Category: MidweekMessage

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #258

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #258. It is good to have you join me and make me part of your week. I am honored you would do that. I do anticipate a little shorter MM this week since Jo and I will be heading to Ohio to visit and celebrate our daughter, Janna’s birthday. We will be traveling Tuesday-Thursday. Prayers for safe travel would be appreciated.

Our school-related prayer focus this week is Andy Cline. Andy, as you probably already know, is the Superintendent of S-OCS. He has a lot of responsibilities! Long hours. Big decisions to make. Lots of employees to care about. Yeah…he needs our prayers. 😅

Congratulations to Jordan Mahon! Jordan made the ultimate decision to follow Jesus by being obedient in baptism. He was baptized Sunday by Pastor Ryan and Joe Pavich at the falls at McCormick’s Creek State Park. Joe was super excited to be involved. He is the athletic trainer for the school system and when Jordan was injured he helped him with PT. It is always a great joy to see someone you care about and invest time in come to desire a deeper walk with Jesus. Way to go, Jordan! And way to go, Joe! And Joe? I was standing next to your mom and she was crying tears of joy for you. 😊

Don’t forget this Sunday, the 17th, is a special day for us. Anna East, Pastor Ryan and Hope’s daughter, is planning to serve with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in New Zealand starting in October. She will be back in February. Anna is going to share with us what her mission trip is to include and what she will be doing. I will let her tell you more Sunday. We have had several of our young people (and adults) take part in mission trips in the past and I hope we have more in the future. Please plan to come and listen and support Anna.

Have you made the notation on your calendar for the change for our next church-wide Pitch-in? Pastor Ryan and I will be gone with some of the leaders to a DiscipleShift Conference in Brownsburg on August 27-28th, so we decided to change the Pitch-in to Wednesday, August 20th at 6:00. I’m going to be honest: I do enjoy the different foods brought in by all of you, but I miss the fellowship even more. I mean…Jo can cook for me. 😉 But I really do miss visiting and laughing with all of you. A little birdie told me there will be Babbs chicken there that night.

Keep in mind that Sunday, August 31st is a 5th Sunday. That means the elementary-age children will be with the parents in adult worship that morning. There are plans to include some youth songs led by the youth worship team (during second service) on Sunday morning for the young people. Just keep in mind that the nursery and pre-school class will still meet as usual, at 10:45.

ROOTS begins Sunday, August 24th from 5-7:00 here are the church building. You may want to bring a change of clothes because water games are the plan for that night. 😊Pastor Ryan’s theme for the year is “Scripted”. He has hand-outs with more information.

Do you have questions about OVCF or have you ever been asked questions like “What kind of church are you?” or “What do you believe?” I’m excited to offer an “Introduction to OVCF” to anyone interested in knowing more about the church. As a refresher, here are the particulars:

• • • September 7th following the second service.
    • Light lunch of sandwiches and snacks will be offered.
    • The session will be in the youth addition and will be very informal.
    • I plan on it lasting 1-1 1⁄2 hours as we discuss our Mission and Vision, our Core Beliefs and Core Values, and why we are structured the way we are.
    • I do not plan to lecture but to sit around and discuss and ask/answer questions.
    • Child care by two of our teenagers will be provided. Please let me know if you need it.
    • A sign-up sheet is on the back info table. Class is limited to 12 since I plan to offer it once every quarter.
    • I would be honored to have you join me and others as we learn more about OVCF.
    • If you have any questions please feel free to ask, text or call me.

YOUTH NEWS!

• • • Lucas and Ellie Arnold were winners of the sidewalk chalk drawing contest at the Gosport Lazy Days Festival this past weekend. Looks like we have some budding DaVinci’s in our midst.
    • The Owen News had a whole section of the latest edition dedicated to the Owen County Fair. If I had included every one of the winners from OVCF, I would have needed to have a newspaper-like MM. Congratulations to all our young people.

This coming Sunday I will be preaching on “God’s Plans for Us” from Jeremiah 14-37. I will be praying for you as we travel and will be looking forward to being with you this Sunday. Until then…know you are loved.

Pastor Bill

And see…I can be short 😉

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #257

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #257. It is good to have you join me today. This is a busy month so I hope this week starts it out on the right foot.

The biggest news is, of course, school starts this week. For some of you I just went from Mr. Nice Guy to Mr. Worst News of the Week guy. 😉Sorry. However, there is one bright spot in this picture. We have a name to pray for each week. This week is a general one. Please pray for all the administrators, principals, staff, teachers and students this week.

• • • Pray for a good school year.
    • Pray for a safe school year for all involved.
    • Pray for the teachers to communicate well.
    • Pray for the students to learn well.

We will be giving you a specific individual to pray for each week from this point on. Living with a teacher in the household keeps me praying and learning that being a teacher is hard work. It is also mentally challenging, especially if you know a teacher who truly cares about his or her students.

More great news to share! This past Wednesday night we had our monthly church family pitch-in. We had the most people we have ever had! 70! Count them: 70! Funny thing about that is we had 69 and a few moments after I had counted and announced the number, someone came up to me to say, “Someone just came. You can add her.” We had not only a great turnout, but some great conversations. In fact, when I left there were still some people talking and visiting (Pastor Ryan stayed to lock up). We also had a great spirit of cooperation as all the tables were taken down and the chairs were set up so I had very little to do Thursday morning in getting the chairs ready for Sunday morning. Thanks to everyone who helped clean up, put
away, set up, and made life much easier. You da best! 😊

• • • Speaking of the pitch-in. We are having to move the next pitch-in to a week earlier. Pastor Ryan, Tom Mangia and I will be attending a two-day DiscipleShift Conference being held in Brownsburg on the 27th and 28th of this month. Since you know it is essential that I be there (for the food and fellowship, remember), it was decided to move the pitch-in to a week earlier. So mark the date of August 20th for the next pitch-in at 6 pm.

Now for some YOUTH NEWS!

