The Trinity Baptist Church years. 1970-74
In the summer of 1970 our family moved from Deshler, Ohio to Findlay, Ohio.
My father sold vacuum cleaners for Kirby. My mother continued to be deeply involved in right-wing politics. She worked as a volunteer for George Wallace. Wallace ran as a Democratic Party candidate for President in 1972. Our home was broken into, purportedly by someone looking for documents that were damaging to Wallace. Our own version of Watergate.
In the spring of 1972 my parents were divorced. My mother divorced my father. A short while later my mother married her first cousin, a recent parolee from prison, and my father married a 19 yr old girl with a newborn child. My sister and I lived with my father and my brother moved in with my mother.
Our family attended Church three times a week up until the time my parents divorced. When we first moved to Findlay we attended Calvary Baptist Church, a large Church associated with GARBC. (General Association of Regular Baptist Churches) We left this Church a short time later and began attending Trinity Baptist Church. My father said Calvary was the rich Baptist Church and Trinity was the poor Baptist Church. We were definitely poor, so Trinity became our Church home.
Trinity Baptist Church was a new Church that had been started by Gene Milioni in 1952. Milioni, was a graduate of the first class of Baptist Bible College, Springfield, MO. The Church was an Independent Baptist Church affiliated with the Baptist Bible Fellowship. Milioni would pastor the Church for 50 years, retiring in 2003.
Trinity was a growing Church, typical of Baptist Churches in the 1970’s that were believers in hyper-evangelism and the bus ministry. There were several days, special days, where the attendance exceed 1000.
After we had been at Trinity for awhile the Church added Ron Johnson as assistant pastor and Bruce Turner as youth pastor. Turner would ultimately play an influential part in my life and my call to the ministry.
We attended Church every time the doors were open. I mean EVERY time. Our family attended upwards to 200+ services a year. (Sunday School, Sunday Morning, Sunday Night, Wednesday, Youth Meeting, Youth Rally, Revivals, Bible Conference, Missions Conference)
My father was a deacon in the Church for a time. He quit being a deacon because he couldn’t quit smoking. (or so he said. I wonder…) My father went into business with a man in the Church. They started a hobby store called G and B Trains. The business folded a few years later when my father and his partner got into a dispute over money.
After my parents divorced our family quit attending Church. I continued to attend Church just as I always had.
In the fall of 1972 I made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. At a revival meeting I went forward during the invitation and prayed the sinner’s prayer. I was baptized by immersion the following Sunday. I was 15.
Several weeks later I let the Church know I was being called to preach. Since the age of 5 my desire had been to be a preacher. Now I was on my way.
In the early months of 1973 my father announced we were moving to Tucson, Arizona. We packed up quickly, had an auction, and moved. Later I found out that creditors were after my father. Another few days and we wouldn’t have had a car to move in. They tracked my father down in Arizona and repossessed the car.
I finished high school at Rincon High School in Tucson. In the summer of 1973, homesick for Ohio, I hopped a Greyhound bus back to Ohio. I lived for a few months with my Mom in Bryan, Ohio before moving down to Findlay.
I moved in with a young family from Trinity Baptist Church. Bob and Bonnie Bolander, along with their two little girls, took me in. They lived in rural Mt Blanchard. I started my 11th grade school year at Riverdale High School. After a few months thing were not working out. I still wonder to this day what the reasons were. So I moved again back to Findlay,
Bruce Turner, the youth pastor at Trinity, found me a place to live with an older woman in the church, Gladys Canterbury. So that Gladys could get payment for keeping me and I could receive medical care, I was declared a ward of the court. Officially, I was a ward of the court until age 18.
I reenrolled in Findlay High School. I worked at part-time job at Bill Knapp’s restaurant. I rode my bike to school each day, got out of school at 11:30 A.M., went to work, and then rode my bike several miles home each night.
A week before the end of my 11th grade year of school I left Findlay and moved back home with my Mom. When I went to enroll at Bryan High School for my 12th grade year I was informed that Findlay High School denied me credit for the entire 11th grade year. I had missed taking my finals and I would have to retake 11th grade all over again. I quickly became the angry redhead and informed the world that I was dropping out of school . (in 2004 I took the GED exam. I am now a High School graduate)
In upcoming posts I plan to trace back over my years at Trinity Baptist Church and detail the teachings and practices that played such a prominent part in my training as a Christian.
Stay Tuned.
Bruce,
Thanks for telling your story. I think it’s fascinating to look back and see the influences in our lives. Especially the people who influenced us as children and teenagers. Makes a huge impact on our thinking.
Yep. I am still talking about them in counseling..
Bruce
Keep ‘em comin, bro. GLUED to the edge of my seat!
(Figuratively, not literally, of course. Never did that! My Wife glued two of her fingers together recently by accident, though! And, my call to fame is falling out of my office chair back before Christmas and nearly chipping my elbow!)
Wow. I worked at Bill Knapp’s for a number of years. Some fond memories there.
“God’s Waiting Room.” If you went there—you would know.
I was a busboy. Man I made good money . Far better than a 16-18 yr old could make anywhere else.
I fondly remember the busy-ness of days like Mother’s Day and Easter. Wall to walll busy but lots of money to me made.
And the food. The burger basket. The chocolate cakes.
Oh and huffing empty cream-whip cans. It was the 70′’s
Oh and Sue the dishwasher. She never spoke but she was often found “eating” the leftovers. (:
I have nothing but good memories of Bill Knapps. Of course after 37 years the memories tend to fade.
Bruce
There was so much going in your life at the time, that when I finished I had to go back and review your dates. So all that happened in a period of three years, huh?
Yes, a very, very busy and traumatic time in life. I have left out a lot of the drama. Still painful at times.
As I look back now, I see…public profession of faith….parent’s divorce. The divorce provided the psychological component for “trusting Jesus.” Of course, at the time, it was the Holy Spirit that got the credit.
Bruce
Totally tuned in. Looks like I have some catching up to do of the past few episodes.