History
The mission was founded in 1971 by Pete and Marge Weiss, my parents. Dad was a converted Jew who found the Lord in his early 50s. Mom was a Christian since her college days, and a native Texan.
When my parents were living in Elmhurst, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, they were very involved in their local church ministries and mission outreach. Dad was a deacon and worked with Cook County Jail and the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. Mom made summer trips to Indian reservations in New Mexico and Arizona, doing VBS and youth work, and taught ladies Sunday school class.
In 1969, Pete and Marge heard a message from 2 Kings 4:8-10 concerning the Shunammite woman and her calling to care for Elisha. The Holy Spirit began dealing with them about building a modern-day ministry for the care of traveling missionaries. For over two years they sought the Lord's direction in the purchase of enough property to complete a complex that could accommodate this goal. Although they looked in several different states, the Lord led them to West Baden, Indiana. An elderly lady had sixty-six acres of property she had been holding onto for possible investment. When my parents told her of the proposed purpose for the land, she said she would sell it for the purchase price some twenty years earlier. She explained that her desire was for the property to serve her Lord. They bought the entire sixty-six acres for $4,000. Next, the same lady and her husband donated the first three mobile homes and paid the costs to have them set.
Pete shared the conviction that David had in 2 Chronicles 21:24, for he would offer nothing to the Lord that did not cost him something. Dad sold his business and home in Chicago and invested every dime in the beginning development of Shepherd's Bethel. Both he and mom were in their sixties when they moved from a ten-room ranch home with three acres in the suburbs of Chicago, to a three-bedroom trailer in Southern Indiana.
With little or no church support, the work was hard to get motivated. Mission housing was a fairly new development back in the early 70s, especially when the word "free" was added to it. God blessed it in spite of all the seeming impossibilities, and for the next ten years the mission grew from three homes to ten. Along with the housing part of the ministry, they felt it important to supply physical and spiritual encouragement to these dear travelers. A library was developed, which now has over 3,000 books. Then a recreational hall with indoor pong-pong and table games was built. Next, a shop, a laundry room, and a storage building for major furnishings were erected. During the building of the fashion center, which was to supply the weary travelers with clothing, God called Pete home. It was in 1980, at the age of seventy-two, that Peter, while driving a large tractor mowing in front of the mission, had a massive heart attack, flipped the tractor over onto himself, and was taken home.
For the next ten years Marge carried on the work God had called them to. With some help from short-term staff and many work teams from local churches, she was able to continue to grow the mission, bringing the number of homes to twelve. Also, a modern library was added, a playground for the kids, as well as the finishing of the Lydia Fashion Center, supplying free clothing to the missionaries.
God's faithfulness must not be undermined during the development stages of this work. I could, given the time, cite hundreds of examples of God's gracious work in supplying the needs and desires of both Pete and Marge as the mission grew. How often they saw answer to prayers for every need, from spiritual encouragement to financial obligations. Many and long is the story of God's rich provision. By 1990, Mom was in her 80s and was basically operating the mission by herself....THE REST OF THE STORY
When my parents were living in Elmhurst, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, they were very involved in their local church ministries and mission outreach. Dad was a deacon and worked with Cook County Jail and the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. Mom made summer trips to Indian reservations in New Mexico and Arizona, doing VBS and youth work, and taught ladies Sunday school class.
In 1969, Pete and Marge heard a message from 2 Kings 4:8-10 concerning the Shunammite woman and her calling to care for Elisha. The Holy Spirit began dealing with them about building a modern-day ministry for the care of traveling missionaries. For over two years they sought the Lord's direction in the purchase of enough property to complete a complex that could accommodate this goal. Although they looked in several different states, the Lord led them to West Baden, Indiana. An elderly lady had sixty-six acres of property she had been holding onto for possible investment. When my parents told her of the proposed purpose for the land, she said she would sell it for the purchase price some twenty years earlier. She explained that her desire was for the property to serve her Lord. They bought the entire sixty-six acres for $4,000. Next, the same lady and her husband donated the first three mobile homes and paid the costs to have them set.
Pete shared the conviction that David had in 2 Chronicles 21:24, for he would offer nothing to the Lord that did not cost him something. Dad sold his business and home in Chicago and invested every dime in the beginning development of Shepherd's Bethel. Both he and mom were in their sixties when they moved from a ten-room ranch home with three acres in the suburbs of Chicago, to a three-bedroom trailer in Southern Indiana.
With little or no church support, the work was hard to get motivated. Mission housing was a fairly new development back in the early 70s, especially when the word "free" was added to it. God blessed it in spite of all the seeming impossibilities, and for the next ten years the mission grew from three homes to ten. Along with the housing part of the ministry, they felt it important to supply physical and spiritual encouragement to these dear travelers. A library was developed, which now has over 3,000 books. Then a recreational hall with indoor pong-pong and table games was built. Next, a shop, a laundry room, and a storage building for major furnishings were erected. During the building of the fashion center, which was to supply the weary travelers with clothing, God called Pete home. It was in 1980, at the age of seventy-two, that Peter, while driving a large tractor mowing in front of the mission, had a massive heart attack, flipped the tractor over onto himself, and was taken home.
For the next ten years Marge carried on the work God had called them to. With some help from short-term staff and many work teams from local churches, she was able to continue to grow the mission, bringing the number of homes to twelve. Also, a modern library was added, a playground for the kids, as well as the finishing of the Lydia Fashion Center, supplying free clothing to the missionaries.
God's faithfulness must not be undermined during the development stages of this work. I could, given the time, cite hundreds of examples of God's gracious work in supplying the needs and desires of both Pete and Marge as the mission grew. How often they saw answer to prayers for every need, from spiritual encouragement to financial obligations. Many and long is the story of God's rich provision. By 1990, Mom was in her 80s and was basically operating the mission by herself....THE REST OF THE STORY
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Shepherd's Bethel Mission
PO Box 37 West Baden, IN 47469 |
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