Few records of the church 's history exist , possibly because no single denomination or organization took ownership . Several Christian denominations held meetings at Old Pine Church , including the Schwarzenau Brethren ( or German Baptist Brethren ) , which began holding services at the church in the late 19th century . As many of the Mill Creek valley 's settlers was of German descent , the Old Pine Church structure may also have been built as a meeting place for Brethren adherents , known as " Dunkers " or " Dunkards " . It is believed that Old Pine Church was also used by German Methodists . The Brethren was a Christian denomination of Anabaptist origin that practiced baptism by triune immersion and exercised nonresistance . Triune immersion consist of dipping a new believer into water three times , once for each of the entities of the Holy Trinity . Brethren adherents believed only in the New Testament , and professed no other creeds . The interior of Old Pine Church , which consist of a single common space for all worshippers , also illustrate the building 's connection with the Brethren and the denomination 's beliefs regarding slavery . According to the minutes from the 1782 meeting of the Brethren in Franklin County , Virginia , " It have been unanimously considered that it cannot be permitted in any way by the church that a member should purchase Negroes or keep them as Slaves . " While many residents in Hampshire County prior to the American Civil War was slaveholders , it is thought that Brethren adherents in the county did not own slaves or depend upon slave labor .