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| Volume XXXIX, Number 4 |
Winter, 2004
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| Rebuilding the South Bend Baptist Church | |
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| Volume XXXIX, Number 4 |
Winter, 2004
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| Rebuilding the South Bend Baptist Church | |
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| The
Sou'wester |
| ISSN #0038-4984
Copyright, 2005, by the Pacific County Historical Society. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the Society's Editorial Board. The Sou'wester is a quarterly publication of the
Pacific County Historical Society and Museum. The Pacific County
Historical Society is a non-profit 501(C)(3) organization in South Bend,
Washington.
In addition to the Sou'wester, the Society publishes a quarterly newsletter for its members and operates the Pacific County Historical Society Museum in South Bend, Washington.
Design and page layout by Charles B. Summers, South Bend,
Washington.
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| The
Sou'wester Winter Issue, 2004
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The center of worship and activity in South Bend today is the building at the corner of Adams and Broadway. Like the congregation, it has grown and been improved over the years under the leadership of many different pastors. Especially with the hands-on expertise of the most recent Rev. Morrie Fisher, the members have expanded, upgraded, and refinished the facility to its present condition. The origin of this building is an interesting episode in the overall history of First Baptist Church and the subject of this issue of the Sou’wester. In fact, it is possible that First Baptist would not have survived and become the vibrant church it is today had it not been for the Rev. Earle D. Sims and his determination to provide an adequate place of worship for those he called “his people.” Rev. Sims was sent to South Bend by the American Baptist Home Missions Society in the fall of 1939. He had been a missionary to China until forced to escape during the Boxer Rebellion. After returning to the U. S., he developed a reputation for successfully starting and rebuilding churches, and the Home Missions Society dubbed him their “Church Invigorator.” A few months after he arrived in South Bend, First Baptist celebrated its 50th year. A Home Coming Day service was held Sunday, February 11, 1940, at the “church on the side of the hill” built in 1902 on Water Street (now Highway 101) between the Sweater Factory and the old print shop. The printed program for the service, probably written by Rev. Sims himself, outlines the church’s history and the building’s condition at the time: “In these fifty years life of the Church thousands of people have attended services here. Hundreds and hundreds of people have been converted and been baptized and have worshiped within these precious walls. Thousands of children and young people have attended Sunday School and studied the Word of God. Thousands and Thousands of dollars have here been contributed in cash to make the world better. The membership is now scattered to all parts of the world.What followed is best described in an article written by Rev. Sims for the American Baptist Missions magazine in March 1941, and reprinted in this issue. The article was titled “God in an Abandoned Hotel,” since the congregation used an empty boarding house during the two years between leaving the old building and moving into the new one. The magazine editor prefaced the article with the following dramatic description of Rev. Sims and his mission: “To South Bend, Washington, city of lumbermen and oyster packers, with half a dozen churches abandoned or for sale, comes the Home Mission Society’s Church Invigorator to experience one of the most amazing adventure in his long and useful career.”In addition to recounting his efforts to raise funds, find property, and obtain building materials, Rev. Sims offers some interesting insights regarding the South Bend community along with his assessment of the other churches in town at the time. From the tone of this article, his central presence in most of the photographs, and comments of those who knew him, Rev. Sims must have been a true “shaker and mover” in the best sense—full of energy and commitment to his goal of building a new church. Unfortunately, he was physically unable to maintain the pace he set for himself and died of a heart attack at age 69—the same month his article was published and before construction began. To supplement Rev. Sims’ account and complete a description of the project, this issue also includes a detailed excerpt from an historical account written by Mrs. Theresa Rhea in 1944, a poem written for the occasion by Frank Peeples, and an interesting chronological overview of the church’s history in South Bend from its beginnings in 1890. All photographs are provided courtesy of the South Bend First Baptist Church. Bruce Weilepp, Editor |
| Rebuilding the South Bend Baptist Church
“God in an Abandoned Hotel” Reprinted from an article written by
Rev. Earle D. Sims
This
is truly the city of abandoned churches, for when I come to review experiences
here I am more impressed by that fact that by anything else, except the
need for a strong, vigorous, growing Baptist Church at the present day.
Upon the completion of a beautiful church building at Lincoln Heights,
Spokane, Washington, I closed my work there in October, 1939. By
invitation of First Baptist Church of South Bend, Washington, and by direction
of the Washington convention and Home Missions Society I came to South
Bend with Mrs. Sims, arriving there on November 12, 1939.
