The Mail-Journal, Volume 28, Number 21, Milford, Kosciusko County, 5 July 1989 — Page 19

Church

Youth groups meet at Calvary Baptist

"We re pleased with the kind of support the AWANA and Word of Life groups give us," says Roderick Smith, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Oswego. 'They teach the word of the Bible like we do in the church.” The AWANA Club, an acronym of Timothy 2:15, “approved workmen are not ashamed,” and the Word of Life group are support groups for young people who are serious about studying God’s word, says Smith. The AWANA Club, for children ages 4 years through the eighth grade.

Church of the Nazarene conducts first service in new building

By MITCHELL STINSON Staff Writer The curtains were raised on the Wawasee Community Church of the Nazarene’s new facility Sunday morning. Enthusiasm was high among the congregation as about 200 people attended services in the building’s "sanctunasium.” Spirits stayed high even after a power outage knocked out the lights, air conditioning and public address system. The regular church agenda continued with the help of emergency lights and powerful voices. The change in locale had been a dream of church members for several years. Sunday’s service was the final step in the fulfillment of that dream. Rev. Ron Blake told the congregation that it took a miracle to bring the church so far from its humble beginnings. It all started seven years ago, with 17 people meeting in the living room of Jim and Vivienne Evans. Before long, they moved into a small church on the corner of Benton and Harrison streets in Syracuse. After the congregation outgrew the building, church leaders began looking for land to build a new facility on. The rest is history, as the church found its new home south of Syracuse. The church followed a pretty typical agenda for its opening day of services. Rev. Oval Stone was a guest speaker at the ser-

Summer church attendance traditionally lower

By JEREMY BEER Attendance at church during the summer is traditionally lower than at other times of the year, and this holds true for the First Brethren Church of Milford. The main reason that summer attendance is lower at this particular church, says Pastor Paul Tinkel. is family vacationing. “The affluence of society is a tremendous factor in church attendance,” explains Tinkel. Money and the fact that school is not in session, he thinks, allows people to take vacations in the summer months. Currently, members of the church can be found in Michigan. Wisconsin. Delaware. Ohio. Kentucky, and California, not to mention two families, one of which is taking a trip west and the other a trip east. Obviously, that can cut into the Rev. Jean Brindle to speak at Oakwood Rev. Jean Brindle, pastordirector of Fall Creek Ministry, Pendleton, will be the speaker at the Oakwood Center >n Sunday. July 9, at the 10:30 a m service Paul Hartsaw will serve as liturgist and Doris Crimmins of Indianapolis will be the soloist Lunch will be served from 11:45 until 1 pm All are welcome to attend the service and the luncheon. Oakwood Center is a retreat and family center owned and operated by the North Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. It is located on Lake Wawasee . .

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averages a weekly attendance of 70-75 children each week. The Word of Life group averages 10-15 students. Meeting in the church basement and sanctuary, approximately 20-25 adults lead the AWANA Club activities. Smith says special developed games in a competitive format are part of the club s meeting, and are important for the young children. During the hour and a half, the children also share in Bible study. The W’ord of Life group, with 86

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NAZARENE CHURCH LEADERS — The Wawasee Community Church of the Nazarene held the first service in its new facility Sunday. The building is located at the intersection of Old Road 8 and SR 13. between Syracuse and North Webster. Pictured after the service are some of the church's leaders. Stanvice. He is the Nazarene church’s district superintendent of Nor- Jim Evans, the church s

number of people in the congregation. Tinkel doesn't “condemn” vacations though. He says that in modern society a family needs to spend time together. In fact. Tinkel deplores situations in which the husband and wife take separate vacations. Jf ■ HYMN SINGING — Denise Eash sings along with the congregation at the Wawasee Community Church of the Nazarene. Eash w.as a visitor at the church's first service in its new facility last Sunday. < Photo by Mitchell Stinson)

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clubs in Indiana, also meets for an hour and a half, but is strictly a Bible study and support group meeting. There are three couples who sponsor the Word of Life chapter at Calvary Baptist Church. Smith says the two groups meet every Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. during the months of September through May. During the summer months, the church replaces the group meetings with a family fellowship service. Beginning at 7 p.m., the service is more of an informal meeting.

