The family moved to Coulterville, IL in July of 1977 and was there until October or November of 1989. Sharon had already left home when they moved, of course, and I had just finished my first year at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis. So Sharon and I never really lived in Coulterville. But since I was so close, I visited quite often. I don’t remember if I spent much time there during the summers.
Dad says there were 103 on the roll when they arrived, and when they left the attendance was about the same. However, it got up to 120. At one point the Sunday School attendance was very high and Dad said they needed to make more room or they would lose these people. But the church wouldn’t do anything about it, so the attendance dropped down again. Mom started a class for three-year-olds. The class began with two students and grew to 18. It’s still the largest class. The church, which was the result of a merger of two churches, got over the “them and us” mentality during Dad’s time as pastor as a result of a focus on unity. The church experienced lots of growth. There were many young people. They redid the inside of the church.
Here are some of the things Dad learned: 1) To work with a session, get them involved in the work. 2) When Dad arrived as pastor, most of the people were old. But gradually this changed to a predominance of younger people. Dad says he either didn’t have the ability to switch gears or didn’t think about it. He says he wasn’t aware of the different needs of the youth.
Dad and Mom began working with CMI in November of 1989, and of course, Dad still volunteers for them twice a week. Dad says it has been a good ministry. Sometimes Carolyn demanded too much and she and Mom had their differences of opinion. For the most part Carolyn admitted that Mom was right. Dad says he learned about writing, communicating with children, and the value of teaching with visuals.
At the end of our chat with Dad, he gave these two pieces of advice: 1) Don’t be contentious, but stand up for what you believe. 2) He wishes he had learned to expect more of people and to hold their feet to the fire.
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I liked the church building in Coulterville. Really interesting architecturally. Mom coaxed me into singing there a few times. I remember going with mom and dad to visit the shut-ins. I also remember walking from the house to the church to mimeograph the bulletin on Saturdays.
What does it mean “to hold one’s feet to the fire?”
[It means to hold someone responsible for the fulfillment of their duties, even by exerting pressure if necessary–gtw]
I helped Mom in Sunday School and the class was for 2 year olds as well.