• • • ROOTS begins Sunday evening, August 24th from 5-7:00. ROOTS is open to all Middle School and High School students. Pastor Ryan sent an email to all parents and students this past week. If by some chance you did not get one, please reach out to him. The letter told about ROOTS, Deeper and several other events on the horizon. There is also a sign-up sheet on the info table if you would like to provide snacks for ROOTS.
    • Right after the OC fair started I mentioned to you that MiaRose Hess was chosen as the Fair Queen. I also mentioned her sister, Meilynn is making quite a name for herself in 4-H as well. She texted me her list of awards this past week and it could quite possibly take the rest of this MM to list them all. When I talked to her, she said I could cut it down and maybe just list the Champion and Grand Champion awards. So here goes:
      • • Western Sr. Showmanship in 4H project awards-Reserve Champion
        • Reserve Grand Champion for Top Dog and Dog Agility
        • Dog Showmanship-Grand Champion
        • Fashion Revue- Grand Champion
        • Bicycle rodeo- Grand Champion
        • Rabbit Showman-Advanced Champion
        • Pygmy market and Pygmy Doe- Grand Champion
        • Aerospace, Collections, Outdoor Photography, BeeKeeping-Grand Champion
        • Several Reserve Champion as well as multiple other awards
        • Well done, Meilynn! Keep up the good work.
    • Any others to add to the fair awards?
    • A little birdie told me Rusti O’Neal made the 7th grade Volleyball team. I bet she will tell you there is a difference in size from a softball to a volleyball. 😊

Exciting news to share! This coming Sunday, Jordan Mahon, who was one of our graduating seniors, will be baptized by Pastor Ryan and Joe Pavich at the falls at McCormick’s Creek State Park. Jordan spoke with Pastor Ryan this past week and knew his next step in following Jesus would be to be obedient in baptism. You are welcome to observe. The baptism will take place after the second service, about 12:45 pm. Jordan will be attending Judson University to play basketball (and to study) this fall.

On September 7th I will be offering the first of what I hope are many sessions on “An Introduction to OVCF.” Following a lunch of sandwiches and snacks, I want to have an informal, casual conversation about what makes OVCF tick. You will have a chance to see our mission and vision, core beliefs and core values and why we are structured the way we are. There will be plenty of time to ask questions and hopefully get answers. 😊 My plan is to make it last around 1- 1 1/2 hours. If you have need of childcare, please indicate that or let me know. There is a sign-up sheet on the back info table. The limit is 12 per session and I had 3 sign up this past Sunday.

Did you know that Anna East is leaving in October and flying the coop? Well…she is flying but not the coop. She is actually going to New Zealand to serve on a short term mission trip (4 months) with YWAM (Youth With A Mission). Anna will be sharing about her trip on August 17th at both services. I admire any young person who wants to stretch their boundaries and see how God can use them. Come listen to Anna and show your support for her trip.

My sermon for Sunday is entitled What Does God Want from Me? The Scripture is Isaiah 54-Jeremiah 13. Let me just give you a heads up and maybe you can develop it on your own. Here are the main thoughts in the outline: I) He wants me to pursue Him; and II) He wants me to rely on Him. Your mission is to divide up the Scripture to see how you do. Until then, my thoughts and prayers are with you. I look forward to seeing you Sunday. You are loved.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #256

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #256! I hope your week has been going well and you have seen God blessing you in all ways.

Did you remember our church pitch-in is tonight at 6:00?

With school starting, we will begin praying for our school personnel. This week we just want you to pray for the administration, faculty, teachers, and students as they get ready to start back next week.

Saturday was a day of excitement. No, nobody was here except me. But pictures don’t lie. 😊Saturday morning at 5:30, they began pouring the concrete for the foundation of the new addition. I left at 7:40 to go to the Y and when I came back they were still at it. Soon all the pouring was done, then the tedious work began. Around 12-1:00 they were all done and heading home. Not only do I not know how to do what they do, but the heat and humidity were brutal. But we now have the finished concrete pad. The last word we received is the shell will be started around the middle of September. There were a lot of excited people Sunday. If you didn’t get a chance to see it then Diana has posted some pictures on the church’s Facebook
page. You can catch them there. Better yet, come up and see for yourself.

Special Announcement!!! Two Sundays ago when I mentioned praying for someone from another church, a member of that church was shocked that another church would be praying for someone in their church. (It’s what we do). But I’m pleased to announce that another church has blessed US in a very tangible way. Several on our worship team sang and led worship at the women’s Women of the Word gathering last month at the Christian Life Center, which is sponsored and promoted by Shiloh Wesley Church. Dr. Diane Wells is not only a medical doctor, she is also the pastor of Shiloh. This past week their church blessed us with a very generous monetary gift to be used in the building of our addition. We want you to know so that you can tell her thanks if you see her. A letter of thanks will be sent from the elders to express our thanks for their generosity.

Sunday was a special day also.

• • • Derek Britt and Luke Furr were here to bring us up to date on Chi Alpha’s impact at IU. Like Ryan, I got choked up at the end of the video as they showed multiple students being baptized in all kinds of settings. To hear the voice-overs of some of the students and then to find out that it was their testimony at their baptism really moved me. Derek shared with us that in the neighborhood of 400-500 students were impacted by Chi Alpha this past year. Keep praying for their ministry. Chi Alpha is one of the monthly missions we support.
    • Even more exciting was that Sunday was Move-Up Sunday for 6 of our students who will be moving from the Late Elementary class to the Adult worship. Some were unable to be here this week but the list included Akaydia Beckwith, Amelia Biggs, Eliza Chambers, Aasha Srinivasan, CJ Wood, and Cooper Wood. Welcome, my young friends, to the adult worship. I look forward to watching you grow in your faith. (And Ryan looks forward to having you in ROOTS youth group 😊).

Speaking of ROOTS! ROOTS kickoff is Sunday, August 24th from 5-7 PM. ROOTS is open to all Middle School/High School students. Please feel free to invite your friends. If you have any questions about whether you will enjoy it, check with some of the young people who attend. If you, or your parents have any questions about snacks (yes they use them and there will be a sign-up sheet), lessons, etc. please check with Pastor Ryan.

