Evangéliumi Hírnök, 1974 (66. évfolyam, 1-24. szám)
1974-02-01 / 3. szám
6. oldal EVANGÉLIUMI HÍRNÖK 1974. február 1. Baptist Churches Begin In the “Craziest” Places By Tim Nicholas Southern Baptist home missionary LaVern Inzer got a surprise when he went to an abandoned mine site to pick up a supposed tool shed he planned to convert into a temporary sanctuary for the Reese- Antelope Valley Baptist Chapel. On one door of the 12’xl2’ frame building was a sign saying "Men,” and on the other door was the word, "Women.” Inzer said he was "determined to have the wash house building, because we needed it for the Lord’s work. "We lifted it on the flatbed truck after knocking loose the fixtures and carried it 100 miles back to the valley.” The Reese-Antelope congregation had its record attendance of 44 one Sunday when they were still meeting in the wash house, Inzer recalled, "even though we have our own building now.” There are only 15 families living in the valley, he added. The Wall Street Journal has gotten into the canned sermon controversy. On March 14 their humor column, which is in the middle of the first page, was devoted to "How do those guys manage to produce a sermon each week?” The answer, "It’s easier than you’d guess.” After a thousand words of nonsense, they come to no conclusion. We have gotten considerable feedback in the mail. One, Odyss Kneece, sometime professor of preaching at Central Seminary, feels it is a legitimate thing to seek stimulation in other men's sermons, the same way you would seek information in literature or elsewhere. Another man quite frankly said that he didn’t have time to prepare a sermon and that he had to lean on the talents of others. I would hope that no one gets the impression anywhere in this, as The Wall Street Journal so snidely implies, that anybody is trying to be a parrot for someone else’s thoughts. A. B. Input Before they obtained the wash house, the chapel members met in a line shack formerly used by cowboys for overnight stopovers during cattle drives. When the ranch was sold, the congregation had to find another meeting place. The wash house was a temporary answer, on another site. A mobile chapel later became their place of worship. Lake view Baptist Church in Vermilion, Ohio, meets for worship in what once was a beef slaughterhouse. Refuting the argument that churches in temporary facilities portray a negative image to the community, the church was awarded a major building loan from a local firm and is nearing completion of their third unit on the same property. This church has been accepted by the community, or they wouldn’t have gotten the loan. Gateway Baptist Church, in the Greater Pittsburgh (Pa.) Association, found a way to increase their mission outreach in the community without owning property. The Baptists were renting facilities from a Seventh Day Adventist church and used the money that would have gone for building maintenance to create a neighborhood center and staff a Christian book store. Otha Winningham, superintendent of missions for Keystone Baptist Association in Pennsylvania, said three churches in the association are using Seventh Day Advnetist facilities, and the Baptist groups "are among the fastest growing churches in our association. The Adventist churches are attractive; their sanctuary structure is much like Baptist churches, and they have baptistries.” Candlestick Baptist Church, the only Southern Baptist congregation in Danbury, Conn., found a place to meet on Sundays—in a school building—after they ran out of educational space at the local Jewish synagogue. Frederick W. "Bill” Kunst, the church's pastor said the church moved into the new facility the same week the school opened. The church has a recreational program in the school cafetorium— a combination gymnasium, auditorium, cafeteria—which is also used for fellowship suppers, Kunst said. The Danbury church began in homes, outgrew them, moved to a Masonic Lodge, then to the synagogue and school. Now with an average attendance of 200 at worship services, the church has property and is planning to build, Kunst said. The church has 15 home Bible "fellowships," among other mission projects. Baptists have begun churches in some strange places. First Southern Baptist Church in Huntington Beach, Calif., met in a barn and then in a night club, before moving into their own facilities. Calvary Baptist Church in Caribou, Maine, previously met in Odd Fellows and Knights of Columbus halls. Another congregation, Eastern Heights Baptist Church in Jeffersonville, Ind., adapted a chickenhouse for their sanctuary. Parkside Providence (R.I.) Baptist Church met for years in a hotel. Sharron Woods Baptist Church in Plattsburgh, N.Y., met in a theater, moved to an Air Force chapel, and are presently renting space in a Roman Catholic facility, operated by the Christian Brothers of Instruction. Ernest A. Cruse, pastor of the Baptist group, said the Catholic brothers "even ran their buses for us during Vacation Bible School.” Many believe that having their own church building will result in higher attendance, Redford noted. "There’s a logical time to build a building, but it doesn’t come as soon as some would think," he added. "We can document again and again where a church had 150 attending in a schoolhouse, and after they had built a church building, attendance fell to 100—or the building produced no growth at all,” Redford said. In contrast, the Home Mission Board sponsored a "home Bible
