Chapter 14
INDIANAPOLIS
You probably have already figured out by now that ministries that we discuss in this history have far more to do with pastor and his calling than they do with the location. We explained before that a geographical reference point was a fairly easy and somewhat standard way to organize telling the story. Indianapolis is where my dad, Rev Don Matthews, spent the majority of his life in ministry. But he certainly can tell the story from a lot of different locations, not just Indianapolis.
My telling of the story has to come with a caveat which I know all interested readers will already understand. Unlike Decatur and Evansville, I can tell the story of Indianapolis in far greater detail because I lived it. My four brothers and I (depending on which part of the history you are telling), followed mom and dad around to all of these places they ministered. The number of different places dad ministered makes his story pretty unique in a couple of ways. First, it is unique because most of our ministers, although they may have moved a lot, stayed in one location for decades of ministry. Dad and mom moved a lot, primarily because dad had seven mouths to feed. None of our BMA ministers can necessarily claim to have achieved great wealth. As a result, many of them had additional jobs as well as being full time pastors. And, many times the location of an available job was what dictated where they chose to live. Dad was like that.
The added way that dad's story is unique is that in telling where he went and with whom he lived and ministered, the story covers a lot of our BMA ministers and a lot of their locations. This isn't important just because it gives me a way to talk about their ministries, but it also lets us see the character and personalities of many of these great men of faith.
Dad was not born into the BMA, but he comes close. Born in 1933 in Evansville, dad lost his father when he was only five. Grandpa Curtis Matthews had a rare attack of appendicitis, which in those days was not handled nearly as well as it is today. His appendix burst, went septic and killed him. Dad remembered one time to tell me that Brother Glenn Dyhouse prayed with Grandpa Curtis and Grandma Bert just before he died. My grandmother, Alberta Henning Matthews Hunter, was one of the young ladies who grew up in the church in Evansville under Brother Varnell's pastorate and knew many of the "early folks" extremely well. She dated Brother Badger once. But needing to work full time to support a five year son as a widow didn't leave a whole lot of time for socializing.
Dad grew up in Evansville Bethel Tabernacle under Brother and Sister Varnell's careful supervision. Dad sat in Sister Varnell's Sunday School class every Sunday morning. Dad reminisced that Sister Varnell claimed that dad could count every crack in the ceiling in that Sunday School class...yet when she questioned him about that Sunday's lesson, he could always answer the question immediately with the correct answer.
At the same time dad was growing up there, my mother, Doris Hatfield, was growing up too. From a young age, Doris was always part of the youth of Bethel. Although there are occasional anecdotes of how many boys liked mom and a few other girlfriends dad might have been interested in, dad's eyes were always on Doris. Their introduction was one of many that happened at a church event at Bethel. Mom tells it that Dad, fairly prolific with a yo-yo, asked mom if she wanted to see him spin the yo-yo into her front pocket. I'm glad he was successful, because who knows if I ever would have existed? Dad graduated from Central High School in Evansville and left for Central Bible Institute, the Assembly of God preacher's college in Springfield, Missouri. Mom, finished up her high school at Evansville Reitz, and they married in 1952 at Bethel Tabernacle in a service officiated by Pastor R.R. Schwambach. Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2002 by having Pastor Schwambach "marry them again." They are still going strong today and continue to demonstrate the "gold standard" for marriages to everyone who knows them.
Shortly after they were married, the Evansville church decided to take the bold step of planting a "mission church" in Vincennes, Indiana and selected Don and Doris Matthews as its pastors. A tremendous amount of growth was experienced under their leadership of that congregation. Dad describes it: "In 1953, the Matthews founded a Bethel church in Vincennes, IN at 6th and Main in an abandon movie theater with just two families. This church grew to about 120 members before the Matthews moved on to other ministries in 1955."
Location at 6th and Main in Vincennes where Bethel Church was located
I was born here, in Vincennes, in 1954. I know...significant, historical event, right? The story told by my grandmother was always that when she arrived to see her first-born grandson, all she found in the refrigerator was one single egg. Despite the growth of this new Bethel congregation in Vincennes, they were not able to support the pastor enough for them to continue. Many of our Bethel pastors found similar circumstances. After paying their tithes, rent and a few utilities, there was seldom left for much else. The Korean war was waging at this time and jobs to supplement their income in the pastorate at Vincennes were not abundant. So, for one of many times that this happened, Don and Doris returned with their son to Evansville, had their second son, Daniel, and tried to sign up for service in the military. Unfortunately, because he already had a family to his name, the Air Force said they would not accept him for service.