It seems like almost every week, whether I am talking to people at the Y, at a meal, some gathering, or with a Sunday visitor, I am asked, “What is OVCF? What denomination is it? What do you believe about (fill in the blank)”? I try to explain it and sometimes they “get it” but there are also times when I am asked for more information and deeper clarification. Like “what do you mean Independent or non-denominational?” This past Monday in a conversation at the Y, I was asked about creeds and our stand on them. It came up because I had befriended a couple of folks and invited them to OVCF. What would you say to the above questions, and others like them? Would you like to know more? I wrote an “Introduction to OVCF” for that purpose. My
plan is to have a sit-down, non-formal gathering (with lunch😊) to give you a chance to ask
questions and to discuss with other people ideas like the ones I’ve been asked and more. So
here are the details…

• • • Sunday, September 7th, will be the first offering of “An Introduction to OVCF.”
    • It will be immediately following the second service.
    • Lunch will be served (sandwiches, chips, finger foods).
    • I plan for it to last about an hour to an hour and half.
    • We will discuss the material in a small group setting. I will not be lecturing or standing at a pulpit. I’ll set up tables solely for convenience in the youth addition.
    • Do you need child care? Please let me know so I can make sure someone is there for you.
    • All you need is a Bible, a notebook (there will be plenty of space in the material to take notes), a pen, a curious mind, and an open heart.
    • There will be a sign-up sheet and since it will be offered multiple times, there will be
      limit of 12 per session.

I look forward to chatting with you. Any questions, please feel free to ask me.

I’ve given you a lot to think about this week so I’m going wrap things up. This coming Sunday I will be preaching on Destruction to Reconstruction from Isaiah 23-53. I look forward to seeing you. You are loved…more than you know.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #255

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #255. I hope your week is going well. Sunday was an exciting day for the OVCF family as two elders, Bobby Anderson and Tom Mangia gave an update about our building addition. In case you were unable to be here or to hear the live stream I thought I would include the text of their presentation for you:

7/20/25 Building Update to the Congregation

The Elders and Building Team have been actively meeting and working on the building project with the contractor, and we wanted to bring you an update and some exciting news. Would members of the Eldership (Bobby Anderson, Tom Mangia, David Robertson and Pastors Bill and Ryan); the Building Team (Wayne Akerson, Madi Arnett, Dick Hogan, Dave Keith, Diana Markland, Marge Monticue, Don Taylor, and Mark Truesdel) please stand. We would like to thank you for your dedication to not only this project but to the future of this congregation and church. We truly appreciate you. {Note: names added by me}

In late June/early July the Elders reviewed the current bid and identified some areas of opportunity that would allow us to reduce the overall cost. In partnership with our contractor and Building team, we were able to reduce the next phase of the project by ~$93k! These savings have allowed us to sign the contract earlier this week that will see us proceeding with finishing the foundation, erecting the building, completing all exterior work, and framing the interior walls. The concrete for the foundation is scheduled to be poured on 7/26/25 at5:30am, weather permitting. The building structure construction is currently planned to begin in September. Exciting things are happening, and all of these items are being done DEBT
FREE!

We had previously provided you with an update that we had planned to prioritize the parking lot expansion. We feel that it is also important to provide you with an update on that separate/subset project. The expansion of the parking lot is still a need and priority of the Eldership and Building team, but after discussing the parking expansion with the contractor, we have decided to delay that for now to focus on the building itself. We will be in further discussions with our current contractor regarding this separate project (parking lot). {End statement}

Is this not exciting news? 😃If you have any questions as we move forward, please feel free to ask the Building Team members (listed above) and we will do our best to answer any question or concern you may have.

Now for some other news!

• • • Pastor Ryan will be out of the office all week.
    • This Sunday, the 27th, Derek Britt and Luke Furr from Chi Alpha will be with us to give us brief update about their work among the students at IU.
    • This Sunday is also Move-Up Sunday! As Pastor Ryan explained a few Sundays ago, the students moving into 1st grade will move up to the Early Elementary and the 3rd grade grads will move up to the Late Elementary. The 6th grade grads will be recognized in second service with the adults where they will begin their new journey of growing in their faith.
    • Our next OVCF Family Pitch-in is next Wednesday, the 30th at 6:00. We look forward to seeing you there to celebrate God’s goodness with us.

YOUTH CORNER

Call me stumped. After having so many entries from the fair last year, I had to use several MMs to list all the awards. This year I have had no one contact me about the awards won. So I’m putting the word out for next week!! Text or email me any awards our young people have won from the fair.

• • • Congratulations to Aubrey Mangia for taking first place in her age division (women 14 and under) at the 5k fund raiser at MCSP this past Saturday benefiting the Tristan Calvin Scholarship Fund.
    • Tad Nicholson also ran in the same fundraiser. He ran the 5k in 30 minutes. (He would have definitely beaten me).

With my remaining space, I’d like to reiterate what I said Sunday morning before I preached about the T-shirt I wore. It said This Pastor has an Awesome Congregation. I wore it for a reason because I knew what Tom and Bobby were going to say. Here is what I also added as I reflected on the past 19 1⁄2 years as your pastor:

• • • Our move to this building in 2010 was a move of faith.
    • Even after the devastating financial news in 2011, we moved on in faith.
    • We added Ryan to our staff in 2013 by faith.
    • We added on the Youth Addition in 2018 by faith. With God’s help we did it debt free.
    • We began saving immediately toward an addition we believed would accommodate the adult worship and now 7 years later we are moving forward in faith. We obviously aren’t there yet, but we will be. We will continue to move by faith, trusting God to provide and not move until He does.

To echo my shirt: this pastor does have an awesome congregation. So thank you for being you. Thank you for continuing to focus on people, not on buildings. Thank you for making this a “Welcome Home” place-a place where people can find they are home. {One final note: thanks to whomever gifted the shirt to me during the “Welcome Home” series in September/October}.

