The Early Days (1919-1979)
Our story as a local church goes back to 1919. Our founding pastor, Frank Allamena, at 19 years old, planted the first “Christian Apostolic Church” (our original name) on Yardboro Avenue in West Albany. It was a Protestant-Pentecostal church community primarily made up of Italian families. Over the next 10 years, Pastor Frank also opened a city mission in South Albany, and planted churches in Cohoes and on Franklin Street in Albany. Pastor Frank and his wife Johanna pastored the Yardboro Ave, Cohoes, and Franklin St. churches all at the same time.
CCLC’s roots as a church are most closely connected to the Franklin Street Christian Apostolic Church, which continued in its original location until the early 1950’s, when it moved to central Albany, to the corners of Madison Avenue and Quail Street.
For over 15 years, our church flourished on Madison and Quail. The people served, sacrificed and gave in order to reach people with the gospel.
But Pastor Frank was never one to settle. Soon his vision extended to the suburbs. In 1967, he purchased nearly 20 acres of land in the town of Colonie.
Services first began to be held at 31 Vly Road in 1973 in what was affectionately called, “The Barn” which is now our “Love Center” food pantry.
At the same time, the land was cleared and the foundation was laid for a new church building.
Frank Allamena was a pioneer. He was ahead of his time, in one sense, but at the same time, a throw back to the New Testament Church.
He was a man of vision. He saw the kingdom of God as something not to be hidden or kept to oneself, but to be expanded. It was his mission to make the presence of God seen and felt in the communities he pastored and lived.
He was a risk-taker. When no one else saw what he saw, he moved forward with that old-time/ahead-of-his-time determination to pursue the vision God had given him.
It was in this spirit that our church was born. It is in this spirit that our church was raised and grown.
It is in this spirit that our church was meant to live: a church ahead of its time, with a vision to expand the kingdom of God, a pioneering church that plants other churches, that takes risks, and that is guided solely by the voice of God.
Building (1979-2007)
In 1977, Pastor Allamena became weakened by illness and, though he remained pastor, a young man named Emilio Landy began to travel from Pittsfield, Massachusetts on the weekends to preach for Pastor Frank in The Barn. He did so until Pastor Allamena’s passing on August 27, 1979.
But before Pastor Frank passed, he was able to walk on the foundation and choose the bricks for the new building. One of the last things Pastor Allamena did was to charter the Christian Apostolic Church with the General Council of the Assemblies of God, our current denominational affiliation.
Mark Bradtrude, just 21 years old, served as Pastor in a interim basis. But on April 19, 1980, Pastor Emilio “Skip” Landy officially became our Pastor and immediately resumed construction on the new building. It was during this time our name was changed to Colonie Christian Life Center.
On September 11, 1983, the building was completed and Colonie Christian Life Center was dedicated as a “House of Prayer for All Nations.”
If Pastor Allamena was a pioneer, Pastor Landy was a builder. Colonie Christian Life Center grew from approximately 50 people to our peak in the late 80’s and early 90’s as a home church to over 200 people regularly each Sunday, with as many as 100 children attending on Wednesdays.
During this era, CCLC was marked by its family atmosphere and known as a place where the presence of God was celebrated and sought after, people came to find rest and to experience healing. It was also during this era that outreach and missions became a central focus.
It was here the vision began to go beyond ourselves (necessary for any true healing) to reach into our city, our country, and the world. We took on the support of countless missionaries and missions organizations, including our own Love Center food pantry, which helps to feed and provide clothes for nearly 400 households in our community each year.
In 2006, Pastor Emilio Landy and his wife Noreen came to the decision to retire. After a nine month transition process led by the church elders and supported by the church community, Pastor David Mazzella and his wife Carrie moved from Florida in June of 2007 to become the current lead Pastor of Colonie Christian Life Center.
Pastor Landy’s ministry was marked by his love and friendship. He was, to so many, a second father, a second grandfather, a good neighbor and a great friend.
During his ministry, children and youth were seen and heard, honored and appreciated. CCLC was safe, fun place for families.
Pastor Landy loved to encourage people to go beyond themselves and give them opportunities to use the talents God had given them.
It is in this same spirit of love and friendship that we, as a community, strive to minister to the whole family. With the same hope in one another, we believe every person has a role to play in expansion of the kingdom of God.
Our Story Goes On…
What can never be lost is that history is a dead and cold thing if the story doesn’t go on. If it’s a completely written story, with the last chapter finished, and the book closed, then it is lifeless.
So when we understand our history to be a prologue to the present and the future. We understand that the story is not complete, and that the same pioneering, loving, spirit is in our hands to carry on. We understand that we must continue to create more history, to encounter God, to bear more fruit, to be ever expectant of what is going to happen next, and to be part of that next thing, that next era, that next story.
God has given us a vision for our church. It is our identity and our purpose. He is instilling within us a core set of values. They are the things we consider important, the ideals by which we live and move toward becoming who God has dreamed us to be.