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The History of the Bethel Ministerial Association
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Chapter 13 |
I.E. Wilson, early days at Nazarene Acres |
The first Bethel Church in Decatur was on this lot at 800 William St. |
We really don�t know how Brother Wilson and Brother Varnell met, but we know they were working together here to build the kingdom. They not only conducted weekly services at their own churches, they were also actively recruiting others to join them in the process.
Shortly after that first recorded minutes were written by him, Brother Ivan and his wife decided that their lives would be enriched by adopting a son. Jim Wilson came into the world one of two twin boys. They decided to adopt one of those boys and raise him as their own. Brother Jim was probably the first of many in our fellowship to follow in their father�s footsteps and take up the mantle of ministry and devote their lives to the service of the Lord.
Quite interestingly, it wasn�t until many, many years later that Brother Jim learned that he had been born a twin. Only in his late sixties did he come to meet his brother, still living in Decatur during one of Bethel�s conferences there.
Brother Jim, even today can testify of lively, sometimes boisterous, meetings on 800 William Street, where everyone in the local area knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that God was meeting His people there! He grew up in a loving family, devoted to Jesus and his Word. That effect not only caused him to learn to love Jesus, it also affected every decision he would make for the rest of his life.
As was already mentioned in our history, in 1950, Brother Wilson began to suffer some physical problems in his life. He stepped down from leadership of Bethel Church in Decatur and turned the reins of ministry over to a young preacher who had grown up in his ministry, Rev Don Etnier. Brother Etnier was a fiery preacher too! In addition, he had tremendous skills in areas of construction. It was he who saw the need for a newer facility and did most of the construction work building the new church at 1108 Curtis Avenue.
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Brother Don raised a family here and they all got involved in the ministry of the church. Brother Don continued to use his skills in construction, not only here but also at the newly established youth camp program in Southern Indiana. Brother Don wasn�t always featured as the key speaker at BMA events, but there was seldom a work project that was accomplished that didn�t have his fingerprints on it. Always one to be ready to step in and help wherever needed, Brother Don also replaced Brother Wilson as secretary of the association. Later, when called upon again, he stepped up to take Brother Varnell�s place as chairman. He was leading when we had one of those first camp programs in 1955. Brother Don was a quiet man. But his heart, his passion and his love for others was always on display by every word and action that he produced.
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Under his leadership, the little ministry on Curtis Avenue continued to grow. His church reached out to ministries around the world through missions just as much as he reached those in his community. He had young people whose lives were �set on fire� not just through his preaching of the Word but also by the presence of the Holy Spirit every Sunday and every summer at Youth Camp. |
One of those youths whose life was so dramatically touched was a young boy by the name of Donnie Horath. Don came every time the door was opened. Often, he�d ride his bike to church to make sure he didn�t miss a single service. His love for Jesus grew as he grew in years. He knew his calling was sure one year as he gave his life to Jesus at that 1954 youth camp. Don was one of many, like Jim Wilson, Eldon Campbell and Judy McKim who met Jesus in the most real way at Camp, gave their entire lives over to Him and promised to serve Him the best they could.
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Don recalls numerous times, after riding his bicycle to church, riding home, singing at the top of his lungs, praising Jesus and raising his hands, letting the worship continue to roll over him in waves. It wasn�t long until he felt that call upon his life that would lead him into a life time of ministry. Like him and many others, the Lord�s blessing on the ministries of the Bethel brethren was continually demonstrated, not only by growth in numbers but by the continuing reproduction of ministers, missionaries and dedicated laymen whose lives were centered on their service to Jesus.
Brother Don relates in his testimony how he attended a conference in Evansville, Indiana. He had nowhere to stay, so Brother Varnell allowed him to sleep that night in the basement of the church. The old furnace banged and popped through the night, an experience that might scare some and certainly keep others awake. His experience though, was one enriched with the opportunity to feel the moving presence of the Holy Spirit, calling him to greater service to Him. It wasn�t long until he knew God was calling him to ministry.
Brother Don shared with his pastor, Brother Don Etnier that call on his life. They both discovered that there was a small church that had not been used in a long time on the far southeast side of Decatur. This situation looked like the perfect opportunity for Donnie Horath to meet that call of the Lord on his life and begin a home-missions outreach to Decatur. Brother Don Etnier agreed. Many times, we have seen young, ambitious men hear God�s call on their lives and just do it the wrong way. Way too often, church splits come because someone isn�t patient, or church members choose allegiances with one pastor over the other. Many times, what results might be two ministries where there was once one, but not without extreme pain and suffering by a lot of the body of the church. It is easy to see when this process is done right....as it was in this case in Decatur.
