A Word from Bob
On Sunday, November 6, 2022, Grace Baptist Church in Gary, Indiana, had a “Farewell Service.” Grace Baptist has donated their facilities and property to another church—Flourish Church of Gary, Indiana.
Here’s where this gets personal for me.
In 1974, I became a Christian at Grace Baptist Church. Around 2010—long before there was any connection between Grace Baptist and Flourish Church—Shirley and I began attending Flourish Church when it was Bethel Church of Gary.
What a small world! What a BIG God!! It’s amazing that two churches that were so instrumental in my Christian life would then become one congregation meeting as Flourish Church on the property of Grace Baptist Church! Small world; BIG God!
The leaders of Grace Baptist Church asked me to pen a few words of testimony that they could read yesterday during their Farewell Service. I thought I would share those words with you today…
My Testimony: How Christ Has Used and Continues to Use Grace Baptist Church in My Life
I did not grow up in a Christian home. When I was 14, my older brother, Rick, started going to Grace Baptist Church—which was less than a mile from our home in Ranburn Woods. Rick invited me to attend Grace Baptist with him in January 1974.
I had to borrow a Bible from my Aunt—who had to look all over her home to find one. When Pastor Bill Goode asked us to turn to a passage, I had to look in the Table of Contents in the front of my new Bible to find where the Gospel of Luke was.
Prodigal Bob and the Prodigal Son
I started reading Luke’s Gospel at home, and when I got to Luke 15 and the story of the Prodigal Son—I knew God’s Spirit was speaking to me. Based upon my reading of God’s Word and upon the faithful preaching of Pastor Bill Goode, I was convicted that I was a sinner and that I could not save myself. I knew that I desperately needed Christ. But I didn’t fully understand the gospel yet.
On Easter Sunday, 1974, as we all sang “Just as I am without one plea,” I walked forward during the invitation at the end of the Easter service. Pastor Ron Allchin—Youth Pastor at Grace Baptist Church—met me and took me to the side room for prayer and counsel. There, Pastor Ron walked me through “The Romans Road” plan of salvation. That Easter morning, I prayed, confessing my sinfulness to Christ, expressing my faith in Christ, and surrendering my life to Christ. That Easter morning I was born again by Christ’s amazing grace!
My Growth in Grace at Grace
I was in 9th grade at the time, and a student at Lake Ridge Middle School and on my way to Calumet High School (now Calumet New Tech High School). My growth in grace was in some ways fast, and in some ways slow. Fast, in that I had a new desire to love God and love other people. My family noticed. My fellow students at Lake Ridge noticed. My friends in the Ranburn Circle neighborhood noticed that something was different. And I was happy to tell them that the something was Someone—Christ!
But my growth in grace did not take great flight until the end of my Sophomore year at Calumet High School. Pastor Ron had been teaching us and discipling us in Youth Sunday School. He had visited my home and spoken with my Mom and siblings about Christ. He had personally taken an interest in me—mentoring me.
He asked again and again if I would join the Youth Group summer trip—The Spokesmen for Christ bike trip to St. Louis. Finally, I relented and agreed to be a part of the trip. The required preparation time in the Word was foundational for my growth in Christ. Then the Spokesmen for Christ trip itself was life-changing. For the first time in my young Christian life, I truly began to see God’s affectionate sovereignty—His loving direction—of every second of my life and every square inch of my existence. I was changed forever.
I returned from the Spokesmen for Christ trip with a commitment to go into “full-time Christian ministry.” Over the next two years (my Junior and Senior years in high school), I “was on fire,” as we used to say. Witnessing to everyone who would listen—and even some who would not. I had a lot to learn about being a gracious witness for Christ.
Some of the Many People God Used in My Life…
During this time, many people at Grace Baptist were influential in my Christian growth. Pastor Ron Allchin, and his wife, Sherry, were crucial to my growth. The Reynolds family and the Alexander family were also vital in my Christian growth. Jim Bargfeldt, Steve Moisoff, and Steve Viars, along with many others in our Youth Group, became dear Christian friends—lifelong friends who encouraged me in my walk with Christ. Rick Corder, my Bible teacher (I transferred to Calumet Baptist for my Senior year in High School), was another major influence and mentor in my young Christian life. Later, Pastor Doug Lightly also became an important influence for me as a young Christian.
The Most Influential, Vital Person in My Life—Shirley!
Because of a Youth Group trip that we took to Baptist Bible College in Pennsylvania, I decided to attend Baptist Bible College.
There, I not only received my degree in Bible and Pastoral Ministry, but I met my wife of forty-one years—Shirley Lynn Vernon Kellemen.
Learning and Growing at Grace
Every summer during Bible college I would return home and the church graciously allowed me, as a young Christian, to serve in the Sunday School department and in the Children’s Church department—gaining experience in serving Christ in the church.
The Rest of the Story: Small World; Big God!
Now, forty-eight years later (1974 to 2022), Grace Baptist Church continues to have a central part in my Christian life. Back in 2006, Shirley and I moved from Maryland back to NW Indiana. We joined Bethel Church in Crown Point, where I served at one point as an Elder and at another point as Pastor of Counseling. Bethel Crown Point launched a church in Gary—Bethel Gary. Shirley and I then attended Bethel Crown Point 50% of the time and Bethel Gary 50% of the time.
So, imagine how excited Shirley and I were when we learned that Grace Baptist Church—the church where I became a Christian forty-eight years ago—had graciously provided the church facilities and property to Bethel Gary (now Flourish Church)—a church where Shirley and I attended until we moved to Seattle in 2018!
So, the connection continues! We love the people of Grace Baptist. We love the people of Bethel Gary/Flourish Church. We love the faithful preaching of Pastor Dexter Harris of Flourish Church. I am so excited that two churches that have meant so much to me now are one church—Flourish Church meeting at the site of Grace Baptist Church in Gary, Indiana.
God bless each of you as you continue to serve Christ faithfully in NW Indiana and “the Calumet Region.” And thank you each for the way you allowed the Lord to use you to minister to me—little Bobby Kellemen from 3950 Ranburn Circle in Gary, Indiana!
Bob Kellemen, November 6, 2022