My sermon this coming Sunday is The Danger of Self-Reliance from Ecclesiastes 9-Isaiah 22. I look forward to being with you. Remember you are loved.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #254

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #254!! I hope you are all doing well as we find ourselves in the middle of July. The OC Fair is now history. The upcoming issues of the MM will include a lot of the awards won by many of the young people from OVCF. So…stay tuned!

Before I get to some other information, please allow me to give you a brief recap of our trip this past week. If you are not interested, then skip on down past this paragraph. 😄😒We left on Sunday afternoon and spent the night in Ohio. We were able to have supper with our daughter,Janna and her boyfriend, Mike and while we were eating, our grandson Braden and his girlfriend, Cameron came to visit and say hi. Her family was having a meal at the same restaurant so it was kind of cool they came to say hi. We left Monday morning for my brother and sister-in law, Rob & Joy’s place in PA. I was sort of astounded that they have officially been married for 15 years. I remember traveling to PA, meeting Joy for the first time and doing the wedding. Her spiritual gift is definitely hospitality! We just sort of hung around for the rest of the day and most of Tuesday until my brother, Garry, his wife, Deb, and their daughter, Lia, came for supper and to hang out the rest of the evening. Garry will be having surgery again soon for recurring cancer, but he was in “fine form” in the humor department. Jo just rolls her eyes when the Grandi brothers get together. If you think my sense of humor is off-the-wall, you ought to be around when I am actually the sane one of the bunch. The only sad part of the visit was that our youngest brother, Curt, and his adopted son, Jonathan, were unable to make the trip because he couldn’t get a flight. We left Wednesday to return to Ohio and watched Mike play a softball game that evening. Thursday we had a chance to watch Braden play two games that lasted from 12:00-5:00. They got started late so we had a little more time in the beating sun. And rain. Yes, you read that right. It rained. Rain + humidity = steamy conditions. The good part is Braden’s team won both games. We arrived home on Friday before noon and after an afternoon of laundry, a trip to the Y, checking out a new bid for the church addition, and sitting in my recliner, Jo and I went to the fair. We saw tons of people, exhibits, and animals, but after being in the sun, heat and humidity 3 of the 5 days of vacation, we were “humiditied-out” (Yeah, I know that is not a word- 😄) after about 1 1⁄2 hours. I felt like the wicked witch in Wizard of Oz: “I’m melting!” I have the utmost respect for the young people and parents who take care of their animals during Fair Week. It was a long but enjoyable week for us. I drove 900+ miles but it was worth every one of them. It is good to be home though. Thanks for listening to my ramble.🙂

This past Saturday was the celebration of life for Tim Huffman at McCormick’s Creek State Park. Tim went to be with Jesus on April 1st. I was honored to be asked to say a few words. Tim was married to Cathy and they attended when able. Their daughter, Sarah Schneider, her husband Will and their children, Brantley, Stella & Elouise also attend OVCF.

Sunday morning I received a text from Kathy Wisely that Nancy King passed away. John and Nancy were involved in the start of OVCF in 2004. They have a daughter, Emily, who married Daniel Wisely. They also have a son, John. Our sympathies to John and family. Please remember the family in your prayers.

YOUTH NEWS:

• • • I thought I would return from my trip and have tons of information on the young people involved in the Fair. I was wrong…at least for this week. I suspect next week’s issue will have more. But there is one big one I do know! CONGRATULATIONS TO MIA ROSE HESS FOR BEING NAMED OWEN COUNTY FAIR QUEEN! This fall she will be a sophomore at Cedarville University majoring in Business Management with minors in Entrepreneurship and Biblical Studies . Her parents are John and Jenny Hess. She also has a younger sister, Meilynn, who is making quite a name for herself in 4-H. I will have more fair news in next week’s MM.
    • Tuesday (yesterday) Alli Anderson and Carolyn Myers left for a two-week trip to Ireland with Alli’s Ag group to visit different farms and learn about agriculture. Alli is the daughter of Bobby and Becca Anderson. Carolyn has been a long-time family friend, and attends OVCF, too. Please pray for their safety and for a great learning experience.

Here is some miscellaneous information you can check out:

• • • Diana will be out of the office on Thursday, Friday and Monday for a much-deserved few days off. A little birdie told me Jim’s birthday was Wednesday, their grandson’s 1st birthday is Thursday and for some reason she wanted to celebrate with them. 🙂
    • On Saturday, Madison (Maddy) Miller will be married in Valparaiso. Maddy is the daughter of Paul and Kelsey Miller, and the sister of Nolan and Kaine. Pastor Ryan is performing the wedding and Westin Linville is the DJ. Nolan gave a fantastic communion meditation a few weeks ago. He and Anna East are also building a skoolie. Ask them about it.😄Pastor Ryan will be out of the office next week.
    • July 27th is a day of multiple events. Derek Britt and Luke Furr will join us with an update on their ministry work with Chi Alpha at IU. Their ministry is one of the missions we support on a monthly basis.
    • Also on the 27th is Move-Up Sunday for our young people. More in next week’s MM!
    • Don’t forget, our OVCF Family Pitch-in dinner is Wednesday, July 30th at 6 PM.
    • It was announced last week during both worship services that the Family Weekend Camp at Hilltop has been postponed until 2026.

REALLY GOOD NEWS:

• • • Sunday morning we will give an update about our building addition project! We are excited to share with you about what has been done and what we are ready to do next!