For the American Baptist Missions magazine Published in March, 1941 South Bend is a live, up-to-date community in the far west of our great nation. It is the county seat of the Pacific County, with all the educational advances and cultural uplift which that statement implies. It is important as a timber center. Large forests grow in that vicinity. In other days it has had logging camps and saw mills. Today’s three large sawmills are going all the time. But in addition to this work of the woodlands there is also the work of the harbor and the wharfs from which lumber is shipped to all ports of the world. Besides this South Bend has an industry of an entirely different nature. This is the heart of a large oyster industry. Several great oyster-packing houses are located here. Besides packing oysters for food, many people are employed in grinding the shells of the deep-sea bivalves into land fertilizer. This constitutes a large industry. |
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Now for the abandoned
churches. I will list them in order but I will want to say that some
of them are not absolutely abandoned. A small work is still being
done in some of them, especially as they have been aroused up to what I
might call a kind of holy zeal by my coming and making ready to revive
the Baptist cause.
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#1 Norwegian Lutheran ...................... #2 Episcopal ....................................................... #3 Swedish Lutheran 3 |
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#4 Congregational ....................... #5 Swedish Methodist ......................... #6 Swedish Baptist .......................................... #7 Methodist |
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#8 Presbyterian Church |
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#9 First Baptist Church 4 |
50th year Home Coming celebration at First Baptist Church "on the side of the hill" from 1902 to 1940. |
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| I was glad to put in my best
with these people. Large crowds came to our services, but the attendance
proved too much for the building. Homecoming day (with the church
dinner) taxed the building to its capacity. Easter a few weeks later
proved too much for it. When I went into the basement on Monday morning
after Easter Sunday, I found that the basement walls had collapsed.
I was terrified at the thought of the appalling disaster that might have fallen upon us on Easter Sunday. I summoned several members, the mayor, and the fire chief. Examination by the officials disclosed that the building had gone beyond repair. So they gave the order, “abandon ship.” |
A borrowed truck was used to haul pews and other items purchased from the Presbyterian church and stored in the old South Bend railway station. |
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Rev. Sims standing to the left of the pulpit in the sanctuary of the condemned old "church on the side of the hill." |
| My people were not a bit discouraged. With the $500 grant from the Home Missions Society, to purchase the Presbyterian property, with $500 which the Ladies Aid had pledged, and over $2000 subscribed by the church members for a new building we were set to build an entirely new edifice on a new site. I then selected and bought 5 building lots, side by side, in the very heart of the town and down off the hill. The city high school is in the next block. I bought three of these lots for $240. The city had possession of the other two. So I attended a meeting of the county commissioners and for only $1 they gave me title to these two lots. So we have those five lots with clear title and all paid for. |
The property purchased at Adams and Broadway. South Bend High School in the background. 6 |
| Unfortunately, there was trouble
coming. In an old building by permission of the owner I had stored
the wrecked material from the collapsed Baptist Church—such material as
plumbing, doors and Windows, and miscellaneous lumber. Shortly after
getting it stored away the building caught fire and burned to the ground.
All the material that I had packed was a total loss.
Just across the street from our newly purchased lots on Broadway was an old, abandoned hotel. Finding the owner, I rented it for $15 a month. Fortunately, before the fire mentioned in the preceding paragraph, we had moved our church furniture, pews, and other equipment into the hotel. The next Sunday after our old church building had collapsed, we held services in the hotel. And here we are now. The hotel is adequately furnished for all our uses. All summer we held our daily vacation Bible school there. In the Hotel dining room I can pack 127 boys and girls. The big kitchen is available and the ladies of the church can serve dinner to 200 guests. We use the hotel’s 20 bedrooms for Sunday school classes. The Hotel is now a beehive of church and Sunday School activity. Besides the regular preaching services there are the Ladies Union, the men’s brotherhood, different departments of the Sunday School, the B.Y.P.U., church socials and dinners. The attendance packs the hotel to hear the gospel. |
The Siegle Apartment fire that destroyed the stored items salvaged from the old church. |
The hotel across the street from the building site that served as the congregation's interim place of worship. 7 |
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Rev. Sims preaching from the deck of an oyster boat to townspeople gathered on bleachers below Highway 101. |
| One interesting summer development
in our church work was the regatta stand on Water Street in the center
of South Bend. Hundreds of people gather here for water sports in
summer. I applied for permission to use the stand on Sunday evening
for the preaching of the gospel. Thus I conducted open-air services
through July and August. A friend loaned his boat in which I stood
and preached to the people. Often I thought of the experience our
Lord when he preached to the people on the shore. This was the first
attempt ever made to hold open their services at the regatta stand.
