Our History

1945

Light & Life Chapel began when God placed a vision in the hearts of four men; Reverend L.C. Cassidy, Reverend R.G. Mumaw, Spurgeon Hodges, and Emmanuel Farley.

The first Sunday School was held on the afternoon of November 11, 1945 with 45 people in attendance. Those present were:

Children: Charles Pierson, Carlon McMichel, Betty Dillard, Gretchen Mae Lee, Jerry Hodges
Jancice Ooly, Evelyn Oliphant, Orval McCoy, Norma Ooly, Linda Kay Lee

Young People: Lois Rumple, Ethel Crittendan, Louise Farrell, Betty Darnell, Henrietta Mumaw
Evelyn Pierson, Helen Wyatt

Women’s Bible Class: Lucille Pierson, Nellie Hunter, Flora Belle Night, Hazel Darnell, Catherine Hedge, Catherine Smith, Leva Hodges, Mary McCoy, Genevieve Mikels ,

Men’s Bible Class: J.S. Hodges, Brother Evans, L.C. Cassidy, Vern Keller, E.R. Farley, Don Farrell
Paul Pierson, George Darnell,

At that time they met in a rented store building at the corner of 16^th Street and Somerset in Indianapolis.

Reverend John Riggs was the first appointed pastor to Light & Life Chapel. He served from August 1946 to December 1951 leading the congregation in the purchase of the property at 1400 North Tibbs Avenue. The first structure at this location was a temporary pre-fab building. They waited for the completion of the new church in February 1947.

Attendance grew from 67 in 1947 to over 250 in 1959 under the pastoral leadership of five pastors; John Riggs, R.G. Mumaw, Don Cawood, Carl Sewell and Lloyd Quinnett. The increase in people created the need to enlarge the facilities. Under the leadership of R.B. Lake, an educational unit and enlarged sanctuary were dedicated in April of 1966. The congregation and pastor were responsible for having done a large portion of the work.

In December 1980, a mortgage burning ceremony was celebrated at the church building on Tibbs Avenue. At that time a multitude of things began happening within the church. The trustees realized that with the building paid, the congregation needed a new challenge. They began to pray earnestly that God would give them a new vision for the church. Statistics were compiled and key people began asking tough questions in an attempt to discover the reason for a lack of continual growth. After much prayer, several people sensed God leading the church to relocate farther west of the present location. The Official Board accepted the trustees’ proposal for relocation with a 98% affirmation. The proposal was then presented to the congregation and the people voted overwhelmingly to begin the process of relocation.

After an extensive land search, God orchestrated the purchase of 20 acres on West Morris Street in Hendricks County. The details leading to the purchase of this acreage point to the fact that God’s hand was in this move. Mrs. Burnett originally threw the letter of inquiry in the trash with no intention of selling the property. She later retrieved the letter from the trash and made an offer to the church to sell the land at $3,000.00 per acre for a grand total of $60,000.00

20 acres; price per acre-$3,000; total selling price- $60,000; 1000 feet of road frontage on West Morris Street; classified natural forest bordering to the east and north; city water; natural gas; high ground with good drainage; 11.7 miles from present location (18-20 minutes); no rezoning necessary; contract available.

The Board of Trustees unanimously voted on the property. The Official Board, at their February 11, 1982 meeting, unanimously affirmed this action. At the Society Meeting on March 28, 1982, the Society voted with 88% in favor of this property. The Wabash Conference Board of Evangelism had also seen this property and gave their full approval to proceed toward its purchase.

The church had their first service at the new location on Sunday, May 27, 1984. This was not a permanent arrangement. The running of the Indianapolis 500 made it impossible to have services on Tibbs Avenue so they decided to hold services in the picnic area on the new property. The people were excited. Sixty-nine people were in attendance at this service.

In the fall of 1985 the church building on Tibbs Avenue was sold. God's timing was seen again. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 8th at 2:00 p.m. and arrangements were made to worship at the Fulton Junior High School until the new facility was ready on West Morris Street.

The first building to be completed at the new site was the four bedroom parsonage. Much of the work was done by people of the church. A painting party was held on January 25th. Twenty men showed up and put two coats of paint on the interior of the parsonage.

Many obstacles were faced in the construction of the church. One obstacle being a rainstorm that caused one-fourth of the sanctuary construction to collapse under excessive weight left on the rafters. Yet the congregation persevered.

May 25, 1986 was a day of much celebration for the people at Light and Life. We were able to worship in their new church building. The sanctuary was not complete but we could still worship. Amid stacks of drywall and insulation, the people truly were rejoicing to see God's dream for them becoming a reality.

Now, more than twenty years later, it is evident why God transplanted the Light and Life congregation at the new location. A subdivision of four hundred homes is being developed right across the road from the church with other sub divisions being developed all around us. God has placed us at this strategic place to help people find Jesus as their Forgiver and Leader.

Senior Pastors