I was blessed to work as Christian Education director at Fairborn, Ohio
Church of God on Dayton Yellow Springs Road with pastor Ancil and Donna Carter. What a pastoral team!! Pastor Carter was from Harlem County, Kentucky, uneducated and old fashion. He was the best pastor I have ever known. My wife and I enjoyed that year. We left there and went to Turkey to work with servicemen.
I had followed Jerry Millwood who had served as Christian education director and successfully so.
Back then 72/73 Church growth was Sunday School growth and they already had a fleet of five buses for SS ministry. They had men who were really into the work.
The Sunday School would average 2-3 hundred and would peak to 4 or 5 hundred. Right out of college I applied my minor study of Christian education (the other was missions) to SS growth.
Whatever I did Pastor Carter insisted it be strong in personal visitation. His rule was “why get people to do something you can do yourself?” I had to match him visitation by visitation by doing just a little more than he did!!! and I did!!!
But I also applied statistical research and had a five year chart in the Christian Education office for all to observe. I determined the highs and lows for SS attendance and then developed growth to increasing the highs (everyone works toward that goal) but my goal was to work to increase the lows and bring them up thus increasing our average attendance. That really worked but was not recognizable by most people. They want a one time a year big attendance! …well twice if you count Christmas and Easter.
Pastor Carter kept statistics on his 12 month desk calendar blotter. Every visit got a mark and at the end of the month he had his report for visitation. We were “enjoyably competitive” and at first at end of the month meetings he would show me his “report” on his calendar. From the start I outdid him in visitation. I was too driven to succeed. Working with Pastor Carter in this was absolutely delightful and we had good times!
We had 50 SS teachers! I improved an already good SS record system and developed a teacher visitation program encouraging
personal, phone and mailings as visits. I required them to report monthly to me. The Bus ministry had good records and I combined those with the SS teacher’s records. The bus ministry had to also post monthly to me. This monthly reporting was not an easy task to accomplish but it did work.
Anyway when we would meet at the end of the month and pastor would smile his big smile and display his blotter sheet I would produce a manila folder with 2-5000 visitations by church workers.
Our monthly averages increased greatly and on Easter Sunday 1973 we reached our goal of over 800 in Sunday School. Our sanctuary was too small for everyone so we had to compartmentalize our worship services. The Church that year added a half court gym/family center and two story Sunday School building.
I knew Ancil Carter. He and his wife are still living, although up in age. Carter was a great pastor. I preached for him several times and always enjoyed being with him in service.
always good services and they always had excellent choir singing thanks to Sister Carter.
I preached for him at the old Fairborn, OH CoG. I also preached for him at his new facilities on I-670. He was a very wise financial planner as well.
Yes, he was! They did a lot of property management.
We visited there a few years ago and that had to been close to the time they built another church. never been there.
Carter resigned from the CoG (Cleveland, TN) due to his State Overseer and his Assistant Pastor Jerry. The story is too long to post. But Carter always said he was the only man to beat the CoG. This was due to the fact that when he left the CoG, he took all the money and church property with him instead of it remaining with the CoG.
I followed Jerry and knew very little (thank goodness) of any problems.
Carter sold the old church property for $800k; sold the 100 acres on I-670 for One Million plus getting 30+ acres on I-670. He built a beautiful church and a Family Life Center – I think it was all done with cash money.
Did you ever know a DAVID Baltimore? Or a pastor named Baltimore in Harlem county?
The way I understood it was Jerry got too greedy. Carter wanted him to work for two years and then Carter would resign and turn everything over to Jerry. Jerry did not want to wait. He wanted it now. Overseer cited with Jerry. BIG MISTAKE for the CoG.
well, the OP’s attempt was to illustrate how church growth has changed today. Old fashion record keeping, visitation, teacher training contributed to church growth.
different today!
I maybe mistaken, It was not Jerry Millwood I followed but Tony Scott IDK!!!
That is what I thought.
maybe Jerry was there before Tony
My dealings with Ancil were not particularly favorable. My wife and I married in 1981 and lived in Mason, Ohio at that time. Larry Timmerman was state overseer at that time and had asked us to consider doing a church plant near the Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton but not far enough from Bro. Carter’s church for his comfort. His church at that time ran some 600+ in attendance but he was so afraid of having a new church plant in his area that he persuaded the overseer to scrap the idea. My wife and I ended up moving to Minnesota to pastor as we gave up on getting a church in Ohio to pastor.
that’s unfortunate, Robert. there was a lot going on I’m sure at that time.
Is there a Church of God in Fairborn now?
That is usually what an Overseer did Robert Borders. They did it so they could say they started churches. But it is never the best way to start and build a church. Carter probably did you a favor. It was the SO that was your problem. I would also tend to think that the SO offered no money to help you get started.
Sounds exciting.
That’s wonderful.