Torch, Spring 1984

A round the country there are hundreds of large, fundamental Bap– tist churches holding forth the Word every week. They did not start as large churches, however, but had humble and sometimes shaky begin– nings. First Baptist of Elkhart, In– diana, is no exception. In 1859, a Baptist minister, who was in the publishing business during the week, sought to organize a Bap– tist Church in Elkhart, but he found only one other Baptist. By February, 1860, more people became involved, enough to begin a congregation and to elect a trustee. In a matter of months a site was selected and a lot was purchased for the bargain price of $250. In July, 1860, the cor– nerstone was laid for a new building, and services were begun later that year in the new, unfinished building. Through the years there were many struggles and trials, sometimes making it difficult to continue finan– cially. At one juncture, because of severe financial pressure, members of the congregation gathered lumps of coal along the railroad tracks to heat their building. But, in those struggles the congregation was forced to its knees to ask God for His mercy and grace. During the early 1950's, as the 12 congregation began to grow and ex– pand, it became apparent that they were landlocked in their downtown location, which meant inadequate space to grow, insufficient parking - eventual stagnation. In 1956, ground was broken in a cornfield on the edge of the city to build a chapel and Sunday school classroom space. A few folk felt it was an unwise decision, but the church continued to grow. Five years later a most unusual oc– 'tagonal auditorium was constructed to the glory of God. The attendance had grown to an average of above five hundred and this was to be only the beginning. This newly con– structed auditorium would eventually seat twelve hundred. Now, some two decades later, with further building projects com– pleted, the attendance averages are approaching fifteen hundred and plans for continued growth are a great part of this church's vision. "How could a church grow in such a way?" is a question frequently asked. The answer is simple, yet it defies the reasoning power of the av– erage individual. The stark truth is that growth comes by the power of God. The principles of Scripture well state that .. . Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit... (Zechari– ah 4:6) is the key to success. The psalmist concludes, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. .. " (Psalm 127:1). We rest deeply on this principle of opera– tion - the power of God. Accom– panying this power is the God-in– spired faith of God's people to press on toward the mark, recognizing that human effort is also part of the plan. "Madison Avenue hype" will not do it. It takes a people dedicated to God to reach the community for God. With God-given growth there comes a whole new set of considera– tions and responsibilities that do not face the smaller church. Some of the programs and potential that a larger church experiences are very unusual, to say the least. And because of its size and because of the influence it bears, its responsibility is therefore much heavier. Some of the greater opportunities that we find at Elkhart's First Baptist involve missions. The church is chal– lenged to make a profound impact around the world in missionary pro– jects of a larger nature, such as taking a major role in assisting in building a hospital in Togo, Africa, and supply– ing thousands of Bibles in the Spanish language through its Mis– sionary Christmas Offering program. Again, using a "Christmas Gifts for Christ" thrust, nearly $30,000 was raised toward the following projects: