Moving back to my hometown

The year was 2005…  We moved from our little house in Knox, Indiana to the big city of South Bend.  The South side to be more exact.  We had a dream of starting a different kind of church there.  One that put the emphasis on people.  One that was reaching people who others were not able to reach.  One that was making a difference.

Everything was going fine for the first year or so.  We saw people coming to Christ.  We opened a coffeehouse to help us start spiritual conversations with people.  We saw families restored.  We saw people coming to our church who had been dislocated from other bad church experiences.  But we didn’t see a huge jump in attendance.

So, in January of this year, with heavy hearts, we were forced to close down Church of the Heartland – South Bend.  That was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through in my life as a pastor.

So, fast forward almost 10 months later.  Misti and I decided to move back to our little home town.  Why?  So we could be closer to all of the 4 churches that we have.  And now I no longer have 1 church to call my own, but I now have 4

Since my new position is that of lead pastor over all four churches of Church of the Heartland, Winamac makes a great central location to call home.

Here are some simple answers to questions you might have:

- Q:  Where will you be preaching on Sunday morning’s now?    A: I am preaching at every one of our churches on different Sundays and will not be exclusively at any one of our churches.

- Q:  Where will your family go to church?    A:  Our family will be seen at all the churches at some time or the other.  We will all be moving from church to church each Sunday.

- Q:  Who is the pastor of the Church of the Heartland – Winamac?    A:  The pastor of the Winamac church is Jim Howard.  He is doing a fantastic job and our giftings are very complimentary.  I am based out of Winamac, but won’t be the pastor there.

- Q:  What is your job at Church of the Heartland?    A:  I lead the executive leadership team and am in charge of creating the Sunday teaching material.

- Q:  Are you available to help me?    A:  Like always, I am here for whoever needs anything.  I just want to be a blessing.

 

Heath

 

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