However, just as all was sailing along in fine order my health gave way. For 50 years I had been at work steadily with practically no vacation. I kept up as long as I could, but my people saw that something had to be done. So they sent me off to the Virginia Mason hospital at Seattle. I spent one month in the hospital under the doctor’s care and returned to South Bend in November to resume work. Filled with energy from the enforced rest and from the necessary medical attention, I took up the work on the new building and hope soon to bring it to full fruition. I have resolved not to go into debt for this building. The Lord seems to be standing by me in this resolution. People are so helpful when they see what I am trying to do. Yesterday a hotdog stand man was watching me at work. He came up and shook hands with me and then to my surprise he handed me $25 towards the new church building. The editor of our local paper yesterday handed me the same amount. These gifts have encouraged me so much that I contemplate making a canvass of the whole community for funds to build this edifice as it should be built. I will need every cent I can get. Our hearts have also been cheered by other gifts. Having learned of the loss by fire of the wrecked material from the old Baptist meeting house, the heads of the Northern Pacific Railway Company leased to me for only $1 their own large unused depot here for as long as I need it. This old depot is no more than two blocks from our new church lot. It is no longer used a railroad depot. Because of the growth of bus traffic only one train a day runs through this town. So the freight depot now handles all passenger and freight traffic. Thus I am able to use the old passenger depot for storing the furnishings, equipment, windows, doors and finished lumber of the old Presbyterian Church. |
The ground-breaking ceremony at the building site. The hotel used during construction in the background at right. 8 |
Ground-breaking service Sunday, December 1, 1940. Seated behind Rev. Sims are guest speakers Chauncey Davis (C. D. Davis), South Bend Superintendent of Schools, and the Honorable and Mrs. John I. O'Phelan, Pacific County Superior Court Judge. |
| Two other gifts have also heartened
us. Mr. A. F. Ariss, owner of a large garage in town, has loaned
me a big motor truck to use as long as I need it. I will thus be
able to take the lumber and materials of the Presbyterian Church from the
depot over to the Baptist lot. Mr. Ariss has a real interest in church
affairs. He was the organist at the last service held in the Presbyterian
Church when it passed over to Baptist ownership. And that is not
all either. A transfer Company has put at my disposal a large freight
van to use in transferring materials that are too large to put in the truck.
It was difficult to keep an atmosphere of cheer at the last service in the old Presbyterian Church building. The house was filled with friends of both churches. I aimed to make it a praise service, praising God for all the blessings he had given us through the Presbyterians in the past and looking forward to a glorious time of service in the coming days. There was a record crowd at the service, and in spite of the natural sadness of the Presbyterians at the closing of their church, I think we succeeded. |
The architect's drawing of the new Baptist Church as it was originally planned. The steeple idea, however, was replaced with the much lower and less pretentious bell tower that still exists today. |
| On December 1st we held a groundbreaking
ceremony on the new lot. Over 160 people were present and had it
not been raining the attendance would have been much larger. I have
now engaged workmen and expect immediately to put in the foundations, after
which the rest of the building will follow. We estimate that the
building will cost $7,000 or $8,000. The time has come when we must
ask our friends everywhere for help.
It is our desire to complete the building and dedicate it and then to secure a permanent pastor, so that I can undertake the next task. Note: Regretfully, Missions announces that Mr. Sims personally will be unable to finish this or undertake any other task. As this issue goes on the press the News York newspapers report his sudden death of a heart attack on March 12th at Livingston, Montana. He was 69 years old. ED. |
| 1938 to 1944: Transition From Old To New
Excerpted from an historical account
written by Mrs.Theresa Rhea, 1944
A small group gathered at a business
meeting in the old Baptist Church in 1938, under the leadership of Rev.
Self. It was here that we decided on our undertaking of the new building.
Little did we realize the prayers, the money, time, labor, and many long
sessions for working out plans that were to come, before we might realize
a new building for Christ in our community.
