Last month I reported on the history of Woodstock, Ohio’s former community church, its trials, and how the community persisted in trying to restore worship in the church.

Now here’s where the story gets personal for me. First, let me introduce you to Pete, the son of Dale, my semi-retired marketing agent who has marketed the books I have written over the years.

Pete and his sister, Brit, were raised from adolescence to adulthood by Dale, a single parent. Pete graduated from college with a business degree before receiving the call for ministry and becoming a Baptist pastor. He and his wife, Melissa, have three young children.

Brit, who also earned a college degree, plus a master’s degree, holds an administrative position with an Ohio governmental law enforcement support organization and teaches part-time at a local college. She and her husband have a daughter.

Pete started a new church, renting space next door to a local ice cream and snack joint in Urbana. In my opinion that was a smart move right there.

Soon this little congregation outgrew their small quarters. Pete was invited to move his little start-up congregation to a country Baptist church on Parkview Road, north of Mechanicsburg, Ohio. It was a natural fit, so the congregation voted in favor of moving. The church, originally a one-room schoolhouse, was founded in 1967 as Enterprise Baptist Church by five individuals.

When Pete and his congregation moved there, the church was led by five deacons in their very late years. A couple of them passed on shortly after the church revival by Pete’s congregation. Over the next couple of years, all of the deacons had passed on but one.

This individual, in his 80s, announced to Pete that he was going to sell the church and that Pete and his congregation would have to leave. The curmudgeonly deacon had apparently lost his connection with the original call of that country church.

Soon Pete received an eviction notice filed in Common Pleas Court and delivered by the sheriff. Pete and his congregation had 30 days to vacate or face criminal trespassing charges. Needless to say, there was lots of angst for this little congregation of 40 or so members. Prayer was all they had to rely on. It almost reminded me of the Israelites coming out of Egypt.

An attorney advised Pete that he doubted the old deacon had the legal authority to evict the congregation but….

Pete and Melissa attempted to locate a church for their congregation to move into. Woodstock was just a few miles away, so they drove up to check out the old community church there. They knew that the church was available, but when they arrived, the building was locked.

Unable to see inside through the stained-glass windows, they walked around the building. Then they headed back to their car to leave. But their middle child was playing hide-and-seek with them. It took them five minutes to find him.

Just as they got back to the car a pickup truck pulled up. The driver, who was the patriarch of one of the church’s original families, asked if they were looking for someone. Their child’s little game of hide-and-seek turned out to be God’s way of bringing Pete and his family together with the church patriarch.

This divine meeting led to several discussions, which led to Pete and the community members reaching an agreement for Pete’s congregation to begin worshipping in the church. Before Pete’s congregation moved in, Pete, several of his parishioners and the old patriarchs cleaned the sanctuary and built three classrooms in the basement in only eight days.

Last month, Pete’s congregation had their first event in the church – a Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate their new church home. Praise the Lord!

While Pete’s congregation worships in the Baptist tradition, I was the token Methodist at their Thanksgiving celebration. I duly noted to Pete that the hymnals in the sanctuary bore the Methodist logo as these had been donated from the Methodist church. So, I may have to introduce Pete and his congregation to the history of John Wesley and his Aldersgate experience.