Ketchen-up . . .
This will be my last “Ketchen-up” column as senior minister of the First Christian Church. I am amazed at how quickly 48 years of ministry have passed. I was 22 years old when I graduated from Johnson Bible College in May of 1976. My first ministry was Center Christian Church in Mays, IN. For 8½ years I served as the church’s first full time associate/youth minister. I’ll always be grateful for Center Church where I learned ministry skills that have served me well over the past 40 years here in Francesville.
Just as I’ll always be grateful for the first church I served, I’ll always be grateful for the First Christian Church of Francesville. You have blessed the lives of my family and me in so many ways. In the years we’ve been in Francesville, all four of our parents died. You were loving and supportive. Both E.Anne and I have had health concerns. You have been helpful and encouraging. You took care of us when our house burned in December 2000. You have been more than church members. You have been dear friends.
For the foreseeable future E.Anne and I will continue to live in the parsonage here in Francesville and will continue to worship with this church family. E.Anne will continue to be on the praise team, but I won’t be a part of the preaching rotation. We plan to attend the Wednesday Bible study, but I won’t be teaching. This will be covered by Kyle Zarse and Brian Hart.
My plan for the next few months is to rest and to find a new rhythm in life. My new routine will include my regular Bible reading and prayer time. I’m hoping to spend more time exercising. For more than 3 years I’ve been going to Rock Steady Boxing in Lafayette once a week. Starting in January, I plan to go twice a week. My ministry goal is to write a devotional every week for Jaime and Charlie and their spouses. If this works well, I hope to find a way to share this with others. My goal is to be an encouragement to others spiritually while at the same time being disciplined in my Bible reading and study.
In the first few weeks of January I will be in-and-out of the office as I clean out my office. Some things I will keep. Other things will be given away while other stuff will go to the landfill. I will be saving sermons and Bible studies to a flash drive. I should mention also that E.Anne and I plan to be in Florida for the month of February.
As I conclude this column, I want to thank you for the privilege of being your minister and being a part of your lives these many years. Together we have shared so much life . . . both the good times and the difficult. And through it all I have been blessed abundantly.
Love, Jim
Baptism
On Sunday, December 1st Cody Davis gave his life to Christ. He is the son of Ross and Caty Davis. Cody was baptized by his father. Please keep Cody in your prayers and look for ways to encourage him.
Cody Davis
7252 W 600 S
Winamac, IN 46996
On Sunday, December 1st Skyler Phelps gave her life to Christ and was baptized by Tyson Mellon. Skyler is the daughter of Travis and Jennifer Phelps. Please keep Skyler in your prayers and look for ways to encourage her.
Skyler Phelps
6459 E 950 N
Monticello, IN 47960
On Sunday, December 1st Ben Gudas gave his life to Christ and was baptized by Tyson Mellon. Ben is a teacher at West Central. Please keep Ben in your prayers and look for ways to encourage him.
Ben Gudas
1320 S 500 E
Kewanna, IN 46939
On Sunday, December 8th Kylie Erb gave her life to Christ. Kylie is the daughter of Kurtis and Kelsey Erb. Kylie was baptized by Adam Huber. Please keep Kylie in your prayers and look for ways to encourage her.
Kylie Erb
6245 S 1400 W
Francesville, IN 47946
On Sunday, December 8th Adalyn Conley gave her life to Christ and was baptized by Adam Huber. Please keep Adalyn in your prayers and look for ways to encourage her.
Adalyn Conley
P.O. Box 241
Medaryville, IN 47957
On Sunday, December 15th Addie Hart gave her life to Christ and was baptized by her father, Brian Hart. Please keep Addie in your prayers and look for ways to encourage her.
Addie Hart
6818 North 500 East
Wheatfield, IN 46392
New Member
On Sunday, December 8th Melody Crandall came at invitation time to place her membership with our church. Let’s do our best to make Melody feel very welcome in our church family.
Open House
There will be an Open House for Jim and E.Anne on Sunday, December 29th, from 3-5 in the fellowship hall. No gifts please!
Thank You
I wanted to thank everyone in the church family for all the cards and prayers. I’m halfway through my cancer treatments and it is going well. I still ask for prayers and good thoughts, please. God is good and prayers work! Thank you so much for thinking of me.
Love,
Misty Tracy
We wish to thank everyone who has offered prayer, kind words, or calls to check on Danny through this journey. Thank you if you have provided meals or given goodies to us. We appreciate your love and friendship during this time. It is so nice to be a part of a loving community. Danny has hit a rough patch in his journey but we are slowly working through it with God’s help. Thanks again to all of you who help make this journey bearable.
Danny & Charmi Bishop
The Foundry
One of the great things about living in a rural community is all of the opportunities to serve and make an impact. Over the last couple of weeks we were able to serve at HDC as a church, the Food Pantry ministry distributed community Christmas food boxes and Sue and Jane organized the Angel Tree project again with so many participating. In the Foundry, 10 small groups also organized and executed a ‘Service 2 Someone’ project and gave reports this past Wednesday night. I also know there are always individuals committing acts of kindness, service and generosity in our church and community every day. I look forward to what 2025 opportunities lie ahead with an IDES food pack already on the schedule for February.
Wednesday night was our annual Christmas Banquet. It is a fun night to cap off what is always a whirlwind fall semester. Jamie and Anna Hart made a wonderful taco bar with many other leaders providing desserts. We had some fun, worship, reports and a reminder why we celebrate the virgin birth of Jesus. I want to thank all the leaders and students for a great Fall 2024!
Sunday night 13 Foundry students and leaders traveled to the small church Caleb Orr attends while at college. He has organized a few of their students on Sunday nights. I had the privilege to speak from James 4. Caleb did a great job and is continuing to gain ministry experience as he concludes his studies.
Galaxy Ball Game Night: Monday night, December 30 from 7-10pm for all students in 7th -12th grade.
Indy Fuel Hockey: we have 15 tickets available for students to attend an Indy Fuel Hockey game with us on Friday January 3. Reach out to me for permission forms.
Jeremy’s #: 219-204-0422
The Spark
The first semester has come to a close here at the Spark and we wrapped things up with a night of fun at our annual Christmas Banquet. I’d like to say thank you to the good number of parents that came to spend the evening with us at the banquet, and a special thank you goes to the parents that were brave enough to get on stage for a silly game or two. Thank you for being such good sports! I also would like to take the opportunity to give a big thank you to the many volunteers that keep our program running on Wednesday nights in one way or another, either behind the scenes or on the front lines. There are too many to list here by name, but to our small group leaders, thank you for going above and beyond and for being the face of our ministry to the kids and parents in our community!
The Spark will be back in action on January 15th. We have an exciting semester in store, so stay tuned for information about the spring semester coming soon. I’m excited to see what God will do in the months ahead! In the meantime, enjoy the Christmas season and we’ll see you in 2025!
Backpack Pantry Packing: We’ll be having a Backpack Pantry packing night for elementary students and any parents that would like to join us on Thursday, December 26th at 6:00 p.m. We’ll pack bags, have some pizza, and possibly play some games. We will plan to be done around 7:00.
LifeWise Academy: LifeWise Academy West Central is having another great year in its fourth year! Please continue to pray for this amazing program! If you would like to donate to LifeWise Academy West Central, go to lifewiseacademy.org/donate and click on “Donate to My Local Program”.
Adam’s #: 317-430-4827