The original Logansville Community Church, as provided by the congregation. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)
Founded in 1824 as Logansville Christian Church, the Redemption Bible Church will celebrate its 200th anniversary of God’s faithfulness during special activities planned for this weekend at 169 N. County Road 32, Bellefontaine.
Sunday, Oct. 27, includes planned special services starting at 9:30 a.m., followed by the Annual Soup Cook luncheon around noon and outdoor activities during the afternoon.
“He founded and has sustained this church through the Civil War, Great Depression, two World Wars, along with many other trials and tribulations. And He has been faithful toward us in the good times as well,” Pastor Dana Kidder said of God’s provision for the congregation.
“And so we will gather for a special day of thanksgiving and a celebration of not only His faithfulness, but also the faithfulness of generations before us as well. We will share testimonies, sing, pray, read the scripture, hear the preached Word, and in the afternoon we will enjoy fellowship over Chad’s World Famous Soup at our annual Soup Cook.”
The history of the church dates from a period near the close of the War of 1812. Early in the summer of 1815, a circuit riding preacher of the New Light or Christian Faith from Cane Ridge, Ky., came into the settlement and announced a meeting at a farmhouse. At the appointed time, the entire settlement turned out and so much interest was manifested that another meeting was announced.
This was followed in intervals of a few weeks duration with others preaching until 1824. Not long afterward, a log meeting house was built in Logansville.
The church building was first built and dedicated in 1876 and dedicated by Rev. Mickols Eumerbell. In 1878, Rev. Mr. Davis, Rev. Mr. Oakley and Rev. Mr. Connor hosted revival services.
Thomas Heston was the first Pastor of the new church from 1881 through 1882 along with Mr. Stahler, Sunday School Superintendent and Charles McMullen as chorister. The salary of the first pastor was $150 per year and the salary of the first sexton was $14 per year.
The first organ was purchased in 1886 and Miss Minta Long was the first organist with William Naugle as chorister. The Bible stand was made by Adam Krouse while the first Bible was given by Dr. Richardson’s mother. The second Bible was given by John Wood and another Bible was given later in 1949 by the John R. Long Family.
In 1898, the church was remodeled and the front vestibule and back alcove were added. During 1921, the church was remodeled again and rededicated.
The Northwestern Conference of Christian Churches took place at the Logansville Church four times: 1888, 1897, 1922 and 1934.
The Rev. J. Yantis (1907) was known to receive the most members into the church during one pastorate —131 new members during his years as pastor.
The 125th anniversary was celebrated in November 1949 with a full day of entertainment, gospel singing and a carry-in dinner.
By 1973, the belfry was deteriorating. The steeple was dismantled and the new belfry was constructed in 1974. Also, the outside of the church and basement were painted, new basement light fixtures were put in and the vestibule was refinished. This was completed in time for the 150th anniversary in 1974.
The Redemption Bible Church is now located at 169 N. County Road 32, Bellefontaine. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)
By the fall of 1984, the membership of Logansville Church consisted of less than 20 people. The faithful few faced the reality of not being able to pay a pastor’s salary and living expenses along with the possibility of closing the church’s doors.
While attending the local Christian Women’s Club, Anita Rohrer and Luella Baughman heard about Village Missions. They mentioned the possibility of inquiring about leadership to the church. By January 1985, Village Missions sent Rev. Larry Shetenhelm.
“We didn’t know what our new pastor would be like, but the Lord answered our prayers,” Anita Rohrer said.
In 1986, the Logansville church members voted to change the name of the church to Logansville Community Church.
By 1989, the old church was too small as the congregation was increasing. Plans were made in January 1990 to construct a larger church. The church was completed and dedicated Jan. 21, 1991. The parsonage across the road was sold and a new parsonage was built on County Road 24 in 1992.
Aug. 8, 1999, members, friends and neighbors were together to celebrate the 175th anniversary as was stated in the newspaper by Gerald Baker, “The Lord has faithfully blessed us with a rich historical past and now He is preparing us for the future”.
The church again dwindled in size during 2000, but was stable in its worship services and outreach ministries. This was followed by 10 years of little growth and several pastors.
Then in January 2012, Current Pastor Dana Kidder came from New Hampshire to fill the pulpit, along with his wife Kristine, and sons Wesley and Zach. Once again, the church has a minister who is enthusiastic about the Lord and the members of the congregation, members said.
He labored alongside elder Chad Lump, who had been serving Logansville in that office prior to Kidder’s arrival. Eventually another elder was added: Lyman Gantz, who had previously been a member of Logansville for years.
Starting in 2016-2017, a considerable influx of visitors came to Logansville. With this growth came many more responsibilities and pressures upon Pastor Kidder, so more help was needed. The church added an additional elder, Steve Krumm, into service.
Then in 2020, the church took a significant step in ordaining an additional pastor to serve the church: Ben Beaghan, a Michigan native.
The church also began live-streaming the sermons at this time, something that would prove crucial very soon.
March 23, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in Governor Mike DeWine issuing an emergency stay-at-home order for two weeks initially. LCC ceased meeting for a time.
This was a complication in all manners for Logansville, but especially for brand new Pastor Ben. Dana continued preaching through the Gospel of John at that time, but to an empty sanctuary except for the “sound guy” doing the livestream.
The congregation was equipped with “home liturgies” with passages of scripture to read, hymns to sing, and prayer requests to pray for while at home, to be supplemented by the live-streamed sermon.
During the COVID crisis, Logansville didn’t shrink but actually grew in attendance, unlike many other churches across the country. Generosity among the members, both in helping one another and giving into the church treasury, never waned during the entire crisis.
It was plain after a year of this that the church needed more space. In late 2021 and early 2022, an opportunity came to tour and potentially purchase the a former Mennonite church building in Bellefontaine.
The only issue was leaving the plot of land where the church had worshiped since its institution. The elders weighed this decision heavily and decided that the move to Bellefontaine would be better than trying to creatively add on to the current building.
Logansville closed on the former Jubilee Mennonite building in 2022 and began the journey to Bellefontaine for the first time in its history. After much discussion, the elders ruled that the church’s name needed to be changed if we were no longer meeting in Logansville. After taking much counsel, it was decided that Logansville Community Church would be renamed Redemption Bible Church.
A new website was created by Jocelynn Kidder and the official name paperwork was filed with the state.
The new building and new location offered some new opportunities that had not previously been possible in Logansville. The church continued regular worship services and offering midweek studies on a quarterly basis, but these all increased in attendance.
In the winter of 2023, Redemption Bible Church added an additional elder: Lee Jones.
As of mid-year 2024, the average attendance is usually somewhere between 180-200 a week, a number that the church would never have dreamed of in the past, members noted.
“It is a testimony of God’s grace toward the church that takes His word seriously, and orders her worship and ministry according to it,” according to the church’s most updated history compiled for the 200th anniversary.
The pulpit and elders’ chairs (which came from the first Logansville building), and the cross (from the second building), were all brought from Logansville and installed in the new building in Bellefontaine.
Longstanding member Dale King worked tirelessly to repair and refinish the old church bell (stamped with the year 1880) and it was installed at Redemption Bible Church in the summer of 2024. It rings every Lord’s Day before Sunday School and worship.
The church also awaits the installation of a stained glass window made from a window from the first Logansville building, which is expected in 2025.