Rev. Self left us the next spring and Rev. Earle D. Sims became our new pastor. With his experience in building hundreds of churches in the U.S., we felt that he could help us in our undertaking. With great enthusiasm, the many projects for raising money were launched, and the plans were drawn up by the convention architect Mr. Lockman. The American Baptist Home Mission Society now made us a loan to buy the old Presbyterian Church and help with the salaries of the men who tore it down. Our old church had been torn down after the Easter services in 1940, when the building had been condemned and we had moved into an old boarding house, but a fire, in the summer of this year, consumed most of the material from our old Baptist Church, when the building in which it was stored, was burned. On Dec. 1, 1940, we held our ground breaking service. The Home Mission Society granted us a loan of $2000.00 at this time to help with our building program. It was in this year that we celebrated our fiftieth anniversary as a church, in the old boarding house across the street. In March 1941, Rev. Sims had to resign his position due to bad health and he passed on to glory on his way to his home in Washington, D. C., his one great wish of seeing this last, and he hoped the most perfect of all his buildings, ungranted. Little was done on our new building until our new pastor Rev. Phillip Graff, a missionary from the convention, came in June. |
Rev. Addison Self |
| The cornerstone laying services
were held Oct. 10, 1941. Rev. Sims made the stone before he left.
It was not long before the building was roughed in and the outside finished.
Another $2000.00 loan was now made to us by the Home Mission Society. Again we were faced with a great disappointment, for Rev. Graff was called to the Central Baptist Church in San Francisco. Rev. Marice Ham, of the State convention, came as our interim pastor until another could be secured. Under his leadership, the interior of the auditorium and the parlor were finished, and the young people ceiled their room so that it might be usable. Many friends in the community gave generously of their time, labor and money to help us complete our church. Two opening dates were held, Dec. 21 and 28, 1941, at which time pledges were made to help with the finishing of the building. On New Years Day we had a moving Bee, moving from the old hotel building across the street to our new Church home. To appreciate what we felt in our hearts, you would have to worship in that old drab hotel building for nearly two years. I’m quite sure we could claim the honor of having the most ramshackled building in which church services were held, in the state at that time. |
Rev. Saywell and family |
| Rev. Ham was needed
in his regular convention duties and Rev. Pettibone, an interim pastor,
came to us in Jan. 1942. He was a great spiritual blessing to us,
for in our hurry to get into the new building, our thoughts were mostly
there. His coming drew us back to the Lord of Hosts, who had provided
so generously.
Rev. Pettibone was not here long however, for in May 1942, Rev. Carlton Saywell, a missionary pastor, came to help us finish our church. This helped us, as his salary was paid by the convention. During his ministry here, the kitchen was finished, (a project carried out by the Women’s Union) —the church was painted on the outside– the primary and beginners rooms were made ready for the children—and the social hall put into usable condition. Rev. Saywell was called to Sumner, and at this time (Jan. 1944) we are looking forward to the time when we can have a pastor again. |
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The new First Baptist Church as it appeared soon after construction in 1944. |
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A poem written by Frank Peeples in honor of the effort
to build the new First Baptist Church in South Bend. “A place to worship God.” “Amen,” the members chimed, “Amen!” Then gladly broke the sod. Then came long days of work and prayer,
For this must be a church from which
Not as a place of mirth to be,
The dream took shape ‘neath willing hands,
We know the sacrifice of Christ
By faith I see the people kneel
The old, the young, the small and great,
It seems the years speed swiftly by—
The multitude so great no man
O’er Heaven’s fields it seems I hear
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So starts the record of the First
Baptist Church of South Bend. Four Baptist believers – Samuel A.
Rounds, Sarah L. Rounds, Clara H. Farmer and Rosa E. Turner met at the
Odd Fellows Hall with Rev. A. A. Witham for the purpose of organizing a
Baptist Church. Rev. Witham acted as moderator; Brother Rounds was elected
clerk and Sister Farmer, Treasurer. The clerk was instructed to buy
a Record Book. (This was taken from said Record Book that bears a
cost mark of $2.00). The “Declaration of Faith” in the Baptist Church
Manual written by Dr. J. Newton Brown was adopted.
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| Rev. J. T. Tickner was called
at a salary of $700.00 per year. The basement was finished at a cost
of $400.00. A room was added in the back and the Tower over the landing
was built. Rev. F. W.Wightman followed and some of us remember him
as a very wonderful man.