My sermon Sunday is What the Heart Wants from Pr. 19-Eccl. 8. I look forward to seeing you Sunday. Until then, know you are loved.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #253

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #253 and to July! It is hard for me to believe I just said that-which means 2025 is half over. I won’t mention that dirty “S” word, you know, the one that begins in “S,” ends in “L,” and has a “choo” in between is one month away. For many of you, I guess the best thing to say is take advantage of the time left. 😁

I have some super good news to share with you! Elijah Clausman, one of the young men who plays guitar in our worship band in the second service (and has a head of hair that some people might be envious of 😁) was baptized Friday afternoon at Hilltop Camp following the close of the Sr. High Wilderness Week. Elijah not only has been part of our band, but has taken an active role in ROOTS. Our very own, Westin Linville, had the honor of baptizing him. Pastor Ryan was standing right there in case Westin decided to hold him under. 😁

YOUTH CORNER

• • • Auggie Wood played baseball for the Warner Family Team this summer. They were eliminated when they lost in extra innings (2) while playing in the rain, but played well. Way to go, Auggie! Now, I hear it’s on to football.
    • Emmy Wells and her friend, Zara, played softball this summer. Gannon Wiegand played baseball.
    • We had some of our young people play T-ball this past month: Collin, Mason and Aiden Chesser and Owen Hutchison.
    • Amelia and Hudsyn Biggs are playing basketball at Tier Ten. Is anyone else playing ball at Tier Ten?
    • Tessa Floyd, the daughter of Travis and Sierra Floyd, was chosen as 2025 Owen County “Best Personality” winner in the baby contest for the OC Fair. The picture I saw had Grandpa Tony smiling bigger than Tessa.😀
    • The Nazarene Church is sponsoring Upwards Soccer. It is for ages 4-9. Early registration ended June 23rd but Jordan Wright (the leader) told me it is not too late to register. They practice and have games on Saturday mornings for one hour (30 minute practice/30 minute game). Evaluations will be held Saturday, July 19th from 10-12:00 at the soccer fields on Hwy 46. Evaluations are only for age groups 6-9. Dates for games are August 9-16-23 and September 6-20-27. Registration is $90. For multiple siblings there is a discount. Registration includes a jersey, socks, and end of the season prize, sticker chart, and snacks. They are also in need of coaches. You may find more info at  https://www.spencer.church/upward

Next Sunday, July 6th the Fair officially begins. There will be a vesper service to benefit WRE on Sunday evening and then all next week the Owen County Fair will be in full swing. There are a lot of moving parts-from the animals, to the displays, to performances, to lots of people interaction, and of course, the food. Take a moment and pray-not only for a good fair, but also a safe one. While you are at it, let’s pray for Cassie Linville, our 4-H youth educator and her crew. This is sort of the culmination of all their work all year long.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes you make a decision and then wonder whether it was a wise one or not? Diana and I were in that boat last week. We had scheduled a church family pitch-in for this past Wednesday and then on Monday we began to wonder if that was a wise choice or not. It was miserably hot. People were gone on vacation and if they weren’t, would they want to come out for a pitch-in? She put a survey on Facebook but even that didn’t tell us much. So, because we had announced it we decided, “Oh well. If only a handful of people show up, it will be worth it.” Surprise! Surprise! We had close to 50 people here and man, was there food left over! Once again, we were surprised. And we learned a valuable lesson: never
underestimate the power of drawing a crowd when there is food involved and people enjoy spending time together. 😀 Thanks to everyone who showed up. The next one is scheduled for July 30th.

Our Sunday with Will, Theresa, Ellie, Audrey and Tallie Reed was like all the others: extra special. Will does such a good job of presenting their work in Kenya and it was super fun to spend some time with Will, Theresa and the girls afterwards. Ellie fit right in with Sophia Kropack and Isabella Chambers. It was like they have been best friends all along. Audrey has this engaging laugh and Tallie is 3 1⁄2 (so she told me) and talked to me the whole time we were at lunch (except when she tired of me and then fell asleep in her mom’s arms). She asked me how old I was and telling her “pretty old” was not good enough. When I told her and she said, “Why Mr. Bill you don’t look that old,” she became my new best friend. Sadly, she didn’t say that at all. 😏 Theresa was telling me that the magic age for having chewing gum is 4 so she wants to know how old everyone is.

I just know this next announcement will break your heart (you ought to see Diana’s). THERE WILL BE NO MIDWEEK MESSAGE NEXT WEEK. It has been 6 years since I have seen any of my brothers. One lives in Camano Island, WA. The other two live in PA. I received an email from my brother, Rob, about maybe coming to see them. Not only has it been a long time, my brother Garry is going to have his 5th or 6th cancer surgery shortly. So following this Sunday’s worship, Jo and I will be taking off to spend the night in Columbus, OH. Monday we will head to PA where we will have a reunion with my brothers and their families. Wednesday we will head back to Columbus and spend Wednesday and Thursday night watching Braden play baseball. It will our last chance as he prepares for college life at Ohio State. We will be back, Lord willing, Friday. Your prayers for our safe travel would be much appreciated. The MM will be back full bore with all the Fair highlights the next week.

This Sunday my sermon is Taking God at His Word from Psalm 108-145, with a big emphasis on 119. The next Sunday will be Wise Advice from Psalm 146-Proverbs 18. I’ll look forward to seeing you both times. Love you all.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #252

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #252. Thanks for allowing me “invade” your week by taking time to read this MM.

What a difference a week or so makes! The week before baseball games were being cancelled because of rain and this past week one word sort of sums it up: HOT! We could add another word as well: HUMID. I guess it could be said, “Well, that’s life in Indiana”. I texted someone Saturday and told them we expect this in August. They proceeded to tell me it was 119 Friday and 104 Saturday where they lived (Arizona). Compared to that I guess we are experiencing a cold snap! 😅 Stay safe during this time.

The 5th Annual Serving Owen County Together (SOCT) is now history. A very HOT historical day.
Aaron LaGrange sent some stats about the day:

• • • People directly served: 518 adults and 432 children=950 people
    • Large amounts of food and drinks were given to several local organizations, including Mt. Olivet Church outreach, Spencer Food Bank, and the Spencer Lions Club free lunch program. Those groups alone will have contact with 200+ this coming week.
    • Over 111 volunteers came together.

YOUTH CORNER

There has been a lot of activity involving our young people and so I will do my best to get as much as I can. Please…if I forget someone, let me know. I will get them in the next MM. Fair week is soon coming and there will tons of our young people involved in that. I don’t want to forget anyone so I rely on folks letting me know.

