Church History

 

The church was founded in 1897 by Elder Daniel Bock and Cynthia Deardorff. The first services were held in a private home. Later they moved to a room in City Hall. Later meetings were held in the Seven Day Adventist Church.

 

The Market Street building was dedicated November 5, 1916. The address was 917 South Market. This building was used until the building on Lincoln Road was built. The membership in 1917 was 66. The membership grew to 123 in 1949.

 

A building committee was formed in 1953. The land on Lincoln Road was purchased in 1955. Ground breaking and cornerstone laying were in May and September of 1959. Although not complete, the building was pressed into service in June of 1960. The Fellowship Hall was used for worship until the Sanctuary was completed. The building was dedicated on September 24, 1961.

 

The building was total destroyed by a tornado on Palm Sunday, April 11, 1965 at 7:30pm. Our congregation was worshiping at Northview Christian Church at that time. After the tornado, we worshiped at the Courtland Avenue Friends Church. During the summer of 1965, much help was given for the clean-up as well as donations. The Fort Wayne Association of Churches gave a very generous donation to the church.

 

Construction started in early 1966 and was completed in October of that year. The first service in the new building was October 23, 1966. The building was dedicated on November 13, 1966. On February 29, 1976 a bond retirement service celebrated the final payment for the facility. Membership in 1982 was 243.

 

A plan was started in 2001 to remodel the Sanctuary. The plans were generated (Craig Bush was the designer) and a Building Committee was formed in 2002, Ed Stutzman was chairman. Construction started in September of 2002. Fred Collins was the General Contractor. Much of the labor was provided by members. We met in the Fellowship Hall during construction. The parsonage was sold in 2002. The Sanctuary was dedicated in March 2003.