In 1911 Rev. F. E. Dark and family came. It was a very active time for the four years Rev. Dark was here, especially among the young people and was probably the most prosperous time the Church has known. The Dark family left in December 1915. Rev. Gilman Parker came in January 1916. He was an older man and we all loved him but after the dynamic Rev. Dark it was quite a contrast. During World War I all the churches in town suffered, both spiritually and financially. For one year, April 1918 to April 1919, the Methodist and Baptist Churches held joint meetings, first at one church and then the other. Each Church conducted its own Sunday School. In 1919 Rev. J. L. Peringer and family came and things went very well. Good work with the young people of the Church and town was conducted. Rev. Peringer worked very successfully with the Boy Scouts and Mrs. Peringer with the Girl Scouts. Their son John was born while they were here. They left the last of 1924. Rev. E. L. Albright followed for one year – January 1925 – 1926. After that Rev. H. P.Andrews was here for two years. Later Rev. Andrews was known as the “Singing Evangelist.” A period of about two years followed with no pastor except “supplies” and several layman speakers, including Mr. Clarence Orkney of Raymond who was a great help. Rev. Baird came for 1930 - 1931. He was followed by Rev. Addison Self who was here for about eight years until 1939. He was very active with the young people. He was also a very hard worker with the Boy Scouts. About this time the “Church on the Side of the Hill” was declared unsafe and a new Church was decided on. The present lots were secured and the old Presbyterian Church was purchased to be torn down and materials from it and the old Church to be used in the construction of the new Church. Rev. Earl D. Simms was elected Superintendent of Construction. The old Church was vacated March 27, 1940. The “New Home Hotel” across Broadway from the site of the new Church was rented for a meeting place while the new Church was being built. December 1, 1940, a “Ground-Breaking” service was held with Rev. Simms breaking the ground. On October 10, 1941 the “corner stone” was laid. Rev. Simms personally made the corner stone before he left and returned for the laying. Rev. Simms had been taken ill and he had been forced to resign in March 1941. Rev. Simms died March 12, 1941 in Livingston, Montana. Rev. Philip Graf took over as pastor on the construction. Rev. Maurice Hamm and Rev. Willis Pettibone were interim pastors following Rev. Graf. The first meeting opening the new Church took place December 21, 1941 and the “Dedication” was December 28, 1941. Rev. Carlton Saywell came to help us finish our Church in May 1942. The kitchen, a project of the Women’s Union, was finished, the primary and beginners room were finished and the Social Hall put in usable condition. Rev. Saywell was called to Sumner in January 1944. Before and after and during this time, Frank Peeples of Raymond was always ready and willing to help us whenever we needed a pastor or a speaker. It was April before Rev. Ralph Gorsline, his wife Lenora and son Edwin, arrived. We found a home for them on Broadway, about three blocks from the Church. During their time with us, we built up spiritually and many young people were added to our group. It was a very sad day when they announced they were going as missionaries to Brazil in June of 1946. That Fall Rev. Ray Sanford, his wife and three children made us happy again for they helped us in many ways and were very good with the youth of the Church. Rev. Richard Sutterlin made this his first pastorate. He and Cora Mae had the blessing of having their second girl born here. Rev. John T. Hall and wife lived across the street in the Botzer apartments. They were older folks and couldn’t do as much for the youth as they would have liked but he brought us some of the deepest, most spiritual sermons we have ever heard. Ill health called them back to their home in Stevensville, Montana. Rev. Lewis Murdock, a bundle of energy, brought his new wife to his first Church and they lived in the Kindergarten rooms and the kitchen of the Church. They called it Grand Central Station because so many people came there and enjoyed their hospitality. The kitchen and other rooms of the Church were finished. Then the idea for the parsonage on our lots behind the Church was conceived. We went to work and with everyone driving nails, patching seams, varnishing and painting (the women by day and the men by night) we finished our three-bedroom parsonage in the summer of 1954. The first pastor to occupy our new parsonage was Rev. Charles Bancroft, a young man and his wife, just out of college. They stayed until April of the next year and then he went into welfare work. Rev. and Mrs. Arthur Hubbard came to us next. He was an older man and gave us some good sermons. It was during this time that we held our Association’s Golden Anniversary here in South Bend. Due to ill health, asthma, he was forced to retire and is now living at Cle Elum. |
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| It was Rev. Virgil Savage who
traveled many miles between Astoria (where he was Chaplain at the Tongue
Point Job Corps Center) and South Bend where he served as interim pastor
and aided us in the many details of the change.
