Open Arms Community Church · Bradford, PA
Warm Hearts, Open Arms
A warm welcome starts here.
Help us raise $30,000 to replace the boiler that heats our children’s ministry spaces, fellowship hall, and café.
Your generosity helps keep these gathering places warm for children, families, friends, and neighbors. Your donation will be doubled through a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $5,000 in matching funds.
Double your donation
A generous matching gift will match donations dollar for dollar, up to $5,000. While matching funds remain, your $25 gift becomes $50, your $50 becomes $100, and your $200 becomes $400 toward our $30,000 goal.
Help unlock the full $5,000 match!
Together, $5,000 in donations and $5,000 in matching funds will provide $10,000 toward the same $30,000 campaign goal.
An immediate need
While work was underway on our first boiler, we learned that the second boiler also needs immediate attention and must be replaced.
The first boiler is now working and heats our sanctuary, office, and downstairs hallway. The second boiler heats our children’s ministry spaces, fellowship hall, and café—places where children learn about Jesus, people share meals, and conversations become friendships.
Our goal is to raise $30,000 to replace that second boiler.
Our congregation will lead the effort, and we’re inviting our neighbors, local businesses, and friends to join us. You don’t have to attend Open Arms to help care for these gathering spaces.
A home in the heart of Bradford
Open Arms moved into downtown Bradford to be closer to the people we want to serve. An extraordinary opportunity to trade buildings made the move possible, giving us a home on Congress Street without taking on debt to buy it.
Since moving downtown, our church family has turned generosity into completed work: a new roof, accessibility improvements including a new bathroom and an elevator, freshly painted walls on the main floor and in the sanctuary, and a first boiler restored to working order. Through gifts of money, time, and skill, our people have provided what we needed to accomplish each of these projects.
Throughout that work, ministry has continued. We’ve welcomed neighbors, built relationships, and celebrated people choosing to follow Jesus and being baptized. Our home downtown is already serving the purpose we moved here for: helping people find faith, friendship, and a church family.
Our vision is Transformed Community for God’s Glory, and we’re seeing our mission take shape in people’s lives: Real people helping people become more like Jesus as a family.
Replacing the second boiler is the next step in caring for the spaces where that ministry happens.
The people behind the warm welcome
See the lives behind the welcome.
These baptism celebrations offer a glimpse of what we’ve experienced since moving downtown: people taking steps of faith, lives being changed, and a church family celebrating alongside them.
Watch this year’s baptisms, last year’s baptisms, and Kelsey and Brittany’s outdoor baptism—even a blizzard couldn’t stop that celebration!
This Year’s Baptism Celebration
Last Year’s Baptism Celebration
Kelsey & Brittany’s Baptism
These are some of the people and moments your generosity helps make room for.
More stories coming soon! We’re gathering new interviews with people who have found friendship, belonging, and a growing faith at Open Arms. We look forward to introducing you to the people who welcomed them and hearing how those relationships have affected their lives.
One small change. A gift that adds up.
We know budgets are tight. A $30,000 goal can feel overwhelming, but small gifts from many people can help us reach it together.
What if you changed one everyday habit for a few weeks and gave what you saved?
Maybe you could brew your coffee at home a few mornings a week. Pack a lunch instead of buying one. Cook dinner at home instead of ordering takeout, and contribute the difference.
Those choices can add up. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. households spent an average of about $329 a month on food away from home in 2024, including restaurants and takeout. Your budget may look very different, but even one small change could create room for a gift.
| If your change saves… | You could contribute… |
|---|---|
| $5 a week | $20 over four weeks |
| $10 a week | $40 over four weeks |
| $25 a week | $100 over four weeks |
| $5 a day | $140 over four weeks |
| $50 by replacing one meal out with a meal at home | A one-time gift of $50 |
Choose an amount based on your actual savings, accounting for the cost of the coffee or meal you prepare at home.
Imagine 50 people each giving $10 a week for four weeks. That’s $2,000 toward the project—and $4,000 with the match, while matching funds remain.
And 150 gifts of $200 would meet our entire $30,000 goal. Some people can give more, others less. Every gift moves us closer.
Giving is simple
Choose an amount that works for you. Make a one-time donation, or pledge a total amount and give toward it over time. Recurring giving lets you schedule payments so you don’t have to remember each one.
You don’t need to make a payment every day. Daily and weekly examples simply help you picture what you could contribute. The campaign’s pledge payment dates and scheduling instructions will be posted here as they are confirmed.
For our Open Arms church family, we invite you to make this an additional gift above your regular giving, which continues to support our ongoing ministry.
If your budget is already stretched to essentials, you can help by volunteering, praying, or sharing the campaign.
Could one small change help keep our gathering spaces warm?
Donate Now
We’re already getting started
Our goal: $30,000
A $1,000 gift has already been given toward the project!
We also have a generous commitment to match donations dollar for dollar, up to $5,000. While matching funds remain, your gift goes twice as far.
Every gift helps us take the next step toward replacing the boiler and keeping these gathering spaces warm.
Come together for Warm the House
Warm the House
A worship benefit for Warm Hearts, Open Arms.
We’re planning an evening of worship that brings churches, friends, and neighbors together to support this project.
Date, participating worship teams, and event details coming soon!
We’ll also share other opportunities to gather, volunteer, and help with the campaign as plans are confirmed.
Questions about giving
Didn’t we already fix a boiler?
Yes. We had the funds for the first boiler, and it is now working. During that work, we learned that the second boiler also needs immediate attention and must be replaced.
What does the second boiler heat?
It heats our children’s ministry spaces, fellowship hall, and café. The working boiler heats the sanctuary, office, and downstairs hallway.
How do I give online?
Select Donate Now to make a gift designated for Warm Hearts, Open Arms. If you would like to commit an amount to give over time, select Make a Pledge.
How does the matching gift work?
Donations will be matched dollar for dollar, up to a total of $5,000 in matching funds. While matching funds remain, a $50 donation provides $100 toward the campaign.
The matching funds count toward the same $30,000 goal.
Can I give over time?
Yes. You can make a pledge and fulfill it over the campaign’s approved payment period. You can also set up recurring giving to make scheduled payments automatically.
A pledge records your commitment; it does not automatically schedule payments. Follow the recurring-giving instructions if you want payments made automatically. We’ll post the pledge payment dates and instructions here as they are confirmed.
Is there a minimum gift?
No. Choose an amount that fits your circumstances. We appreciate every gift, and you are welcome at Open Arms whether or not you can contribute.
Can I give by check or cash?
Yes. Make checks payable to Open Arms Community Church and write Warm Hearts in the memo line. For cash gifts, use an envelope marked Warm Hearts.
You can give at church or mail your gift to:
Open Arms Community Church
71 Congress Street
Bradford, PA 16701
Does my campaign gift replace my regular giving?
We ask those who call Open Arms home to consider campaign gifts above their regular giving, as they are able. Regular giving continues to support the church’s ongoing ministry.
Can I help without making a donation?
Absolutely. You can share the campaign, pray, invite someone to a fundraising event, or volunteer as opportunities become available.
Email bradford@oachurch.com or call 814.368.8846 to learn more.
What happens if more is raised than the project needs?
Gifts above the final cost of the boiler replacement project will be allocated to our building fund for future repairs.
Who can help me with giving or answer a question?
Contact us at bradford@oachurch.com or 814.368.8846. We’ll be glad to help.
Help extend a warm welcome
Your support helps us care for the spaces where people find friendship, grow in faith, and become part of a church family.
Thank you for helping keep those spaces warm for the people who are here today—and the people we haven’t met yet.
Warm Hearts, Open Arms. A warm welcome starts here.
