A New Home

Terre Haute RPC

Location: Terre Haute, Ind.

Presbytery: Great Lakes-Gulf

Membership: 17 communicant; 7 baptized

Pastor: William Roberts

Website: terrehauterpchurch.org

Organization: Mission church as of March 2010

The Terre Haute Reformed Presby-terian Church recently celebrated its third year of worship services by moving into a permanent location. After renting space for three years, the congregation was blessed to find a motorcycle shop for sale in a central location that meets our current space requirements, has on-site parking, and has the potential for growth and expansion.

We are thankful for the help we have received, including denominational help to buy the building, support from the Home Mission Board, a donation of chairs from Grace (Gibsonia, Pa.) RPC, the donation of a pulpit from the Southside (Indianapolis, Ind.) RPC, and encouragement from many others.

Lately, the congregation has spent much time cleaning and preparing the building for use, removing the last remnants of the motorcycle shop and readying the building to be a place of worship and ministry. A building committee is now considering how to make the best use of the space and available funds by remodeling. As we look forward to meeting our new neighbors, we are excited to have a permanent presence in the community and a center for ministry that is open and accessible all week long!

Although Terre Haute is a regional center of west-central Indiana, it was formerly a city without a Reformed church. An RP family that lived in Terre Haute drove over an hour to worship at the Bloomington, Ind., RP Church each Sunday. When another family from Terre Haute also began to make the drive, an exploratory work in Terre Haute was formed. Pastor Roberts, then the senior pastor in Bloomington, traveled with his wife to Terre Haute each Sunday to conduct worship services. Eventually, the congregation called Pastor Roberts to be the church planter, and the Roberts family moved to Terre Haute. In 2010, the congregation became a mission church and, as such, is overseen by a commission of presbytery. Currently, the core families meet on Sunday evenings for a book study that focuses on planting confessionally Reformed churches.

God has blessed the congregation with growth, from families to college students, and the average attendance is over 40. Pastor Roberts is working with many of the new attendees, going through a church information course that helps to explain Reformed theology and the beliefs of the RPCNA. It is wonderful to see their enthusiasm for the gospel and the Reformed faith.

Terre Haute is the home of both Indiana State University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is nearby. Students from each of these institutions have joined the congregation for worship; some come from RP congregations, while others are from a variety of church backgrounds. This year, in addition to a class for the adults and two classes for the children, there is a Sunday school class specifically for the college-age group. They are working through How to Grow in Christ by Jack Kinneer. This class is led by the congregation’s intern, Ryan Chaplin. Ryan joined the congregation during his years at Indiana State and has spent time doing outreach, discipleship, and other facets of pastoral ministry under Pastor Roberts. He plans to spend another year as an intern with the congregation before attending seminary.

The congregation enjoys times of fellowship, including lunch together each Sunday following the service, which gives us a chance to catch up with one another and to get to know visitors. Occasional psalm sings provide opportunities not only to fellowship but also to learn new psalm tunes and to practice singing in parts. Other events have included a fall party for the college-age group, an ice cream and game night, and a ladies’ dessert and game night. The congregation enjoys sharing its annual Fourth of July picnic with visitors from other central Indiana RP churches.

Due to Terre Haute’s location on I-70, the congregation has been blessed to meet and worship with a number of different RPs from across the country as they pass through while traveling. If you ever drive through Indiana on I-70, we would love to see you, too!

Prayer Requests 1. As we renovate the building, please pray for wisdom and unity for the building committee, which is overseeing the process.

2. Please pray for us in our new location—that we would make the best use of our new facility for ministry and that we would reach out to our new neighborhood, and to the city.

3. Give thanks for the new visitors that God has sent, especially those who have returned each week, and pray that more would come.