• • • Many of our young people were involved in summer baseball/softball leagues at the sports complex. Here we go…Grace Chesser’s team (Black shirts) won their league championship on Wednesday night. Calvin Keene (Red shirts) played on the runner-up team. Jordan Mangia and Barrett Zigler’s (White shirts) teams played that night. Emmett Bumbalough (Red team) played as well. Conrad Keene’s team played the team that included Uriah Bumbalough, Fletcher and Christian Wells, and Winston Zigler the night we went. Jo & I remained neutral for all games. 😁
    • Gavin Wells and Tom Mangia were the head coaches of their teams. Tom was assisted by Kristine (wife) and Aubrey (daughter) and Chris Zigler. Ryan Keene helped coach Calvin’s team. WHEW! I hope I got that all right! 🙂
    • Julian Carson’s team was the 12u champions and Julian was picked for the all-star team. Julian is Mike and Nannette Edwards’ grandson.
    • Rusti O’Neal and CJ Wood’s team won the Girls’ Softball championship. They also showed off some pretty snazzy rings in the pictures. Rusti’s mom, Hanna Dutton was their coach!
    • CJ Wood made the Middle School cheer squad. Way to go CJ!
    • Jordyn Anderson had her cheer competition tryouts and was moved up 2 levels to mini prep as a flyer. Grandpa Mike Edwards said he has no clue what that means. But Jordyn and grandma Nannette were excited.
    • Dane Stahl went to Pennsylvania for State in track. He placed 74th out of 113 in the 200m and 108th out of 140 in the 100m. Mom (Kim) said he had a blast! Great job, Dane!
    • Meilynn Hess and her dog, Ivy, earned Overall Reserve Top Dog in the 4-H Dog Show this past Saturday. She even bumped Ivy up 2 obedience categories to challenge both herself and the dog. She also earned Overall Reserve Grand Champion in Agility; 5A class Champion and Overall Reserve Grand Champion in Obedience; and Advanced Champion and Overall Grand Champion in Showmanship. Way to go Meilynn!
    • Let me remind you to pray for the High School Wilderness Week of camp that began this past Sunday. There are a ton of our young people (and adults) who will be attending. Female campers are Alli Anderson, Anna Bales, Anna East, Rachel East, Kalissa Hamlin, Meilynn Hess and Ayzleah Sutton. Male campers are Lucas Alexander, Tobin Bales, Elijah Clausman, Caleb East, Jake Jenkins (LJ), and Nolan Miller. Adults attending are Ryan and Hope East, Abby Bales, Macy Carlson, Mike and Bella Krapf, Westin and Cassie Linville, Hannah Pendleton, Owen Powell, and Gracie Wainscott.

Switching Gears for a moment: We have been telling you recently that our next step on the building process for our addition (after the stem wall was completed and plumbing and electric was roughed in) that expanding the parking lot was next. But that is at the mercy of the weather. It was decided this past week to pursue another direction. We have asked for and received the bid for doing the concrete pad and putting the shell up. We will concern ourselves with the parking lot expansion after that. The Building Team and elders are all on board with that direction so we will be coming to you soon with the plans for that to happen. Our contractor said at best it will be the end of August/first of September for the materials and supplies to be here. Look for more information real soon on projected cost and our plan of action. We are all convinced this is the way to go! 😀

You will get this on Wednesday in your inbox. Please remember the OVCF Family Pitch-in is at 6:00 tonight.

This coming Sunday Will and Theresa Reed and their three children will be with us. They will be sharing briefly about their mission work with Serge in Kenya in during both services. We have always enjoyed having the Reeds visit with us and if you haven’t met them, you need to!

• • • Keep in mind this is also a 5th Sunday so the elementary age young people will be with us in adult worship. The nursery and preschool class will still meet as usual at 10:45.
    • Following the second service a BBQ and dessert fundraiser had been planned to help offset some of the cost of the Family Camp Weekend at Hilltop scheduled for August 1-3. That fundraiser has been cancelled for now. We will let you know if/when it is rescheduled.

I’ve got more news to share but my space is limited so I will use it in next week’s edition. This Sunday’s message is We are Being Watched! from Psalm 78-107. I will look forward to seeing you this coming Sunday and sharing it with you. Know you are loved.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #251

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #251. Thanks for joining me this week as I try to share some important events taking place, as well as give some of my own thoughts on what is taking place at OVCF.

Don’t forget that this coming Saturday is the 5th annual Serving Owen County Together (the rain date is June 28th). As I have mentioned in the past few MMs, this is a great opportunity for us to be involved in serving our community. SOCT is a joint effort of different vendors (Servant’s Heart, Hoosier Hills Food Bank, For Bare Feet, Changing Footprints and others) to help make life a little easier for those who are struggling. Food, clothing of all kinds, baby supplies, even some furniture is made available for free to those who come. Volunteers are always welcomed. One more time here is the schedule:

• • • 8-10 am-Set up
    • 10-12:00- First shift
    • 12-3:00- Second shift
    • 3-4:00- Tear down

Result? A good feeling of having served your community and helped someone in need.

Mark this on your calendar! Our next church family pitch-in will be on Wednesday, June 25 at 6pm. Someone said to me when we in the midst of last month’s pitch-in: “Hey Bill! I thought you said we weren’t going to have any more pitch-ins until after school started!” Guilty as charged. However, after Diana took a survey and the results were something like 28-0 for continuing, we decided to keep having them, even through the summer. We look forward to seeing you there and enjoying your company and fellowship.

