New church set to offer first service
Jeff and Julia Schmidt are starting The Well Christian Ministries at 802 Walnut St. The church will hold its first service at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 31. Beacon photo by Josie Sellers
COSHOCTON – When Julia and Jeff Schmidt started realizing that there were people around them who were hurting they knew they had to help.
At first they did that by opening their home to them for weekly gatherings, but now they feel God has led them to start a church.
The Well Christian Ministries will hold its first service at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 31, at 802 Walnut St. where people will enjoy modern worship music and a loving and accepting Christian environment in a 116 year old church building.
“We have pretty standard Christian beliefs,” Jeff said. “There may be things that you and I have different perspectives on, but we can debate about them, disagree and still be ok with each other. We are really focused on helping hurting people and what we do when we leave church.”
One way they hope to do that is by expanding their dinner with friends program, which averages 30-35 people.
“This led up to us starting the church,” Jeff said. “We saw that there were people struggling to put food on the table and we were wasting so much money on food that we wanted to start helping people with one meal a week that they didn’t have to worry about.”
One of the best parts of this program is that it has become a group effort and helps people build relationships with each other.
“We provide the main dish and everyone else pitches in,” Jeff said.
The meals also have started rotating amongst the participants’ homes.
“I still bring the main dish and usually cook with them,” Julia said. “I’ve learned so much and have been able to teach them things.”
They have plans to turn their fellowship hall into a big dining room and offer the gatherings more than one night a week.
“We are collecting dining room tables and chairs for it because we believe so much happens around the table,” Julia said. “It’s where families make plans, share news and pray.”
This summer they also would like to grill out at Himebaugh Park and share food with anyone who stops by and eventually start a community garden.
“We see great things happening,” Julia said.
People are encouraged to come to church as they are, whether that be in jeans or dress clothes.
“I’ll be me, you be you and we’ll serve God together,” Jeff said. “We also won’t be passing an offering plate. If people want to make a donation that will be awesome. There will be donation boxes, but your money isn’t why we want you here. We want to reach those who don’t have a church or are struggling so if we have to do a few things differently to do that we will.”
The Well Christian Ministries also will have a nursery available during the Sunday service and kids activities on Wednesdays.
For more information on the church, visit thewellcoshocton.org, e-mail info@thewellcoshocton.org, or call Julia at 740-502-2619.
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: Faith
