Our Mission
Adirondack Alliance Church (AAC) began as a house church in the summer of 1999. Our group formed out of a common desire to worship God together in a manner not then present in Saranac Lake. Over time, our membership changed and our vision became clearer. As we outgrew the home church format, we decided that God was leading us to create a new church. One that is faithful to classic Christian doctrine, warm in fellowship, and relevant to 21st Century Saranac Lake. Orthodox Christian belief teaches of a Holy God who hates sin, yet made a way for us to be forgiven. Our church aims to communicate both the need for repentance as well as the unconditional love of God through Christ. This is the gospel with the power to change our lives!
AAC’s founding members all came from varying church backgrounds. We studied basic Christian doctrine for a year in an attempt to find a denomination affiliation that suited our members. In the fall of 2000, we became acquainted with the Christian & Missionary Alliance, or C&MA. One of the distinctives of the C&MA is an accommodation of various belief systems on many points, while holding fast to the distinctives that separate authentic Christianity from the rest of the world’s religions. By affiliating ourselves with the C&MA, we found a denominational home large enough for our different beliefs, yet small enough to retain a central emphasis on our need for Christ’s substitutionary atonement.
Our church life is shaped by seven core values:
- We value the Word of God and its application in our daily lives. (Psalm 119:11, 119:105; John 5:39; II Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12)
- We value loving, caring relationships. (Proverbs 14:21; I Corinthians 16:14; Colossians 3:14; I John 4:7–8)
- We value active involvement in the local Church. (Exodus 20:8; Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:42–44; Ephesians 4:15–16; Hebrews 10:25)
- We value sharing our faith in Christ with those around us. (Isaiah 6:8; Ezekiel 33:1–7; Matthew 4:19, 28:19–20; II Corinthians 5:20)
- We value discipleship and consistent spiritual growth. (Matthew 10:32–33, 12:49–50; John 12:26; I Peter 2:1–3; Colossians 3:1–17)
- We value relevant, authentic worship in contemporary and traditional style. (Exodus 34:14; Psalm 150; John 4:20–24; Ephesians 5:19; Revelation 14:7)
- We value meeting needs in the church and the community. (Luke 14:23, 10:29–37; Acts 20:35; James 2:14–17; Hebrews 13:16)
Our Pastor
Pastor Daniel & Jocelyn Ockrin
Dan and his wife Jocelyn are native to the Adirondacks. They have four children.
Dan has a BA from Houghton College and an MA from the University of Nottingham. His ministry training is from the Alliance School of Ministry, and he is currently undergoing the ordination process in the C&MA. He is a teacher, stone mason, tree worker, and a life-long learner of the Word of God and the Hebrew language.
Jocelyn is a graphic designer, home-maker, and a life-long appreciator of God’s creation and all things beautiful. Their family has greatly enjoyed serving at AAC in Saranac Lake and looks forward to what God has in store for the church.
What We Believe
There is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is the true God and the true man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right hand of Majesty on high as our great High Priest. He will come again to establish His kingdom, righteousness and peace.
The Holy Spirit is a divine person, sent to indwell, guide, teach, empower the believer, and convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.
Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God: he fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with a sinful nature, are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The portion of the impenitent and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment; and that of the believer, in everlasting joy and bliss.
Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men; and those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God.
It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified wholly, being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service. This is both a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion.
Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the Scriptures and are privileges for the Church in this present age.
The Church consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all nations. The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life; for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.
The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent and will be personal, visible, and premillennial. This is the believer’s blessed hope and is a vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.
Our History
The Northeastern District of the Christian & Missionary Alliance is the Upstate New York branch of the denomination and is located in Rome, NY. The District has been very supportive of God’s working among us, and we in Saranac Lake cannot thank them enough. Through the District’s support we welcomed Randy Cross to the full-time pastorate of AAC in July of 2003.
Since 2003 we have been looking for meaningful ways to do God’s work in Saranac Lake. We realize that our building could be an important community resource so we have made it available to groups to use when it is not serving as a church. Young Life serves a hot breakfast to High School students in our building once a week when schools are open. A community choir rehearses here once a week. Several community groups have used the building for meetings. We support the work at the homeless shelter in Saranac Lake, Samaritan House, and AscentCare pregnancy services. It’s exciting to see God work among us, shaping us into a church family. Please, come visit and see for yourself!
After an extended search that included over 20 different locations and buildings around Saranac Lake, we finally located a suitable and affordable building at the corner of Route 3 and Canaras Ave. Our search took more than two years. We purchased the building in July of 2005 and embarked on a remodeling project to convert the building from a dry cleaner’s into a church building. Our first worship services were held in January 2006.
In June 2006, Adirondack Alliance Church was recognized by the Christian & Missionary Alliance as a fully accredited church of the denomination. To meet these requirements, the church had to establish a constitution and bylaws, have a membership drive and be financially independent from the denomination. Since then, we have been seeking the Lord as to our role in our community and have been expanding outreach to the Tri-Lakes area where He leads us.
In December 2022 we welcomed Pastor Dan Ockrin as our interim pastor following a year long process.
- Summer 1999 — House Church (Linda Dunleavy, Gochenaur Family, Urquhart Family)
- September 2000 — John Hathaway, start meetings in Mason’s Hall on Olive Street
- October 2000 — Jon Martin (NE District of C&MA)
- January 2001 — Decision to pursue C&MA as fully accredited
- August–November 2001 — Pastor Tom Fehr & Family
- July 2003 — Pastor Randy Cross & Family
- August 2003 — Established office on Broadway in the Thompson Building
- September 2003 — Start search for a better location for meetings and Sunday School
- October 2003 — Adirondack Alliance Church recognized as a “Developing Church” by the C&MA
- July 2005 — Purchase building and property at 72 Canaras Ave
- January 2006 — Open new facility for worship and Sunday School
- June 2006 — Recognized as a “Fully Accredited” church by the C&MA
- September 2008 — Dedicated the new addition to our building for the expanded worship hall
- December 2022 — Pastor Dan Ockrin & Family