| |
In 1973 the Home Missions
Department of the National Association of Free
Will Baptists based in Nashville, Tennessee sent a Home Missionary to the
Kokomo, Indiana area.
All the doors of opportunity
for this new area church closed and it appeared the church would not have a
place to start. However, God had a different plan.
The church began in April
1973 located at 115
Lincoln street in Bunker Hill, Indiana. It was a home owned by J.T. and
Gladys Stargel. The Reverend Jimmy Martin originally of Alabama held services
in the house converted to a church facility until it was time to move to a
permanent location.
The church had a rough
beginning with a paper trail of over eighteen months. After the many hurdles
the building began. Again, adversity played its role when the partially built
structure was destroyed
by a powerful storm. The paper trail began again due the the extent of the
damage.
Successfully built in 1975 and
open for services the church has continued to minister to the community and
missions all over the world. The extended outreach was made possible by our
Lord Jesus Christ and through the Home
Missions Department and the Free Will Baptists Foreign Missions
Department, which was reorganized as the International
Missions Department in 2004.
The property was originally
purchased from J.T. and Gladys Stargel for one dollar in 1974. In 1994 Gladys
sold the remaining portion of the church property for one
dollar.
The church, rooted and grounded
on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is here simply because there are still lost
souls seeking fulfillment. True fulfillment comes only from knowing Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Americas Free Will Baptists
were organized from the English Baptists who came to America in the late
1600s. Known as Free Will Baptists in 1727, and continuing into tomorrow, the
Gospel message of Jesus stays the same.
|
|