The time that followed this was filled with move after move. There was a brief time where Don and Doris joined Brother Eugene Holder and Brother Jack Morrow in Atlanta/Marietta, Georgia. Later came a move to Decatur to join Brother Etnier and Jim Holt in ministry and building houses. The next move occurred approaching 1957 to Bloomington/Normal, Illinois. Don got a job at Mormon Feed Company as well as helping in the ministry there under Brother Merwyn Masters. He briefly lived in a "mansion" building that had been purchased by Brother Harvey Davids and early in 1957, along came #3 boy, Dale, born in Normal, IL. The alliteration of names from Don and Doris to David, Danny and Dale was catching on and the trend would continue. Dad worked briefly at General Electric, however the job didn’t last for long. After a brief return visit to live in Evansville, a decent job opportunity opened in Indianapolis. Ford Motor Company built a new assembly plant in the east side, dad landed a job there and moved the family to Indy late in 1957. At the same time, several other Evansville Bethel families moved there, also for work at Ford, and with their help, mom and dad started another small ministry there on East New York Street. As dad described it, "After thirteen moves from one city to another, serving in a number of Bethel churches and after having three children...the Matthews moved to Indianapolis because there was a group of people from the Evansville Bethel Tabernacle who had moved there for employment. These would comprise a nucleus for beginning this church work. The group rented what is now Johnny’s Glass on the corner of Dearborn and East New York Street on Indianapolis east side. It was called Bethel Church. Their numbers expanded rapidly as the church reached out to the neighborhood attracting a good number of young people. The vision and thrust of the church was to reach youth for Christ through the Bethel Ministerial Association youth camp program, to send out ministers to establish other churches, to support foreign and home missions and to strengthen the members for the purpose of evangelizing the area."
A little "storefront church" on Illinois and Dearborn Street in Indianapolis
"Several ministers developed through this church congregation in those years. Among them was the Rev James Holt family. Jim and the Pastor had been high school homeroom mates and both had attended Evansville Bethel Tabernacle. Pastor Matthews was able to encourage Jim to leave his position with Standard Oil to accept the vacant pulpit in the Logansport Bethel Tabernacle. The Rev Wendell Nance family had left the Logansport church as pastor and moved to Indianapolis to begin work with the Dale Carnegie Institute of personal development. Because Rev Nance and Pastor Matthews were friends thru associations in Evansville and Vincennes, it was fitting that they should work together in this fledgling congregation. In 1960, Rev Nance was aware of this limited store-front facility at the Bethel Church on East New York Street." The little congregation once again grew rapidly and soon didn't have enough room for everyone. A new, bigger place to meet was needed.
"Rev Nance was working with another local minister in their Dale Carnegie seminars. This minister was interested in moving back to California with his family. So Rev Nance brought Memorial Tabernacle Pastor Jack Opie together with Rev Matthews to help combine their congregations need for housing into a failing congregation in Fountain Square at 2119 Prospect. A year after the merger, Rev Nance and Rev Opie left Indianapolis for Los Angeles to expand their work with Dale Carnegie seminars there. The Memorial Tabernacle congregation flourished under the new leadership of Pastor Matthews and at one time, with a rather extensive youth bus ministry, they grew to over 150 in attendance. This combination of congregations made a number of improvements to their facility, expanding its outreach to the youth of the Fountain Square area as well as the old E New York St location. However, the Prospect Street church was an old building with limited room while the congregation was looking for new horizons." Again, a new, larger facility was needed to meet the needs of a growing congregation.
Also a former theater, Memorial Tabernacle moved to 2119 E. Prospect Street and continued to grow.
As mentioned earlier, Mom and Dad grew up in Bethel. They met at an early age at Bethel Tabernacle in Evansville. They were married there in 1952. Even before that, Dad heard the call of the Lord on his life to full time ministry. He petitioned at a very young age to be ordained by Bethel and after a year licensed, received ordination from them. Immediately after high school he left for Springfield, MO to study for the ministry and a life time of service for the Lord. From Bethel Tabernacle, Dad and Mom were commissioned and supported to start a work in Vincennes, Indiana. Dad was the first minister called upon to publish the first organized publication of the Bethel Assemblies and he was also selected as the first Missionary Chairman of the association. Mom and Dad were instrumental almost every year in leadership at our Bethel Youth Camps. At least two years under their leadership, along with my uncle and aunt, Glen and Joyce Hatfield, there was an organized "Family Camp" at Bethel Youth Camp for members of the entire family. Dad served as the BMA Treasurer, Secretary and led many conferences over the years for the BMA. Even now in retirement, his guidance and leadership as an Emeritus member of the board of directors is vitally important. These two were one of many outstanding examples of pastors who not only saw development, growth and evangelism in their own local churches but also invested huge amounts of time to the Bethel association.
"In 1974, Doris Matthews was working as President of the Perry Township PTA with another pastor's wife, Marilyn Date. Her husband was the pastor of the Southport Presbyterian Church in Southport. Doris shared with Marilyn that our church congregation was interested in moving and that we were looking for a church building with opportunities to expand. Marilyn Date told Doris that the White Water Presbytery was in the process of taking bids to sell an abandon church at 2810 E Southport Road. It was also an old structure with large stained glass windows, sitting next to a cemetery, but with plenty of room. Although not the highest bidder, the White Water Presbytery, with the recommendation of Pastor Date, decided that we would be the best group to occupy that building. They had faith in our resolve to be a strong spiritual influence in the community of Southport.
