Pandora's Secret
By Bob Moeller
July 1, 1994
It's noontime at the Lunch-Box Cafe in Pandora, Ohio, where the leaders of St. John's Mennonite Church are meeting in the back banquet room. The room has a Lake Wobegon feel, its walls lined with walnut-colored plywood paneling warped by humidity and age. An assortment of 19th-century idyllic country scenes hang on the walls. A forgotten stereo sits atop a dusty shelf.
The Lunch-Box Cafe and its customers symbolize what's best about rural Ohio: honest work, fair prices, and a genuine sense of community.
Just down the road is an uncommon church. It's in the middle of a cornfield, a mile or two out of town on a rural highway (not a spot church-growth experts would have chosen). There's no interstate exit close by, no new subdivisions sprouting up down the road. Nor is it close to a major population center.
Yet the average worship attendance of St. John's stands close to 500, with a nearly equal number of children enrolled in Sunday school and almost 300 in Pioneer Clubs. The church population almost matches the size of the town. In fact, the congregation has grown so large that the trustees voted to build the new gymnasium behind the church to shield its size from the community: "We didn't want to give anyone the wrong impression."
Today, I'm eating lunch at the LunchBox Cafe with the elders of St. John's and their pastor, Ted VanderEnde, and his wife, Dorothy. In between bites of meatloaf, fresh bread, and steaming mashed potatoes, the leaders of St. John's tell me about the vision that has sprung up in their Ohio cornfield.
A BIG DUTCH HEART
For seventeen years, Ted and his wife, Dorothy, have served St. John's. When they arrived, St. John's, like many rural ministries, faced limited resources. Sixty adults and their children ...
Like the preview? To read this complete article
and 20,359 more in the archive—JOIN NOW!
Easily find high-quality, well-researched materials that provide a Christian perspective on topics ranging from headlines to history.
Start using this invaluable tool TODAY for preparing your Bible studies, presentations, class lectures, sermons, meetings, and more.
|
It's easy and quick to join:
Brought to You by Christianity Today Int'l |  |
|
| 
Find similar articles
E-mail this page
