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Mr. Arthur knew of George MacKenzie, who had only recently become acquainted with the New Testament manner of gathering and would soon become outstanding itinerant preacher and encouraged him to teach at the new assembly. In about 1900, Mr. Arthur won a contract to develop a residential area in Kenilworth, New Jersey. He brought some of these Philadelphia Christians with him and helped start an assembly in Kenilworth. He sold the Philadelphia building at that time, and the Christians who had been meeting there moved a short distance west to a store between 58th and 59th on Market Street. The group at that time was small and was affiliated with the ‘Grant exclusive’ brethren.
A Mr. Mory then built a four-story apartment building at 5917 Chestnut Street and rented the whole first floor to the assembly. There it flourished and grew, and many well-known speakers came for special meetings, including [[Henry Allan Ironside]], A.E. Booth, and George MacKenzie.
====1948: Lansdowne Bible Chapel====
The assembly in Reading had its beginning in about 1905, meeting on the second floor of a building at 8th and Penn Streets, which was the downtown area of the city. As the assembly grew, it developed into a group of about 125 believers. Later they moved to a second floor room at 6th and Franklin Street in a building called Stauffer’s Hall. Around 1928, they bought their own building, a former shirt factory at 5th and Franklin Streets in the borough of West Reading and converted it into a very fine hall for the assembly. Mr. John Bloore from Plainfield, NJ drew the plans for the renovation. It was called Bible Truth Hall in Reading until the 1950s, when its name was changed to Bible Truth Chapel.
Many brethren from Plainfield, NJ helped in the growth and development of the assembly. In addition to John Bloore, there were other regular visitors, such as Samuel Ridout, George McCandless, Fred Mackenzie, Richard Hill, and R.J. Reid. P. Daniel Loizeaux would visit every month and read missionary letters at the monthly missionary meeting. [[Henry Allan Ironside|Harry Ironside ]] frequently conducted evangelistic meetings at the Odd Fellows Hall in Reading. Thus, the assembly was associated with the ‘Grant exclusive’ brethren in its early days.
Much of the assembly growth came about through the evangelistic efforts of some of the local brethren. George Starke, who was the correspondent for many years, and George Kreidler were very active in children’s work throughout the city. They would rent store fronts and conduct children’s meetings in them. Also, many children were reached through an outreach in federal housing areas. George Hoeffelfinger, a founding elder, compiled and printed the first missionary prayer handbook in 1936. Paul Bitler, who later became a worker among the Spanish in New York City, was very active in the housing project work. [[Alfred Perks Gibbs|Alfred P. Gibbs]] was brought in each year to conduct a week of children’s meetings.