"The Board of Directors at Memorial Tabernacle immediately put their Prospect St building up for sale. They had thirty days to purchase the church on Southport Road. They had paid the first $10,000 to the White Water Presbytery out of their building fund, which exhausted it. In just two weeks, a black congregation offered to purchase the Prospect St church for only $5000 less than the cost of the Southport Road facility. The church had already been raising money for the move. It was at this point that charter member, Lura Murphy, went home to be with the Lord. She bequeathed the church $5000 in her will. This is why the Bethel Memorial Church has a Lura E Murphy Memorial Hall. In addition, the congregation brought several pictures from the Prospect St church building which had been dedicated there by individuals as memorials with them to the new location. These were placed in the Lura Murphy Memorial Hall as a reminder of the old church building. At their first membership meeting in November 1974, the congregation decided to combine the names of Bethel Church from the E New York St church with Memorial Tabernacle, Inc, the Prospect St church, and call this new place "Bethel Memorial Church."
Bethel Community Memorial Church on Southport Road, on the south side of Indianapolis
"As it was with the Prospect location, this church needed a great deal of updating and renovation. One of the first projects undertaken was to blow insulation into the attic above the 30 foot vaulted ceiling. During that operation, a wire was dislodged in the old electrical wiring in the attic. On October 1, 1975, Bill Conover came forward to receive Christ as his Savior. He had always told Pastor Matthews that should he ever get saved, the roof would fall in. That Sunday afternoon, as the Pastor and his family were preparing for the evening service, a frantic telephone call came to the parsonage. A neighbor had noted smoke rolling out of the attic louvers and had called the fire department. This caller was informing the Pastor that the church attic was engulfed in flames. The firefighters needed the pastor to come to the church to help them get into the building. The pastor rushed to the scene and could not get within several blocks of the burning building. It was estimated that the slate roof on the structure held the heat, the smoke and the flames in the confines of the attic. Approximately 6 PM, the east wall of the structure, which was mostly stained glass windows, collapsed along with a large section of the sanctuary floor. God supplied the needed funds to rebuild the building in its present form. The miracles multiplied and the money came in. On Easter Sunday, 1980 the church was re-dedicated to the service of God's kingdom with all bills paid and $3000 in the bank. This resurrection of a building brought this church untold publicity, notoriety, appreciation and recognition. But that is not to be compared to the many lives which have been touched, the ministry which has flowed from the congregation and for the miracles of healing, blessing, restoration and dedication in the lives of those who have worshiped there.
"Another tragedy the congregation experienced was the long suffering of the Pastor's fourth son, Duane, who died after a long bout with cancer in September of 1998. Duane was president of the Board of Directors, youth leader, peace-maker and loving supporter of every member of the congregation. One by one, the original charter members of the church have gone to their reward. While others have grown up in the church and some have joined us in continuing a work that only God could maintain and cause to flourish. One of its own youth grew up as a lad in this church. He went off to Oral Roberts University, graduated with almost straight A's majoring in Hebrew and became the pastor of the congregation. Pastor Jaman Iseminger made many improvements and shared a younger, more vital ministry with couples of his own age."
Dad retired in 2005 from full time pastorate after over fifty years of service to the Lord. Only heaven will reveal the depth of his commitment, sacrifice and caring for souls who can point to him as being instrumental in their salvations. Jaman served the congregation well for seven years until again, tragedy struck this congregation. On a Saturday morning in May of 2012, a deranged woman whose family Jaman had been helping entered the church and shot Jaman several times resulting in his death. Rev Derick Daniel, a youth product of our Youth Camps and the Hatfield Bethel Church, took over for Jaman for a while. When he stepped down, the congregation was continuing to grow and go to the community, just like Dad and Jaman had established for many years.
 
A deranged woman tried to stop God's work in a small congregation on the south side of Indianapolis. But just as evil-inspired humans have tried to stop the work of Jesus for 2,000 years now and never succeeded, so Dad's work and Jaman's work for the Kingdom will continue to strive and thrive until Jesus' return. These men, always faithful to their calling, were perfect examples of those the Bible says, "...of whom the world was not worthy..." (Heb 11:38)
Many other churches, with far less hardship than experienced by this church, have closed the doors and discontinued all ministry. This adversity, however, only strengthened their resolve to spread the Gospel of Jesus at all costs. Dad's own words sum up the sentiment of this small congregation under his leadership: "Bethel Memorial Church has come to be known as a missionary giving church, a loving and caring church, as an open door community church, as a church with a vision. Only eternity will reveal the affect of this church's ministry and how it has impacted this Southport community and around the world. The promises made to the White Water Presbytery back in 1974 have been more than kept. They have been expanded, multiplied and continue to grow. And it is with recognition of God's blessing that we gratefully report that this is true."
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