History

Concerning the Church at 711 South Randolph Street

Researched and written by Aaron Cliff in the summer of 2025

In 1933, 24 Christians gathered in Garrett, Indiana to charter a new church following the pattern of their parent denomination, the Church of the Nazarene. Due to necessity, these members worshipped wherever they could; above a Kroger, later in an old frame building, and then in the council chamber of the city hall before finally acquiring the property of 711 South Randolph Street from a Mrs. Gertrude Pipes in 1936 for $1,750. At this point there was no church building at 711 South Randolph; what would become the church building was sitting 3 miles east of Garrett.

As far as we know, the church building itself was erected sometime in the 19th century at Auburn Junction on CR23, between the Penn and NYC Railroads. However, references to churches in Auburn Junction are scattered and scarce. The oldest are from the Methodists, and it's in the History of the North Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church where we find a Rev. N. P. Barton filling pulpit supply in Auburn Junction in 1893, which assumes there was a pulpit for the preacher to be filling supply. A Rev. Glendening in the Garrett Clipper newspaper was considered pastor of the Auburn Junction Methodist Church in 1919, and the last mention we have of the Auburn Junction Methodist Church is in 1922, when Rev. Irvin Pusey was given the church on his circuit.

Doubt emerges about the church's provenance from the fact that there are references to multiple other church congregations at Auburn Junction before the building was moved in 1937 - a (progressive) Dunkard Church, a Brethren Church, a Union Church and a Community Church. However, none can be found meeting at Auburn Junction prior to 1900; the Rev. Henry Steckley, despite being a pastor since the 1870’s, only became a Progressive Dunkard in the 1900’s and it’s only after this conversion that we find in 1904 the Progressive Dunkards of Auburn Junction baptizing in the baptistry of First Baptist Church of Garrett (see footnote 1). There’s also mention, 20 years later, of a Rev. William A Ramey - soon to be pastor of the Auburn Church of God - being asked to pastor the Auburn Junction Community Church on CR 23 in 1927, but he left in 1928. Later in that same year, Rev. Grabill saw an “old abandoned country church” at Auburn Junction out of his window while on the Interurban rail line from Fort Wayne. He found that there was currently no pastor of the church, and himself started holding meetings there. Every mention of this church building situates it at the same general location, between the Penn and NYC Railroads, on CR 23, which maps from this time corroborate as the only church in Auburn Junction. Considering this, it’s probably in that same location that Virgil Lines held, in 1933, a week long old fashioned revival in the “Auburn Junction Union Church,” where instructions on prayers for divine healing and the Holy Spirit were to precede evangelistic services.

Three years later the Auburn Junction Church performed its last services to the community it had served for at least 40 years. It was obtained in 1936, moved in sections to 711 South Randolph Street and officially erected in 1938 under the leadership of Rev.'s Mary and O. B. Gray, immediately housing a weeklong revival led by a converted boxer who would share his dramatic testimony and act out various biblical stories to an enraptured audience.

The Church of the Nazarene continued to meet at 711 South Randolph from 1938 - 1972. For Rev. Gray, “the Church of the Nazarene has an evident and well-defined commission from God, namely, to propagate the gospel throughout the world, seeking the conversion of sinners, the reclamation of backsliders and the sanctification of believers, especially emphasizing the precious doctrine of salvation.” Missionaries on furlough, revivalists, prayers for healings and bible conferences rotated through 711 South Randolph during the Nazarene’s occupancy and the roster lists no less than 7 pastors who served during this time. In 1970 Rev. Kenneth Hawkins assumed the pastorate and began constructing a new church building on the grounds of the old parsonage on Randolph and 6th, and on Easter Sunday, 1972 they held their first service at the new building.

At the same time, Southern Baptist missionaries were going door to door in Garrett under the leadership of Rev. Lowell Wright, a superintendent of missions under the SBC. They learned that there was interest in Vacation Church School, which they began conducting in parks. This led them to also conduct several weeks of night classes in those same parks, and later to conduct them in the homes of a now growing assembly. On April 23rd, 1972, they became Temple Baptist Church, SBC, and started meeting at the newly vacated building on 711 South Randolph. A few months later Rev. Earl D. King became pastor and purchased the property from the Nazarenes for $9,100 on Jan 1, 1973.

