Torch, Spring 1984

ASmall Town, Small Church by Rev. Kim Kauffman 8 R ecently , in my reading, I became conscious of how insignificant we are regarding our place in time and history. The late C.S . Lewis once described in explicit detail a large , beautiful painting, rich in color. He compared our life as but one short stroke of the artist's tiny brush, almost insignificant and yet essential to the whole picture . The lesson is obvious: although our place is incredibly small in comparison to the overall purpose of God, doing our part well is what infinitely matters. Stated in this way, we begin to get a true perspective of almost every present day ministry for Jesus Christ, especially that of a small church . On the twenty-ninth of June 1845, a group of 18 people gathered in the name of the Lord and founded the LaRue Baptist Church in LaRue, Ohio . Similar to the beginning of the church at Philippi, the first meetings were held on the banks of a local river. Later, in November of that year, three pastors from Marion , Ohio, strengthened the church by holding meetings in a