Rev. Savage was followed by Rev. Henry Quiring who served as interim for nine months (during his ministry, the new constitution was written) until the church called Mr. Clyde L. Toedtemeier, a Village Missions pastor, and his wife Donna and three daughters. Pastor Toedtemeier, a professional in building construction, led in making major changes to the parsonage. The attached garage was converted to living room and a laundry room, removing the former laundry room walls enlarged the kitchen to its present size. The roof was extended to add the current garage. The oil heater was removed and a wood stove installed in the living room, with electric baseboard heaters added to all the rooms. Pastor Toedtemeier led the church for five years, moving on to pastor a church in Moses Lake, WA. Pastor Taylor was interim pastor until Rev. Bruce Glass was called in 1973. Pastor Bruce and Janet had their first child, Carol Joy, during the seven years they served here. They were called by a church near Denver, Colorado. Pastor Jim Taylor again served as interim pastor. Rev. Richard Yates and his wife, Becky, arrived in 1980 with their son Matthew. Their daughter Sadie was born during their years here. The church flourished under their ministry. He also coached a soccer team at the South Bend school. When they felt called to the mission field in Congo, the church supported that decision and they moved on to working with CBI. Eventually, their plans were changed by parental health problems and they accepted the pastorate in Belfair, WA. While there, tragically their son Matthew died in an automobile accident in which Becky and Sadie where also severely injured. Rich went on to work on his doctorate and is now teaching at a seminary in Maryland. Rev. Donald R. Strunk was recommended to the church by Pastor Rich Yates before he left. Pastor Jim Taylor served as interim pastor until Pastor Don came with Joanne and their daughter, Tammy, in 1985. Changes to the building during Pastor Strunk’s ministry were the addition of a ramp to the front of the church and the removal of the brick chimney and fireplace. Also the men’s restroom was enlarged and the women’s restroom moved to the much larger storage room, with entrance from Fellowship Hall. During his time with us First Baptist bought the Menlo Methodist (originally established as a Baptist church in the 1800’s), renaming it Menlo Chapel. The church sent Pastor Jim Taylor and Eloise to minister there in 1987, officially licensing Pastor Jim in November 1989. Primarily a Sunday School outreach, Sunday morning services were held for the first years, with special Sunday morning services offered during the Pacific County Fair. Pastor Jim and Eloise continued to serve also at South Bend during those years. Menlo Chapel closed in 1994. Pastor Jim retired from Weyerhaeuser, January 1, 1995, to work full time in ministry. Pastor Don earned a doctoral degree while serving with us for eleven years. He loved being in the woods and hunting. It was during a Fall hunting trip in Alaska with some other men from the church, that a boating accident took his life and that of Lou Fashauer. It was a traumatic time for all of us as they were missing and not found until the following Spring. Joanne and Tammy have remained with us, for which we are thankful. Pastor Jim Taylor was interim pastor for eighteen months with the help of Pastor Ken From. The church then called Pastor Jeff Payton who was here for two years with his wife, Diane and their three teenagers. Again Pastor Jim and Pastor Ken From led the church until Rev. Morrison Fisher accepted the call. He and Carol arrived in December 2000. Pastor Morrie was a professional concrete finisher, so sidewalks were replaced and added, as well as the front ramp, steps and the back porch, after the new addition was added. Also during his stay the church built on a nursery and classroom addition. A new handicap accessible women’s restroom and a storage room went into the space where the former nursery was located. The church was enjoying a time of growth during their ministry. But after only four years they left a very disappointed First Baptist congregation in December, for a call to a church in North Pole, Alaska. Time permits us to touch only on the turning points, the highlights of our history, and the material evidences in the community that our church is here –the building in which we meet. So much is left unsaid. We know that alongside every pastor on our list has been a faithful wife who has contributed to his abilities to function as pastor, who has sacrificed in ways we could never know, and who added to the spiritual energy of our church. Pastor Jim Taylor and Pastor Ken From were left to lead the church into 2005. Pastor Ken is a retired engineer who has led churches and preached in many places around the world before settling in our community. His dear wife, Miriam, went to be with the Lord in 2002. The service of over a hundred years of Deacons, Trustees, Sunday School Teachers, Kitchen Workers, Building Maintenance, Prayer Warriors, those with an Encouraging Word, Ministers of Music and other gifts are “treasures that will not rust or decay,” they will have an eternal reward. It is our prayer that the First Baptist Church of South Bend, under God, may continue to be a blessing and testimony to the saving power of Jesus Christ. |
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