BIBLE CHURCH
Matthew 16:18 says, "... I
will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it." The church is at the center of
God's program for accomplishing His plan and purpose in the world today. The history of one little local church is
only a small portion of the overall scheme.
Palestine Bible Church has had its
victories and its struggles. However,
the church still stands by God's Almighty Hand, and by His Wonderful
Grace. History is important because one
can learn from it. However, one must be
careful not to live in the past, but in hope of the future.
The purpose of this brief history
is to create even a greater love for "The little country church along side
of the road that preaches the Word of God".
The written record of the church
located near the "village of Palestine, Indiana" dates back to May
13, 1868. However, it seems most clear
that the group met prior to this date.
The first elected board of trustees was made up of five men: Joseph Everly, Robert Mitchell, William E.
Sarber, John S. Sarber, and Martin Hatfield.
It was their job to procure ground and build the "house". This was not all. The purpose of this gathering was "to
locate, properly law off, and take care of a grave yard." This is why the church did not locate in
Palestine proper.
Sometime between 1868 and 1873 the
church was erected. It was termed
"a house of worship" from the beginning. A.F. Leaman was the chairman of one of the
first meetings and is considered the first pastor of the church.
It is easy to see that the early
history is very much connected to the history of the cemetery. The body of Mary Sarber was the first burial
in the Palestine Cemetery in May 1868.
Although older tombstones appear in the cemetery, it is known that these
memorials were moved from across the road and creek.
Recognition is due to the man who
has supplied this information. It was
W.J. Mummah, the first secretary. He
kept beautifully written notes.
Unfortunately, the first records have disappeared. Elder Carrels gave this record to Pastor E.T.
Gilliam in 1884 as a recommendation to his next pastorate.
Seven years later hard times came
to the church and it almost closed on December 18, 1875. On this day the members considered the sale
of the "Christian Chapel" property.
Determination prevailed, one member voted against the sale, and the
property was retained.
Eleven years following this near
closure, great pride was taken in the church.
It was considered a beautiful little church. The next year (1887) they put up an elm
picket fence. After all this work was
done to the little church, on May 20, 1890, the church was moved! The first location was several hundred yards
east. The church was moved northwest to
its present spot. The layout of the
church was different also. The church
entrance was in the opposite direction.
The parishioners entered and exited by the pulpit.
It was during this same year, on
February 13, 1890, the Palestine Chapel became the Palestine Christian
Church. This is the first reference of
the church being a Disciple's Church.
The history for the next six years
is very unclear. The result of whatever
happened was that the church closed.
From October 1896 to April 5, 1900, the church remained mostly idle. This was the first of four closings and at
least three near closings. The death of
leaders and disinterest of members caused the closing.
The early years (before 1900) had
their ups and downs. They close with the
closing of the church but our Loving Heavenly Father has more in store for the
Palestine Christian Church.
A man by the name of W.T. Morgan
reopened the church and started the Sunday School in 1900. On February 8, 1900, a Mr. Canfield held
evangelistic services and 29 made decisions for Christ. W.L. Barnau was called to be the pastor for
$250 per year. It was during this time
the church bell (made of 1,300 pounds of steel) was purchased for $67.50. It is sad to say, but these enthusiastic
efforts were short-lived and the church soon closed again. It was at this time, the Church of Christ
(Mentone) and the Warsaw Church of God held meetings in the idle church
building. In 1902, the Lord intervened
again and a Mr. Henry with a Pastor Llemry opened up the church again.
This new revival of keeping the
church alive lasted only until the conclusion of the part-time ministry of
Pastor Anderson in 1906. The church lay
idle until 1911. Five years of doing
nothing and the reason for this closing was a lack of funds to hire a
preacher. Even in the year 1911 only
meager attempts of reopening were made.
The year 1912 was a big year. July 1, the evangelist H.E. Wilhite and
singer F.H. Shaul held services. God
blessed and the group of 13 turned into a group of 47. The membership grew to be over 60! New hymnals were purchased to sing praises to
the Lord.
There is not much recorded after
this blessing from God until 1917, 1919, and 1923. Each of these entries, into the record, is
concerned with purchases for the church to better the ministry. Carpet, blinds, fence, double doors, and the
like were added. Two notable things were
done during these years. First, on May
19, 1923, Henry Binkley was paid $35.00 for raising the church and changing its
direction. The second time the whole
building was moved! Second, in the
summer of 1923 the church received its brick facing. The records seem to show that the church
closed in 1923 while all of this work was being done.
The early 1900's were truly a
struggle but it closes with a ray of hope, the people became more interested in
the "little house of worship".
All of the above improvements were
done in preparation for a great day in the history of the Palestine Christian
Church. January 20, 1924, was the day of
the church's dedication. The church
began in 1868 and was dedicated in 1924.
The church was without a pastor, however, there were three preachers in
attendance. Three services were held. It was said to be a time of "spiritual
refreshment" for all. "Unity
and brotherly love prevailed throughout the meeting."
There was a real scare during this
special day. Several hooded Klu Klux
Klan members entered the building and donated $200 to the church. The speaker at the time was J.W. Keefer. He said, "Let us kneel and
pray." The masked visitors then
disappeared.
There is another gap in the
records at this point. One point is made
that the Palestine Church was in a circuit with Milford and Etna Green for
meetings. On June 28, 1931, there were
126 people in attendance and on June 23, 1935, there were 180 people in the
Palestine Christian Church Sunday School.
