Column: IS IT REALLY SO? - A Visit To The Montpelier Church Of Jesus Christ

By: Dr. Jerry Bergman
Montpelier, Ohio

A friend related to me that he once attended one of the largest churches in Bryan, OH. After six months, although everyone was very friendly, he never made a single friend. This was even true with the also very large Sunday school.

He then discovered a church where about 20 attended. He soon went to the church, and now several members there he calls his friends who he could associate with socially. The famous house church is another example.

I know of several mega churches that started in a garage and in three decades outgrew three churches. The members developed the habit of making new friends and continued doing so as the church grew.

When I visited the small Church of Jesus Christ in Montpelier (12237 OH 576) recently, the first question I asked was, “Are you part of the Mormon church?” No was the answer. Then I asked, “Explain why you adopted your church name Church of Jesus Christ.” “Simple.

“We focus on Jesus Christ in all we do so that is why we named our church using His name. Christ is the head of His church, and we are the body. So His name is fully appropriate for the name of our church. Lutheran Churches focus on Luther’s teaching, and we focus on the teachings of Christ. That’s the difference.”

I arrived at 10:00 in time for the Sunday service. The first thing I noticed was the church was spacious and very well-maintained. Besides a grand piano, on the stage was a guitar and a full set of drums. The piano was played by an obviously very skilled pianist whose voice beautifully blended in with the songs in the songbook that the church used. The children there were all very well-behaved, and I made it a point to compliment their behavior, which they graciously accepted with a pleasant smile.

The pastor gave an excellent sermon, properly emphasizing its key points making his words come alive. He tied the sermon in with current events, which made his words relevant to Christian life, which should be true of all sermons. One point stood out: the history, relevance, and meaning of Halloween.

I knew it was a pagan holiday, but not much else. As a child, my brother and I went door-to-door asking for candy—and implying a prank if none was offered (thus the “trick or treat” saying). My family bought, and sometimes carved, a face in a pumpkin without much thought about this ancient Celtic celebration.

The pastor’s sermon noted that one focus of the holiday was death, as is obvious from the commonality of skeletons displayed at this time of year. I now see this holiday in a very different light.

After the sermon, and four songs, and two prayers, I was able to visit with the pastor, who had a most interesting background. He was reared in an Amish family in Grabill, Indiana. When I asked why he left, his answer did not surprise me.

“Well, to make a long story short, I met an English girl, fell in love, and to marry her I was forced to leave the Amish community. You cannot marry out of the faith and remain an Amish.” He then had the opportunity to become involved in several Christian Churches, including the Church of Christ.

When I mentioned that I often speak in the area on apologetics, he added, “How can one be a Christian and reject Genesis?” He realized that to convert an ape into a human through mutations (damage to the genome, i.e., the genetic code) is impossible no matter how many millions of years is allowed. He added that he and his family have visited the Ark Encounter in Kentucky several times.

The Amish are firm creationists and openly reject evolution. They were also the major builders of the Answers in Genesis Ark in Kentucky. All in all, it was a pleasant visit with lovely people. I even invited the pastor to visit my home after the service in order to view my library, meet my wife, and visit with our ten-pound spoiled furry child named Rudy.