room was needed!

The neighboring 10-acre pig farm was purchased in 1987, and fundraising began for a new sanctuary building as it was decided that once again, the project would be completed debt-free.

The purchase of the farm included an old farmhouse, this was soon remodeled and housed the church offices, a counseling center and the youth room. Originally called the Center Building, it was later renamed the Dahl center after Harry and Bea Dahl. The Dahls served as lay pastors of visitation during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Visiting congregants in the hospital or those who were homebound, the Dahls made a big difference in the lives of many people at Wabash. Harry would call every member at least once a year at the time when there were several hundred members.

To the grief of Wabash, Pastor Rex Bell was asked to step down by the Presbytery in 1993 for serios misconduct. During this time of hurting, Wabash was blessed by Dr. Ernest Lewis as our interim pastor while we searched for a new Senior Pastor. Under the leadership of Ernie Lewis, Mark Patterson and Keith Vandegrift the congregation began to heal, and construction of the new sanctuary building began in earnest.

One day during this time of transition, as Elder Geri Becker drove by the framed sanctuary building, she wondered why were we building this new building out in the country without having a pastor, was this going to be a mistake? But God reassured her that God still had plans for this country church. Construction of the new building was supervised by Elder Jerry Hatfield. As the roof was being inspected, several noticeable bumps were discovered over the sanctuary. The inspector could not explain their presence, but they did not affect the building in a negative way. When Jerry Hatfield explained the situation to Mark Patterson, he said “You’ve been praying that God’s presence would fill the sanctuary, I guess you prayed extra hard because God needed a little more room.”

Mark Patterson left Wabash in the summer of 1995 to pursue a doctorate degree at King’s College in London, England.

In the Spring of 1995, Wabash had both a new building and a new pastor. The sanctuary building was dedicated on April 9, 1995. Don Waite was installed on June 25, 1995. Don would weekly remind the congregation during the benediction that “You go nowhere by accident…” Wherever you go, God is sending you…” The church continued to grow and fill the new sanctuary and thrive during Pastor Don’s tenure. Youth group, missions, small groups, men’s choir and other ministries grew into full maturity.

 Don Waite faithfully served Wabash for 11 years and moved onto a new call in Kansas in 2006. Former Air Force Academy Chaplain, Larry Hendon served as Associate Pastor from 1997 to 2003 and former Navy and Army Chaplain, Peter Strong served as Associate Pastor from 2003 until Don’s departure in 2006. Peter was then named as Interim Senior Pastor while Wabash once again searched for a new Senior Pastor. Pastor Peter departed Wabash in 2008, returning to active duty as an Army Chaplin.

Wabash welcomed George Dakin in 2010 as its Pastor. George faithfully shepherded the Wabash congregation for 14 years until his retirement in 2024. During George’s tenure, Wabash left the Presbyterian Church (USA) joined the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

After George’s departure, Wabash was once again blessed with a wonderful Transitional Pastor – Bill MacDonald, who led Wabash for 18 months as we searched for a new Pastor. Wabash welcomed Pastor Matt Young in the Spring of 2026.