YOUTH CORNER

• • • We have three young people at Hilltop Camp this week. Ice Breaker (June 15-17) is Rob Anderson and Amelia Borders. Day Camp (one day-June 19) is James Anderson. As you can see both are shortened times at camp. Ice Breaker is for the campers to experience a longer stay and two nights at camp. Day Camp is for the campers to begin experiencing what camp is like. Pray for these three young lives to have a fun and meaningful time.
    • Sunday morning Kartik and Jeanna Srinivasan took their daughter, Aasha, to the Civil Air Patrol encampment. She will be there all week until graduation on Saturday. CAP is the Air Force’s version of JROTC. She joined last October and every cadet must attend encampment in order to advance to higher rankings. Encampment is like boot camp for teens. Mom has asked for prayers because it is mentally and physically exhausting. It will be even more challenging because Aasha won’t have much time to recover from her week at camp this past week. If you would like to send her a note of encouragement, you can use this link: https://forms.gle/9A2r9paKpNZvdM2a8. On the form you’ll need to know: Aasha Srinivasan, Alpha Flight. Mail starts on the 16th and closes on the 19th. They will print out your note and give it to Aasha.
    • The weather has played havoc with the baseball games at the Sports Complex. This is to be the last week with tournaments. Why do I hear this sigh of relief from so many parents?
    • I’m going to get a little ahead of myself in this week’s MM by asking you to pray for the High School Wilderness Week that begins this Sunday. There are a ton of our young people (and adults) who will be attending. Female campers are Alli Anderson, Anna Bales, Anna East, Rachel East, Kalissa Hamlin and Meilynn Hess. Male campers are Lucas Alexander, Elijah Clausman, Caleb East, Jake Jenkins (LJ), and Nolan Miller. Adults attending are Ryan and Hope East (Deans), Abby Bales, Macy Carlson, Mike and Bella Krapf, Westin and Cassie Linville, Hannah Pendleton, Owen Powell, Linda St John, and Gracie Wainscott. I’ll remind you again next week to pray for them. That is such a large list it won’t hurt to start praying now.

I had someone text me Sunday afternoon to ask about the Family Camp scheduled for the weekend of August 1-3 (Friday evening through Sunday afternoon). It is an “end of the summer” experience for families with your church family. Years ago, I told her, we used to have it at Beechwood Camp just outside of Worthington. It has been a long time since we had the family camp weekend and several wanted to bring it back. There are several options for you to consider for the weekend. There is a QR code you can use to take you to all the pertinent information. Jo and I will probably visit on Saturday for a while so you have an invitation to ride along with us. But that is still a month and a half away so you can give it some thought.

Did you know that Will and Teresa Reed and their three children will be here with us on Sunday, June 29th? They have been serving on the mission field in Kenya and are home for a summer furlough. We always look forward to having them visit. It has been a pleasure to help sponsor them for this second tour of theirs. Will is going to bring us up to date on their current ministry. You are going to love them!

This Sunday’s message is entitled What a Heart Prays For. The Scripture is Psalm 40-77. A couple of weeks ago I asked you to read a post I wrote for my blog. I’m not sure how many, if any, read that post I linked to, but this sermon is the subject of that post. If you would like to read that post and didn’t have a chance to before, here is the link: https://livingintheshadow.ovcf.org/2025/05/29/may-29-6/ I will look forward to studying it
deeper with you this Sunday.

Jo and I celebrated our 52nd anniversary this past Monday, the 16th. She said she would do it all over again. 😀 As would I…in a heartbeat.

Love you all. See you Sunday if not sooner.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #250

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #250! I have to admit that when I started the MM I never thought I would hit #250. For those of you who are new to the MM I started this during the COVID nightmare because I wanted to stay in touch with people. I tried various ways-notes, drive-by prayers (I parked in the driveway or street and prayed for those who lived there), texts, calls, you name it-to stay in touch. We were not meeting in person at the time so I had no or very little personal contact with people. So I created the MM to stay in touch and let you all know what was happening in the church family. Never, though, did I expect to write #250. All along the way my trusty sidekick and editor (Diana) has patiently edited my ramblings. Some were heavily penciled while others were almost good as is. The latter has been very rare.😆

Now that you know some of the back story, thanks for letting me into your life this week. I have some great news to share! Congratulations to Bobby and Becca Anderson upon the birth of Bailey Christine on Saturday, June 7th at 7:35 AM. She weighed 6 pounds and was 18” long. Bailey is welcomed and loved by siblings, Kathryn, Alli, Rob, and James, as well as grandparents, Lonnie and Joyce Anderson, and a slew of other family members. We are grateful for a safe and healthy delivery and baby.

YOUTH CORNER

It has been my practice down through the MM history to list the young people who are heading to camp for the week so you can pray for them. As George Bailey once said, “A pox upon me for a clumsy lout!” I failed to list the young people who were at camp last week. And when I am done listing them, I will give you some even better news!

• • • Dorm campers at Junior Week (Junior High camp) were Amelia Biggs, Bella Madorin, Aubrey Mangia, Rusti O’Neal, Charli Wood, CJ Wood and Evelyn Young. Boys were Brayden McVicker, Tad Nicholson, and Cooper Wood. Deanna Cain was on the Wilderness Camp side. On Friday afternoon, Rusti, CJ and Evelyn all made confessions of faith and were baptized. As I texted after I heard that: “Money wasted to send kids to camp? Said no wise person ever.” It is weeks like this and reports like that where I am so thankful the elders of OVCF see the importance of helping any young person go to camp.
    • Campers this week: Dorm campers are Grace and Gloria Chandler, Zuri Wills, and Tanner Wood. Junior High Wilderness campers are Lucas and Nicolai Alexander, Kane Miller, Aasha Srinivasan, and Tatum White. A number of our folks are faculty: Pastor Ryan and Hope (Ryan is the dean), Anna Bales, Anna, Caleb and Rachel East, Mike and Bella Krapf, Isaac Manuel, Nolan Miller, and Gracie Wainscott. (Anna Bales, the Krapfs, and Isaac Manuel are friends and from other churches).
    • The rain did a number on the ball leagues at the complex and they are no longer making up rained out games. There are a few games this week from the regular schedule and tournament games next week. I hope all the young people had a great time and deeply appreciate the time and effort of their coaches and parents.

Keep this on your radar!! This coming Sunday is Father’s Day. While I’m not advocating for anything special for the men in your life (although…), I’d like to remind you that it is the last day of the Change for Life fundraising event for New Beginnings Pregnancy Resource Center. Please bring your baby bottle filled with change, cash, or a check to the info table this Sunday. And just so you know…they will accept those bottles at any time. 😊

June 21st is the day for the 5th annual Serving Owen County Together (SOCT) event. SOCT is an opportunity for us to participate with various organizations to help the folks of Owen County to
find some relief. Here are the specific details again:

• • • • 8-10am- Set up
      • 10-12:00- First shift
      • 12-3:00- Second shift
      • 3-4:00- Tear down
      • If you can help in any way, it will be welcomed.