Brother Don Etnier agreed to help young Don Horath take on this outreach. The parent church on Curtis Avenue took a new ministry on Greenhill Road and helped them begin, grow and start to make dynamic impacts on their community. The �first� church actually purchased the property on Greenhill Road for the new upstart. Tithes from the new church were actually paid to Brother Etnier�s ministry to help support the original work. Certainly a model example of growth in the body, this shared evangelism to Decatur would result in the desired outcome: two ministries reaching the community where there once was just one. Multiplication on God�s scale would see great growth and new opportunities.
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Now, the Word of God declared on both sides of Decatur. |
From the words of history written by Pastor Don, �Hillside Bethel Tabernacle was founded on October 1, 1961 by Pastor Donald E. Horath. However, the church was originally called Bethel Tabernacle #2 as we were birthed from the ministry of Rev. Donald Etnier of Bethel Tabernacle in Decatur, Illinois.�
Brother Don Horath�s family and ministry grew through the years. They preached the Word, witnessed and reached out to their community, supported missions worldwide and even took on the daunting task of establishing learning opportunities and a Christian school as an outreach to their community.
�Hillside was self-supporting from our inception and through the years our ministry grew. In 1986, Hillside Tot's Learning Center was formed as a daycare center for children. After a long legal battle with the state of Illinois, which we won, Hillside changed the name to Hillside Bethel Christian School. The ministry changed from a daycare center to a pre-school and elementary school, which is still in operation today. Our goal is to provide quality education based upon the Word of God.
�For years, Hillside has also sponsored an active children and youth ministry. From Sunday School, Children's Church, and Youth Meetings, Hillside strives to teach the Word of God to our children in a safe, fun, and exciting environment.�
As with many of our Bethel churches, Hillside Bethel Tabernacle experienced growth and numerous blessings from the Lord. It wasn�t long until they needed even bigger facilities to handle the growth. As described by Brother Don, �in 1999, Hillside Bethel Tabernacle completed a new worship facility, which has a multi-purpose function. The church building serves as a sanctuary, classrooms, and gymnasium, complete with a multimedia projection and sound system. We offer a wide variety of services for everyone, including Sunday School, Sunday Morning Worship, Sunday Evening Worship, and Wednesday Evening Bible Study. There are also several other various special services and activities scheduled throughout the entire year.�
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It is certainly worth mention that, although not an entirely unique occurrence, Brother Don Horath and Hillside Bethel Tabernacle have produced great fruit for the Kingdom, not only in the winning of countless souls but also in the production of other ministers in the Church, especially in their family. All of his family continues to serve in the church. His daughter, Lori, married a young man who grew up in their church, Keenan Smith. Along with another Bethel product, John Jacobs, Keenan founded first the world renowned �Power Team� and later, �Team Impact�. These ministries feature weight lifters and �strong men� who use their skills in feats of strength to testify to young people around the world. To this date, they have spoken to and seen Christian conversions to literally millions of young people. Keenan and Lori are now pastoring a church in Crosby, Texas, which we will discuss shortly.
Brother Don�s second child, Brian and his wife Julie continue to be pillars in the church and their community. Brian runs the audio/visual portion of all services and Julie leads praise and worship from her keyboard. Brother Don�s third child, Kevin has been the associate pastor for many years, preaches and teaches regularly and is now an established/published author of several Christian books. And we must not forget Brother Don�s lovely wife, Vickie. She has been the principal of their thriving school program, administrator of the church and his constant companion for decades now.
In describing their church on the church website, Brother Don states, �Since our founding in 1961 by Senior Pastor Donald E. Horath, Hillside Bethel Tabernacle has existed for one purpose - to lift up Jesus. Hillside strongly believes in following the charge that Paul gave to Timothy in II Timothy 4:2. "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." To that end, Hillside uses people to help build God's Church. We realize that the Church is not a building, not a denomination, and certainly not a set of rules and regulations. Rather, the Church is an organism - a living Body. It is not just an organization. We are blessed to have many individuals involved in the ministry of Hillside Bethel Tabernacle.
�At Hillside Bethel Tabernacle, we are absolutely genuine, everyday people. We offer no gimmicks and no hype - just Jesus. And, yet, we strive to be active in our worship in every way. Consider our solid, dynamic preaching of the Gospel� our energetic praise and worship� our vibrant youth ministry� our quality educational opportunities�our significant growth, expansion, and change. That is why today - after 55 years of ministry and progress with an updated campus, additional services, and fresh programs - we can offer new possibilities in worship, greater opportunities for Christian service, and increased potential for spiritual growth.�
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