Beginning with Walter Mickley in
1939, a series of pastors have been selected from students and faculty of Grace
Theological Seminary.
Now the history pen jumps all the
way to the year 1951. Ivan French was
the pastor and many important steps were taken.
Up to this point the cemetery and the church were closely tied
together. In 1951, the cemetery
incorporated with $361.63 in the treasurer's hand. Also during this year, October 29, 1951, the
first missionary was taken on. Robert
Munn was taken on with his wife. They
went under the European Bible Mission.
However, they resigned their affiliation with this group on August 31,
1976, after 25 years because of policy changes within the mission. They were taken on for $25 per month in 1951
and they are still supported by the church today (1980). Brother Munn has become well known for his
correspondence courses. It is a great
privilege that the Palestine Christian Church could play a part in his
ministry.
The next jump of the history pen
is to the year 1953. On June 13, 1953,
James Lackey made a motion that the church "break entirely from the
Disciples of Christ and Unified Promotion and that money be spent for spiritual
rather than social Gospel." The
church agreed and has remained independent up to the present.
In June of 1958 there was an
interest upon the part of members to take on another missionary. On July 11, 1958, the first free-will
offering was taken for Cedine Bible Mission in Spring City, Tennessee. This is a mission involved in working with
black youth. Previous to this the
"Back to the Bible" broadcast was taken on as a missionary. Later on in year to come the "Radio
Bible Class" would be added to the missionary outreach of the Palestine
Christian Church.
In the year of 1959 the Palestine
Christian Church adopted a constitution.
This is the same constitution used by the church until its revision in
1980 and 1988.
Because of time and space the pen
of history will now jump to the year 1971.
Gary Janzen, who was pastor from June 1969 to May 1971, was led to leave
the Palestine Church. Because of several
factors, the spiritual fervor was at a low ebb and there was a near closure of
the church. However, the church still
had its characteristic desire to live.
They decided to stay open and they contacted Warren McCuen, who became
the pastor in June 1971.
Up to this time the Palestine
Christian Church had observed the weekly Communion Service, as is customary for
a Disciples of Christ Church. On April
6, 1975, Pastor Warren McCuen announced from the pulpit that there would be no
more weekly communion but a monthly observance.
The first Sunday of every month would be the time for communion.
This would not be the first major
change for the "little country church".
On June 23, 1976, it was proposed that,
To avoid misinterpretation of the church's name and
so that we as a body of believers be not falsely
represented as supportive of the Christian denomination,
it was voted unanimously by the members to change
the name of the little church...
I Thessalonians 5:22,
"Abstain from all appearance of evil." was quoted. It was on July 11, 1976, that the Palestine
Christian Church became the Palestine Independent Christian Church.
In December 1980, under the
leadership of Pastor Richard C. Piatt II, the church's revised constitution was
approved. The revision of the
constitution was necessitated by the church's pursuit of incorporation status. Incorporation was deemed important in
establishing the church as a not-for-profit organization and also to protect
the members of the Board of Trustees from individual liability in the event of
legal action brought against the church.
Plans for the incorporation of the church halted with the departure of
Pastor Piatt in February 1981. It was
not until 1988, under Pastor David Callighan, when the topic of the church's
incorporation surfaced again. The name
of the church was also changed to the Palestine Bible Church at this time to
avoid all appearances of any connection with the liberal and non-fundamental
Christian Church denomination. The
Palestine Bible Church was officially incorporated on June 15, 1988, with the
assistance of local attorney, Paul Refior.
The next major event in the
history of the Palestine Bible Church was when the church body voted to become
a member of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America (IFCA) on July 25,
1988. The reason for becoming an IFCA
church was the three-fold purpose of the IFCA:
1) to build Bible churches where there are no fundamental churches; 2) to help small rural churches grow by
providing a full-time pastor; and 3) to help small churches struggling
financially to get on their feet again.
The next several items in the
history of the church deal with improvements made to the facility itself. The entire church, basement included, was
painted during the summer of 1990. In
April 1991 the first bookshelf (a second bookshelf was added in 1995) was
placed in the southeast corner of the sanctuary that would become the home of
the church's growing library of Christian literature available to the patrons
of the church. The existing main
entrance was completely replaced with double steel doors in June 1992. Three ceiling fans were installed in the
sanctuary in August 1994 to assist with the cooling of the facility in hot
weather.
Finally, the construction of a two
new rooms in the southwest corner of the sanctuary was attractively completed
by Bruner Construction in March 1997.
One room serves as a coat room while the adjoining restroom houses an
Incinolet electric toilet. The electric
toilet was the best option available since the presence of the adjacent
Palestine Cemetery would not allow for the installation of a typical sewage
disposal system. The construction
addressed a long standing need for an indoor restroom facility at Palestine
Bible Church, eliminating the need for the outdoor restroom facilities that
have served the church in the past.
The "Little country church
along side of the road which preaches the Word of God" has had its bad and
good times. One thing that is
characteristic of the little church is its desire to live. A true church is made up of people who have
been touched by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. They have new life and a desire to live for
the Lord Jesus Christ.
The history of the Palestine Bible
Church is a fit example of the Christian life.
The Lord never said the Christian life would be easy, in fact it may be
very difficult but he goes with us through the hard times. True believers do persevere.
Palestine Bible Church will stand
as long as it remains true to the Word of God.
May the Palestine Bible Church remain true until Jesus comes, for the
glory of her risen Lord.