Grady Nelson, Zack Reneker, Reed Nelson, Leighton Hackworth, Kate Briscoe, Griffin Brown, Daniel James, Finley Brown, Hayden Hackworth, Kinley Briscoe and Landon Maisonneuve.
(Photo provided)

Sunday, June 29, Warsaw Church of God will not have the regularly scheduled worship service to host a community party. 2014 marks the 100^th year of ministry in the Warsaw community for the congregation now located at 1059 Rozella Rd. The day begins with a Worship Service at 9:30 a.m. The party begins at 11 a.m. and will continue into the afternoon. The community is invited to enjoy food, games, music and a car show. The event is free.

Warsaw Church of God began in 1914, when a group of Christians embraced the ideas of “the holy life” and the “oneness of God’s church” as preached by Daniel Sidney Warner and propagated by the “Gospel Trumpet” newspaper. Those founding member met in the home of John Schrock. Soon the need for a church building was clear. Members pledged their homes to borrow the money to build their first building on West Winona St which still serves as a church and the home of the Healing House Food Pantry.

In 1937 the congregation moved to the corner of South Buffalo and Winona Streets, building a “lovely brick structure” that was eventually sold to become the Marsh’s site.

It was during the 1940, under the leadership of Pastor O.L. Johnson, that the church began the quest to be an ethnic and culturally diverse fellowship. During a time of segregation and deep racial division the church intentionally began to integrate members from the African American families in the small segregated community that was on the east end of town, north of Center Street. Two generations of the Clarence Cook family continue to worship in the congregation.

In 1975 the current location, on Rozella Road, across from the Warsaw High School Tigers Athletic Complex was completed and dedicated. Over the intervening years the church has hosted the Little Tigers Preschool and Teens and Tots, a ministry to school-age moms and their children that is a part of Heartline Pregnancy Center.

In 1991, Rev. Jerry Yoder and his wife Carolyn came from Los Angeles, California to become the pastor of the church. Under his leadership the diversity of the congregation continued to increase as he led the church to increasingly become a place of grace and acceptance. As Pastor Yoder considered retirement, he sought to understand what type of pastor the congregation needed to be able to make the changes necessary to continue effective minister in the community and the next generation of young families.

In June 2012, Rev. Tim Kumfer began serving as the Lead Pastor of the church. Under his leadership the church has a renewed focus on service in the community and around the world. Locally the church is works cooperatively with Combined Community Services, Day of Caring, Our Father’s House, and Fellowship Missions. The monthly “Food Pantry Sunday” collects non-perishable foods that are distributed through the area food pantries. Partnering with Haiti Hungry No More and Horizon International church members serve children in Haiti and Zambia through proving school lunches for over 800 Haitian children and by sponsoring HIV/AIDS orphans in Zambia. The church also supports former Warsaw residents David and Kathy Simpson in their mission in Bulgaria and Dave and Barbara Miller in Bolivia, Members of the Miller’s family remain in the greater Warsaw area.

Pastor Kumfer is particularly excited about the opportunity to develop strong supportive relationships through a ministry called “Life Together.”

Warsaw Church of God invites you join with them as they strive to “Help people know God, follow Jesus, and serve others together.”