Bill Sammons, a Milton hog farmer, said “yes” when God called him into the ministry. In 1980, at age 43, he left the farm to attend Rhema Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Upon graduation, he traveled with United Methodist Church Evangelist Earl Tyson for the next 10 years. Together they traveled across the United States to preach the Word of God.
In 1981, Bill and Mary Jane started an evening bible study in their home which continued until the summer of 1991.
At the invitation from friends, Bill and Mary Jane spent a weekend in a mountain cabin near Ashville, North Carolina. The cabin was named “Eagle’s Nest” with a scriptural reference to Isaiah 40:31 a place to renew your strength, rest your mind, body and spirit. It was at that time that God put the desire into their hearts to start a campground on the 22 acres of timbered land near their home in Milton.
Not long after that, Bill and several close friends started clearing the property to prepare for the opening Eagle’s Nest Family Campground in May of 1988. To this day the campground is a peaceful place where people can come and renew their strength.
During the summer months we began holding Sunday morning services for the campers. By the end of the summer of 1991 many local families and people who had been attending the bible studies came, and it was decided that rather than discontinuing services for the fall and winter as usual, they would go on.
Eagle’s Nest Fellowship Church was born.
A decision was made to purchase the vacant Clyde Betts & Son Hardware building on Route 16 in Milton. By the late 90s we outgrew the building! We had knocked out walls, had two Sunday morning services, and were housing our Christian School and Daycare.
The Lord provided 57 acres of beautiful property adjacent to the campground for us to build on. Our dedication service for the new building was on August 15, 1999.
Phase I included church and 10 school rooms. Phase II expanded the current building and added another 16 rooms for the school, additional offices for pastors, and doubled the Cafeteria and Conference Room.
In December of 2003 Pastor Bill unveiled the model of Phase III of Eagle’s Nest. Ground breaking and construction began in January of 2006 and we occupied this phase on the first day of school in September 2006. This phase includes a gym, locker & shower rooms, youth rooms, recreation room and much needed classrooms for our growing school and church.
Pastor Bill retired on December 31, 2006. Pastor Bob Weed who is a man of integrity and who will support the vision God gave Pastor Bill became our Lead Pastor.
Two new churches have been birthed out of Eagle’s Nest Fellowship: Crossroads Community Church in Bridgeville, DE under the Pastoral leadership of Rick Betts and Messiah’s Vineyard in Laurel, DE under the Pastoral leadership of Dr. Carl Vincent. This is fulfilling one of our founding pastor’s visions: reaching the unchurched families in Kent and Sussex County Delaware.
Bill Sammons, a Milton hog farmer, said “yes” when God called him into the ministry. In 1980, at age 43, he left the farm to attend Rhema Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Upon graduation, he traveled with United Methodist Church Evangelist Earl Tyson for the next 10 years. Together they traveled across the United States to preach the Word of God.
In 1981, Bill and Mary Jane started an evening bible study in their home which continued until the summer of 1991.
At the invitation from friends, Bill and Mary Jane spent a weekend in a mountain cabin near Ashville, North Carolina. The cabin was named “Eagle’s Nest” with a scriptural reference to Isaiah 40:31 a place to renew your strength, rest your mind, body and spirit. It was at that time that God put the desire into their hearts to start a campground on the 22 acres of timbered land near their home in Milton.
Not long after that, Bill and several close friends started clearing the property to prepare for the opening Eagle’s Nest Family Campground in May of 1988. To this day the campground is a peaceful place where people can come and renew their strength.
During the summer months we began holding Sunday morning services for the campers. By the end of the summer of 1991 many local families and people who had been attending the bible studies came, and it was decided that rather than discontinuing services for the fall and winter as usual, they would go on.
Eagle’s Nest Fellowship Church was born.
A decision was made to purchase the vacant Clyde Betts & Son Hardware building on Route 16 in Milton. By the late 90s we outgrew the building! We had knocked out walls, had two Sunday morning services, and were housing our Christian School and Daycare.
The Lord provided 57 acres of beautiful property adjacent to the campground for us to build on. Our dedication service for the new building was on August 15, 1999.
Phase I included church and 10 school rooms. Phase II expanded the current building and added another 16 rooms for the school, additional offices for pastors, and doubled the Cafeteria and Conference Room.
In December of 2003 Pastor Bill unveiled the model of Phase III of Eagle’s Nest. Ground breaking and construction began in January of 2006 and we occupied this phase on the first day of school in September 2006. This phase includes a gym, locker & shower rooms, youth rooms, recreation room and much needed classrooms for our growing school and church.
Pastor Bill retired on December 31, 2006. Pastor Bob Weed who is a man of integrity and who will support the vision God gave Pastor Bill became our Lead Pastor.
Two new churches have been birthed out of Eagle’s Nest Fellowship: Crossroads Community Church in Bridgeville, DE under the Pastoral leadership of Rick Betts and Messiah’s Vineyard in Laurel, DE under the Pastoral leadership of Dr. Carl Vincent. This is fulfilling one of our founding pastor’s visions: reaching the unchurched families in Kent and Sussex County Delaware.