Some of you have asked me, “What is the next stage with our building addition?” At this point, as I understand it, they will be working on adding the new parking lot to the east (that, of course, depends on the rain). Following that, we will assess where we are financially to see when we can proceed with the concrete pad and the shell for the new building. Our contractor does not want to do the concrete pad until we can at least get it under roof and enclosed to protect it from the elements. Once we have a better idea of what is next, we will update you! 😊

I went to camp to visit the campers from OVCF on Tuesday since Pastor Ryan is somewhat busy doing his thing. 😁Jo, Tami and I will be heading out on today (Wednesday) sometime to see Braden (our grandson/nephew) play baseball on Thursday and Friday. We will be back Saturday morning. We have one more visit planned in July then our days of going to Ohio to watch him play baseball or football will be over.

This coming Sunday my message will be entitled A Godly Man. On Mother’s Day I took the reading from the Everyday Gospel Devotional and found a common theme for each day. I decided to take the same approach for Father’s Day. I will be looking at 7 characteristics a godly man should exhibit. I look forward to sharing that day with you. (And I do feel somewhat more qualified to preach on Father’s Day than Mother’s Day). 😆I do want you to know you are loved.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #249

Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #249. Thanks for joining me this week. So much happened over the past week and I can’t wait to share some of it with you. I do hope your week has gone well so far and you are finding some time to relax and enjoy the beginning of your summer. Now if the weather will just cooperate…😊

I have to start out with something concerning last week’s MM. I listed the teachers from OVCF and made the comment that I checked, double checked, and triple checked to make sure I had everyone’s name. Yep, you guessed it…I forgot a name. I sent her a text apologizing for my mistake and she told me it was okay and didn’t matter. But to me it does. My apologies to Cristi Wood, a teacher at MCES.

YOUTH CORNER

After last week I had more information given to me about some of our young people so I want to catch up on that.

• • • Rusti O’Neal found herself on the all A’s Honor Roll at SES. To put that even more into perspective, she made the all A’s Honor Roll for the whole year! Along the way she found time to be the Patriot Paper Editor, Student Council Secretary, Flag Bearer and also was part of Lifeline (an organization at SES)
    • Her brother, Beau, made the A/B Honor Roll at SES.
    • Mia Rose Hess was a freshman at Cedarville University (Ohio) this past academic year. She made the Dean’s Honor List for Spring 2025. This award was for a 3.75 GPA or higher while taking a minimum of 12 credit hours.
    • Hilltop Campers this week: (Jr. High) Rusti O’Neal, Amelia Biggs, Charli Wood, Aubrey Mangia, CJ Wood, Cooper Wood and Tad Nicholson. (Jr. Wilderness) Deanna Cain. Please be praying for these young people.
    • Jo and I spent several evenings this past week at the sports complex (when it wasn’t raining) watching a number of our young people play ball (T-ball, baseball, and softball). I am not going to try to list all the kids whom we saw this past week. That is a disaster waiting to happen.😊However, the real troopers are the parents, some of whom are at the field every night of the week. The season is being extended due to so many rainouts, so they will at least be playing this week and next week. If you just want a nice diversion come to the sports complex and watch some ball. Games start at 6:00 on most fields. Look for Jo and me. We will most likely be there.

Congratulations to Keaton & Lily (Bault) Zufall! Keaton is Candi Provo’s son and Lily is Melvin & Rosie Bault’s granddaughter. They were married this past Saturday. I had the privilege of performing the wedding.

Please remember, the Change for Life fundraiser that benefits New Beginnings Pregnancy Resource Center is still ongoing. You can still pick up a baby bottle at the info table and fill it with your change, $, or check. The fundraiser goes until Father’s Day, June 15th. Please return your baby bottle to the info table by that date.

I have been writing about the 5th Annual Serving Owen County Together (SOCT) event coming up this month on June 21st. The rain date is June 28th. SOCT is an effort to help Owen County folks (especially those who have been struggling) with various clothing items, shoes, socks, toiletries, diapers, and a host of other items, even some furniture. All of it free to those who come. Here are some details that might assist you in your decision to help:

• • • 8-10am- Set Up
    • 10am-12pm- First shift
    • 12-3pm- Second shift
    • 3-4 pm- Tear down
    • Last year SOCT served over 1000 people and had over 100 volunteers.
    • There is a link to sign up to volunteer:
      https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D4DABAE29A2FC1-57095840-2025
    • I will be there to welcome people as the first point of contact. There are many different ways you can help. Take a moment to sign up or if you prefer just show up to volunteer.

Despite the rain (and construction site!), we have had volunteers who have kept our church lawn looking nice. Thanks so much to all of you who have taken the time to do so. Outside appearance is the very first thing someone notices when they drive by or pull into our driveway. An unkempt lawn tells observers we don’t care. Thanks for taking time to make our church grounds appealing and more welcoming! 😊

Have you been by to see the progress made on the building addition? The weather finally gave us a break this past week and they were able to pour the stem wall, do some excavating, and put down gravel for the foundation. Bobby Anderson and his crew also worked hard to get our plumbing roughed in! There is more to be done, but the next step is to begin excavating the new parking lot to the east. That is to begin early next week. When the money is available, the concrete pad will be poured and the building shell will be built to enclose it. We will have a better idea where we are after paying for the excavation and stone. It is exciting!!😊

On May 29th I wrote in my Living in the Shadow blog about an upcoming sermon on June 22nd. I issued a challenge in the blog to my readers. I’d like to ask you to read it and consider it as well. I will talk more about it next week in the MM. Here is the link:

My sermon this week is about that age-old question: “Why?” The Scripture I will be using is Job 21-42. I look forward to seeing you this week. Just know you are loved.

Pastor Bill