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Another reason for lower summer attendance may be due in part to church growth The church has steadily grown since 1980. as the congregation has almost doubled in size Tinkel thinks that the larger the church, the more members that will not be totally committed. These people could be the ones that tend to skip church when the weather is nice. Last year, the average church attendance for the morning worship service at the First Brethren Church during June, July, and August was 102. The average for the rest of the year was close to 115. So. as Tinkel hesitantly refers to it. there was a "summer slump." The months in which attendance was greatest were April and December, both of which

says Smith. “I try to gear the service so that children and adults will be interested. I use flash cards or other means to attract the children s attention. If the children are interested, I think everyone else will be too. ” Although the two groups do not meet on a regular basis in the summer. Smith says activities are always planned. Swim parties, trips to amusement parks, and retreats are popular summertime activities. Smith feels the duty of the church is to teach the word of God

ding, from left, in the front row are Carmon Wenger. Charles Prescott. Rick Wilson. Dale Topp and Todd Koble. The back row consists of Jim M. Evans. Jim C. Evans, Barry Lintz, Rev. Ron Blake and Fred Clear. (Photo by Mitchell Stinson) building chairman, offered Dr. H. Dale Mitchell conducted greetings to the c mgregation and the opening prayer.

were helped by holidays Even though Tinkel says he doesn’t mind if families vacation together, he still tries to "let them know that they're missed ." Sunday School teachers at the church are asked to try to reach anyone who missed their class, if only to remind them that church does not take the summer off The church schedule is also kept full during the summer in an effort to keep members interested and involved. There is a Church Fellowship Night (which may be an ice cream social, a picnic. special music, etc.) once a month There is also Vacation Bible School in July, church camps

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as written in the Bible. "The groups we have are very good at teaching His word as we do in the church.” he says. "It actually does more for the leaders, because they get a chance to teach God’s word and grow in themselves while helping others.” Anyone interested in receiving more information about the AWANA and Word of Life clubs are encouraged to call the Calvary Baptist Church office at 453-4786.

for children, and a national conference and a youth conference in North Manchester in August. There will also be special morning worship services for Independence Day and Labor Day. As Tinkel says, "there is usually something going on all of the time."

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1 . B'T : El B j* SINGING PRAISE — Karen Mitchell, left, one of the pastors of the Northernlakes Cathedral of Praise, and Barb Snodgrass, assistant at the church, practice for Wednesday night's services. Karen and Thorpe Mitchell, pastors, began the Northern Lakes Christian Church Sty years ago and just recently changed the name. The church is now affiliated with the Lester Sumrall LeSea Ministries, Inc., and is the only one of its kind in the North Webster area. (Photo by Stacey Lesch) Mitchells lead at the Cathedral of Praise

IBySTACEYLESCH Staff Writer When Thorpe and Karen Mitchell came to Leesburg 12 years ago. although avid churdto goers of the Presbyterian faith, they felt that gmnething vital to their was missing. "We didiTrsee the power of God manifested there,” says Karen. "We felt that we were going to church because we had to. It just didn't do much for us." Because of their strong desire to praise and believe in God and His word according to the Bible, the Mitchells took it upon .themselves to begin a teaching center for others who might share their views. In December of 1983, Karen, 49, says she and Thorpe, 51. organized the Northern Lakes Christian Church as a nondenominational Bible teaching center. The first location was in the old Lancelot Building in North Webster. Following an increase in interest, the teaching center became a church. "We knew there wasn't another church like it here and we felt called — we had a vision — to start this church," says Karen. Shortly after establishing the Contra aid passed In a display of unity unknown in the Reagan era, the Senate and the House approved $67 million in continued U.S. aid for the Contras that would supply the antigovernment rebels with food, medicine and clothing — but no guns.

Wed.. July 5.1989 — THE MAIL-JOURNAL

center, the Mitchells heard Kenneth Copeland speak on television, thus sparking their interest in the Lester Sumrall LeSea Ministeries, Inc. Karen says after attending a convention at the headquarters in South Bend, she and Thorpe were ordained into the ministry in 1985. Today, their church, the name recently changed to Northernlakes Cathedral of Praise, is affiliated with the LeSea Ministeries, and Thorpe is a chief pilot for Lester Sumrail. "We are a full-gospel church that believes in what happens in the Bible,” Karen says. "The world has no power, God does. We are a very praying, praising and believing church and that's simply it. We exalt the name of Jesus.”- > » :min i< rj Karen further explains that she and Thorpe, both pastors of the nondenominational church, feel the difference between other

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places of worship and their church is, “Our’s isn’t about playing church. We are ' interested in believing in the Gospel and we see miracles happen every day. It’s not for pew warmers; you can’t just slide in, snooze, and slide out.” The church does not yet have a building to meet in, says Karen. They have however, purchased a 14-acre tract of land just north of North Webster where plans to erect a structure are pending. For the time being, a large 51-foot tent will be set up on the property to serve as the congregation's meeting place. The total congregation consists of about 20 people, says Karen. “It’s been bigger, but we’re still working.” The church holds services every Sunday at 10a.m. and 6 p.m., and Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Special prayer meetings are also scheduled Monday through Friday from 8 to 9 p.m.

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