50 years at ECC…almost!

Dwight’s shoulders gently shook with laughter as he quoted an article he’d read in one of his farming magazines. A farmer was asked how he knew where the Lord was leading him throughout his life and quipped, “I just sense God telling me to get on my horse and catch up!”

Dwight Stetzel, also a farmer, and his wife Pat, have experienced God’s leading in their own lives over the past 50 years at Emmanuel Community Church. No horses were involved, but it was a ride nonetheless. 

Dwight and Pat had only been married nine months when their pastor, Ray Seilhamer, asked them to attend a meeting at his parsonage. Seilhamer, the pastor at College Park United Brethren Church in Huntington, Indiana, had a vision to plant another UB church in southwest Fort Wayne. He gathered ten couples in his living room to cast the vision and the need for help. 

“We looked around the room at that initial meeting and wondered why we had been included in this group of ‘heavy hitters.’” Pat said. “We were twenty-one (Dwight) and 19-year-old (Pat) newlyweds amongst these older, spiritually mature Christians. We were at least ten years younger than the next youngest couple, and were more like twenty or thirty years younger than most. But, we respected Pastor Seilhamer so much, still do to this day, and we began to get excited about his vision for this church plant.”

Those ten couples got to work. They found an elementary school in southwest Fort Wayne to host services. Now Southwest Lutheran Church at 5120 Homestead Road, the then-school allowed the church plant to use their gymnasium. 

“Before our launch, we passed out fliers, knocked on doors, and invited everyone in the nearby neighborhoods.” Pat said. “Our first Sunday, we were both nervous and excited. Would anyone show up?”

They did. The Stetzels recall about forty-five people being in attendance that first Sunday and said it was a “Field of Dreams moment,” referencing the famous movie line, “If you build it, they will come.” A fitting reference for a farming couple considering the movie scene involves a cornfield and hard work. And work is what was being done at Emmanuel Community Church. Not work in the sense of unenjoyable tasks, but work in the sense of faithfully meeting the needs of the new and growing congregation – as God had faithfully done first.

“Our leadership team of couples were the custodians, Sunday School teachers, nursery workers, greeters, ushers, VBS leaders, and anything else that was needed.” Dwight said. “We served together and formed friendships that have lasted a lifetime.”

“We are workers.” said Pat. “We didn’t feel like the spiritual giants we thought the other leadership couples were, but we knew how to work. And we loved it.”

The couples, who now also included Russell and Thelma Neterer, who were not at the original meeting, but caught word of the plan and joined the team, continued to spread the word in the surrounding community. The Neterers owned an egg business in the building off US Highway 24 where Oley’s Pizza now sits. That business housed many early board meetings and was a “hub” for the church members. And, Pat recounts, no client seeking eggs left without also getting an invitation from Thelma to try the new church down the road!

And people did. Over the next three years, the church grew to about 70-100 people and soon moved into the nearby Woodside Middle School gymnasium for church services with Sunday School classes in the school classrooms. Currently, the Freshman Academy at Homestead High School, the then middle school gym was Emmanuel’s home for the next three years.

John Edwards was the church’s first pastor, other than its visionary, Ray Seilhamer, who preached the Sunday sermons for the first year. Seilhamer would preach at College Park and then drive to Emmanuel to preach there as well, another example of faithful work.

As the church grew, the board decided to buy land at the corner of US Highway 24 and Amber Road and build its first building. In 1978, it was completed. The building housed a small sanctuary with rows of chairs, a small kitchenette, and a foyer area with a nursery and restrooms. The Stetzels had recently re-done their kitchen and supplied their old cabinets to the church for the kitchenette. Dwight recounts that a few years later, the sanctuary got carpet and pews and they all really felt they were leveling up!

It is at this point that the Stetzel’s journey took a little detour. Their oldest child was approaching Kindergarten and would attend school in Whitely County where the Stetzels lived. They decided that attending a church in their own community may benefit their children, and so for the next ten years, they did just that. 

“It was the right decision for us at the time,” said Pat. “It was good. But we also kept tabs on what was happening at Emmanuel. We knew there had been a couple of other pastors during that period, and we knew that it was time to return there shortly after Denny became pastor.” 

Pastor Miller began his tenure in 1989 and has remained in the role of senior pastor for the thirty-two years since. Dwight and Pat have been back in their role of faithful attendance and service at Emmanuel for the past thirty years as well. As greeters at the doors many Sunday mornings, they smile and joyfully welcome old friends and new faces. 

The Stetzels’ past five decades of involvement at Emmanuel have been a journey – one where they sometimes felt the need to get on their figurative horses and catch up with the Lord’s leading! But God has remained faithful, and the Stetzels have loved being along for the ride.

“God’s faithfulness always guided us through the good times and struggles. Patience, perseverance, hard work, and the prayers of many people have gotten us to where we are today. God knows where this church will be 50 years from now, and we want to continue to give Him all the honor and glory!”

Dwight and Pat Stetzel