The Ohio Independent Baptist, April 1962

N chu1 ch organized by ni farnili s is growing but lacks lot and building; supports missions ace By KENNETH E. DURTSCHE Pastor, Faith Baptist Church Ashland, O hio rf/1is \'Ollllg pa. tor is not the f 11 t ,rriter to 01\'e t/1e concept tlzar ,vell-e rablislzed cl111rcl1es in 011r fello,,· /1ip 011gl1t to co11 ider 1/1e 111i12i fly' of partial support of 011r )'Ot111ger n1ission 1vorks. E,·c,i a lze i not the first to ,·oice t/1e idea certainly he is not tl1e la t. becaz1se so,neone's pen ,,·ill tell tlze tale again. There are many newly- own Regu– lar Bapti t work in Ohio that could prout into a acred opportunity for J e u Chri t. ometime , however, the eedling never quite ha the at– mo phere to blo om and bear fruit. All thi i becau e fund are not a\ ailable to ecure a place for it in the sunshine. With no desire to ap– pear o tentatiou I u e m y present charge a a ca e in point. 1 Tine families in January, 1960, or– ganized the F aith Bible Church in A bland. Ohio. On _ ovember 23 of the ame ~'ear they called me a their pa tor. Then the nev..rly formed con– gregation called a Recognition Council PAGE 2, APRIL, 1962 .. Rev. Kenneth E. Durt sche which convened July 11 1961. Their finding wa that Faith Bible Church wa a duly con tituted Bapti t church. T he church wa received into the Ohio A ociation of Regular Bapti t church– e October 16, 1961. RENT VETERAN'S HALL Members of the fellowship can say in the pirit of truth that " there is not a rich m an among u .' ' This con– dition nece itated the acquiring of a veteran' h all which ha one large room and a mall kitchen. It i rented for one day during the week, the Lord Day . Other meetings are in priva te home . Each Sunday picture of old ol– dier , veteran's ro ter and emblems of war are replaced by an attendance board, a cradle roll and tract rack. Even though the building i a one room tructure the Sunday School is departmentalized, and cla ses are iso– lated by beet u pended from over– head wire . The platform h a been made conducive to worship by using a colored di play. Following the Sunday evening ervice, chair , plat– form furni hing and o ther signs of church are removed; once again the meeting place becomes a G .A.R hall. MISS IONARY MINDED cspit" ll1e hanclicap inflicted 11pon it t, .. 11 l havi11g a pcrrnancnt mee ting place, the chL11 ch has nttcmptcd great thing\. One of the first n1 r1 jor pro– JCC tc., was to l1ring the late Or . K cn– nctl1 S. WL1cc., t. ar1 ot1l stantling New Te t,1ment teacher. to A, hland . Dr. Wt1c\ t wac; prc5cntccJ for one day. Later he returnee.I to conduct a week of pccial meet 1ng . During the pa t ummer , in one large room. a Vacation Bible chool wa u cce fully he]d. A vi itation and conva ing program are being con- ducted. The church Ii t a home mis- ionary on it monthly budget under Bapti t Mid-Mi ion . It contributes o nce a month to Cedarville College. One hundred per cent of it member- hip receive the Ohio Independent Bapti t magazi ne and the Bapti t Bulletin. The church has potential, and it ha h ad a commendable amount of activity. But to do its best, to do that of which it is really capable, it needs "a place in the sun," and a place in the sun means a building which it can call its own in the midst of a locale that has no Gospel witness. To purcha e a lot requires more money than a church such as the one de cribed can rai e alone. Our church– e like this one cannot enter into a bond plan becau e they h ave no mean of in uring the inve tment of the buyer . The e churcbe have been taught the principles of separation and they cannot tum to tho e who re-crucify Chri t. They must come to their si ter churches. They must turn for help to tho e congregations which hare the ame precious faith! MISSIONS BUDGET Would it not be commendable then, in answer to their appeal, for tho e churches that h ave buildings to help tho e that do not? Older churches could place ome on their monthly home mi ion budget. Or, a special offering could be taken to be sent to the truggling group. These gifts would help to bring them clo er to purcha e of a lot and a building of their own. The Apo tie Paul saw an advantage in church interdependency. First Cor– inthian 16: 1-3 confirm this. P aul aid that he would end omeone, " to bring your liberality (from Corinth and Galatia) to Jeru alem." With an opportunity many of our young churche could become trong te timonie for the Saviour. But they need help ! That help mu t come from those who believe in the go pel they preach. The OH IO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST