2822 W. Stolley Park Road * Grand Island, Nebraska 68801

History of the Church In Grand Island

 1953 through 1993

      On July 12, 1953, fourteen people came together for the first time in Grand Island, Nebraska to establish a congregation.  They leased  a small store front at 511 N. Clark Street for $40 per month.  While meeting in this store location, they dreamed of building their own building.  Their dreams were put into action and by August of 1955, they were meeting in their new building at 2103 W. College Street.  They sat on metal chairs until they found a church in Dallas, selling their pews.  The building was  built mostly by the men of the congregation and surrounding congregations.  The building had five classrooms and seating for about 150, at its maximum.  This building was paid for by selling $15,000 worth of Broadway Bonds.  The pay back of these bonds were $30.00 per week.  Glen Bettenhausen was their first evangelist and he was supported by a congregation in Bowie, Texas.

      Church growth was slow in the Mid-west and Grand Island was no different.  It was hard for congregations to get men to come to the Mid-west and stay for any length of time.  Lem Ford and Leslie Leonard were two evangelists who had good tenures, together having 14 years of ministry in the Grand Island congregation.  In 1981, a young evangelist from Texas, named Ted Cherry, came to Grand Island.  His evangelistic efforts brought the congregation to attendance well exceeding 100.  They had to purchase a house east of their building, to hold classrooms and it was at this time, they started dreaming of moving to a new location.  Ted Cherry stayed in Grand Island until 1983 and then moved back to Texas.  In May of 1983, David Bendickson and his family moved to Grand Island to work full time .  In 1985, Grand Island moved from being a “mission church” to being fully self supporting.

     The dream of having new facilities was still in the hearts of many, but the congregation did not want to take on any huge building debts.  All of their property was paid for by the mid 80’s, and as time went on, the budget grew to a point where the congregation could think of building or buying an existing building.  In 1992, the Evangelical Free Church built a new structure and the men of the congregation negotiated terms with them on their old building.  This building is located at 2822 W. Stolley Park Road and it seats 325 in the auditorium, has 18 classrooms, 3 offices and a large fellowship hall.  On March 7, 1993 the church had its first fellowship dinner where the whole congregation could meet in one location to share a meal together.  That was something the church could not do at the building on College Street.

       At this new location, the church became known as Stolley Park Church of Christ.  On April 25, 1993, the church held a celebration--celebrating 40 years of service to the community of Grand Island, as well as the acquisition of their new facility.  Letters were sent out to the surrounding congregations, past members and any others who had an interest in the work in Grand Island.  Glen Bettenhausen came back to deliver the morning message.  Lem Ford taught the morning class and Leslie Leonard read scripture and lead prayer in the worship service.  Over 300 were in attendance this Lord’s day, some coming from as far away as California.  The afternoon activities were planned for reminiscing on the past, looking at the present and future.

     The new building does not change the long range goals of  the church to uplift and tell the story of Jesus to their community and to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

      1999 is drawing to a close.  There is a gap in written records between 1993 and the present.

The following is an attempt to update, from memory,  the history of Stolley Park Church of Christ:

 Hispanic Ministry

      In 1994, two York college students approached our congregation, requesting the use of part of our building to serve as a meeting place for a small group of Hispanic believers.  Walter Mendez and Julio Ibarra had been driving from York to Lexington, NE every Sunday, to meet with and encourage some Hispanic Christians meeting there in Lexington.  The distance limited Walter and Julio in their outreach, and thus, the idea of using our facility took form.  An agreement was reached, and Walter and Julio began meeting with other believers in our building.

      Gradually, the idea of a full time ministry, financed by our support, as well as outside support, came about.  Julio and David Bendickson began visiting congregations in Nebraska and Arkansas to solicit support for the Hispanic ministry in Grand Island.  God blessed their efforts, and upon completion of his degree, Julio Ibarra became the full time minister for Iglesia de Cristo.

      After 3 years of dedicated service to the Hispanic church, Julio Ibarra decided it was time to hand his ministry over to someone with more experience.  With his recommendation and negotiating efforts, Julio convinced his long time friend, Armando Mejia, to be the new evangelist for Iglesia de Cristo.  In August of 1999, Julio went on to a secular job and in September of 1999, Armando moved to Grand Island from Texas to begin his ministry, here.

 The Summer of 1999 Brings changes

      After 16 years of service to the church,  David and Marty Bendickson left Grand Island to accept a preaching position in Davenport, Iowa.   His ministry greatly impacted Grand Island, and in particular, it impacted the youth of our state and the expansion of Nebraska Youth Camp.

Susan Atwell was hired as the first secretary for the church in Grand Island, during the interim period between the position vacated by David Bendickson and the hiring of a new minister.  Josh Kidd was hired as a part time Youth Minister, to work with our young people.

 Leadership

      The church in Grand Island had elders for a brief period in the 1970’s.  John Thorton and Bob Busbee accepted the role of elders.  Shortly after being appointed, John was transferred and the eldership was dissolved.  With the absence of an eldership, committees were eventually formed to handle the business of the church.  Those committees are the Ministry Committee, the Building and Grounds Committee and the Benevolence Committee.  There is a group of men called Trustees, who oversee the financial aspects of the church.  The church desires to have elders and deacons and classes have been taught regarding this subject.

 Youth

     Our youth have been and are a vital part of our body.  Recently, 80 to 90% of our college age kids have attended Christian colleges or universities.  Our youth have been very active in the state youth rally’s and have been instrumental in rally’s and lock-in’s sponsored by our congregation.  Nebraska Youth Camp, located in Kearney, NE, has been a focal point for our youth, particularly during summertime activities.  Our adult members have supported the youth in a variety of ways.  Home devo’s, support of the camp in many ways and involvement with the youth in service projects are just a few ways our adult members have encouraged our youth to have active relationships with God and each other.

 y2k

      After about 6 months of organizing, planning and searching, a 13 member search committee went through about 11 applications for the vacant minister position.  The field of applicants was narrowed to 3 top candidates, who were interviewed, taught class and preached for our congregation and met with the congregation.  God lead this congregation to select Gary Bennett from Sidney, Montana.  Gary and his family will begin working with this body of believers in January, 2000.  This time of changes has served to stretch our faith and encourage the use of talents God has blessed us with.  God continues to lead us into the 21st century, as we glorify Him and reach out to those who do not know the Good News.

Number of visits since our last reset     

Stolley Park church of Christ (c) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008