Sycamore RPC

Location: Kokomo, Ind.

Presbytery: Great Lakes–Gulf

Organization Date: Nov. 1994

Membership: 61 communicant; 33 baptized

Pastor: Barry York

Our History

The Lord used the saints in the Lafayette, Ind., RPC to form Sycamore RPC. This work began in October 1983 when seed families relocated to the Kokomo area and started a Bible study. A year and a half later, the group began bimonthly Sabbath worship, only to halt the services a year later.

The saints continued to seek God’s timing, and He was already leading the York family into fellowship with the Lafayette church. God later called Barry York to the ministry. The Sycamore Fellowship opened its doors in 1992 with weekly worship services led by Pastor York. The tiny seed has flourished into a tree, with an average of 100 people currently attending services.

Our Ministry

This daughter work has now seen a similar opportunity to plant. During the late 1990s, students from a college in Marion, Ind., began attending worship. This was how members such as the Hunts and Thomans first encountered the church. Today, about one-third of Sycamore’s regular members commute from Marion. Echoing its own origin, the church now holds bimonthly Sabbath evening services and two Bible studies in Marion, while seeking the Lord’s will in this field.

Sycamore is currently training two pastoral interns. God called Jason Camery into the ministry after Jason and Jenny came to the church in 2001. Jason now serves as the assistant to the pastor while he takes seminary classes. Also, Robert and Suzanne Jones relocated to Kokomo from Texas with a burden on their hearts to minister in Scotland. Recently, both the local session and the presbytery have moved to send the Jones family to Airdrie, Scotland, in the summer of 2006. The interns currently share the Sunday evening pulpit.

Another ministry opportunity opened up from a different corner of the world—the land of the Philippines. In 2000, a group of pastors contacted the Foreign Mission Board interested in the RPCNA and its knowledge of gospel truths. The board approached Barry York about co-leading a conference in the island nation in 2002. He eventually returned to the Philippines in 2004. Rodrigo “Ojie” and Ligaya Bicaldo, the primary Philippine contacts, continue to receive encouragement and guidance from our church.

Locally, Sycamore maintains a strong relationship with a homeless shelter. The men from this shelter are able to walk four blocks to the church building and receive the Word of the Lord and the love of His saints. The church also has a deep desire to train its youth and supports Sycamore Covenant Academy (SCA), a part-time cooperative school held in the church building. SCA gives classes twice a week to children ages 10 and up and has also opened some classes to local homeschool families.

Prayer Requests

• Pray that we can find funds to make our building more handicapped accessible.

• A nearby city library reversed its decision to consider expansion plans that might affect the church building. Give thanks for this, and ask that God would continue our ministry to the city.

• Pray for Marion, that God will bring fuller direction and willing laborers to this field.