By all accounts Temple Baptist was a faithful assembly of the saints. They fellowshipped together no less than 5 hours on Sunday, and in the last week of November 1982 there were a slew of events including outreach to the homeless shelter, a prayer meeting, two visitations, a mission rally at Northridge Baptist in Fort Wayne and a business meeting. In their own words, “Christ is the head of the Church...” he “died and was resurrected so that believing men and women would be redeemed...” and “the doors of Temple Baptist Church are open to all those who wish to worship Jesus Christ.”

Rather suddenly we find that in November of 1984 a new congregation was established at 711 South Randolph - Good Shepherd Fellowship. For the Good Shepherd Fellowship there was “little similarity between the first established bodies of New Testament Believers and what was so affectionately called the church today”, there were “tragic iniquities within the traditional mode of worship that had evolved over a period of 2000 years” and “in the opinion of a handful of born again believers” a return to “the basics and simplicity of the Faith” was necessary. As a result, no-one performing any function in the church was to receive financial remuneration - including the pastor. No offertory plates were to be passed, instead an "inconspicuous box” at the back of the church was to collect offerings. No “suits and fancy dresses” were to be allowed, all were to dress casually - including the pastor - and “corporate study of the Word of God” replaced “the all too typical practice of entertaining the saints”.

However intense the disagreement with their peers on the nature of biblical worship, “an overall attitude of becoming servants to all those that the Lord brought into their paths” was the motivating principle for this fellowship, and “building programs, special fund drives and savings accounts were scrapped in lieu of open handed giving to anyone, saved or unsaved, who expressed a need.” Theirs was the hope of being “the greatest servants of Jesus Christ that DeKalb County had ever known.” They were led by Larry R. Williams, who was deeded 711 South Randolph from Temple Baptist in 1988.

In 1992 Charity Baptist Mission was formed and began operating in Garrett. They were members of the SBC operating under the auspices of the North East Indiana Baptist Association (NEIBA). Kurt and Jennifer Lumbatis along with other members of the mission met to discuss an exciting new acquisition; a church property located at 711 South Randolph, with a down payment paid for by the mission funds and bought on loan for $16,000 from a Larry R. Williams. The mortgage added an additional $2,500 all told and - it was reasoned - if there were to be none from the mission still meeting at 711 South Randolph by the end of the mortgage, the building was to be deeded to NEIBA, who had sent them. Meetings were being held by Charity Baptist in their new building as early as January.

In 1993, Calvary Baptist of Fort Wayne, IN - a member of NEIBA - was deeded the building. In turn, in 1994, Calvary Baptist handed property rights of the building at 711 South Randolph to its newest congregation, Living Waters Community Church, which retained many of the founding members of Charity Baptist Mission. For 30 years the saints meeting under the name of Living Waters have been gathering and worshipping. This is due largely to the steadfast membership who have poured their time, resources, expertise and love into LWCC. First under Pastor Mike Winn, then under Pastor Dean Morris, and now under the steadfast guidance of Pastor Brett Stilwell LWCC proclaims by faith the justifying life, atoning death, saving resurrection and eternal rule of Jesus Christ. He has guided the many varieties of his flock meeting at 711 South Randolph and will continue to do so until His return. We are blessed beyond measure to meet in a location with such a faithful history as this.

Footnotes:

1. The building at 711 South Randolph doesn't have a baptistry either.

2. All references made to an “Auburn Junction Church” in the newspapers also speak as though there was only one building, since it was used as a landmark to find other events; a pig sale is said to take place “one half mile south” of the Auburn Junction Church, a funeral is held at “the Auburn Junction Church,” - this is an unhelpful mnemonic if there were more than one church building at Auburn Junction. Like the history of this building in the late 20th century, we can assume that the different congregations meeting at Auburn Junction met at this building either as one moved in and another moved out, or in parallel as one church would meet in the morning and another at night.

Sources:

Dekalb County, 1837-1987. Ed. Troas Wise, Dekalb Sesequicentennial INC, Auburn IN. 1987.

A history of the North Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, from its organization in 1844 to the present. W.K. Stewart, INdianaopolis, 1917 H.N. Herrick, William Warren Sweet.

The lovely folks at the Garrett Public Library and the Ekhart Public Library provided microfilm of the Garrett Clipper articles and church bulletins.

Financial, Property and Worship Records kept at Living Waters Community Church.