Services to begin at church in former Penn Hills YMCA building

Dillon Carr | Wednesday, May 29, 2019 2:28 p.m.

Penn Hills YMCA

A Monroeville church that bought the former YMCA building in Penn Hills will begin services June 1 and 2.

The Rev. Lance Lecocq, a pastor at Monroeville Assembly of God, said the church closed on the property at 11817 Frankstown Road in February for $1.1 million, including many assets the YMCA left behind at the site.

Services will be held at 6 p.m. June 1 and 10 a.m. June 2.

Since acquiring the property, the church has worked on transforming the building to accommodate about 185 congregants, along with several rooms dedicated to children’s classes and a free health clinic for people without insurance.

The Penn Hills campus, dubbed “The Fold,” will be the Monroeville Assembly of God’s fifth campus, joining others in Monroeville, Lower Burrell, Arnold and Forest Hills.

The Pentecostal Christian church serves about 1,300 congregants and operates Sheep Inc. Health Care Center, a free health care clinic, in Monroeville and Turtle Creek.

Lecocq said the church’s name comes from a Bible passage found in the Book of John in which Jesus refers to himself as a gatekeeper to the “sheepfold.”

“We want to introduce people to our shepherd,” Lecocq said.

Eventually, Lecocq said, he wants to open the church up to the community for possible after-school programs and a food pantry. The 31,000-square-foot facility has a walking track encircling a full basketball gym and other classrooms, as well as an outdoor field and playground equipment. The property is a little larger than 5 acres, according to county real estate records.

“I feel like the community really misses the Y,” he said. “So we’re looking for input.”

The YMCA’s last day was in August after Kevin Bolding, the organization’s CEO, announced the closures of three area branches due to financial struggles.

The building was listed for sale in September with an asking price of $1.8 million.