How Church of the Lakes Began
October 29, 1968-Reverend Dan Kapornijai of Nineveh Christian Church, along with fifteen others, met after their worship service to discuss the possibility of forming a church in the Lakes community.
July 26, 1969-After several meetings and much prayer, a small group of twenty-seven people met at the Shelter House (what we know today as the Club House) to discuss moving forward with establishing an ecumenical church and naming it Church of the Lakes. At the same meeting Sweetwater Lakes, Inc. offered to donate a two-acre plot of land for the church to be built on.
August 11, 1969-Officers/Elders were elected.
August 31, 1969-The church constitution and bylaws were drafted.
September 7, 1969-September 27, 1969-The donated lot was surveyed and a sign with the church name was posted on the lot and a mini-display of what the church planned to build was created and presented at the Ox Roast to try and generate interest in the plans.
October 6, 1969-A chartering service was held to establish a congregation. There were twelve full-time members and seventeen associate members who approved the church constitution and bylaws at this time.
November 10, 1969-December 19, 1969-Reverend Kapornijai moved away from the area and retired Methodist Minister Dr. Thomas Stovall became the new part-time pastor of the church. During this time, there were talks to end the church charter due to lack of community interest, but Reverend Stovall convinced the members to delay their decision until Easter. (There were eighteen full-time members and twenty-eight associate members at this time.)
March 29, 1970- “The date set for closing the Charter on Membership and all who were present will never forget the spirit of this Easter Service. Following an inspiring service led by the pastor, the congregation joined in a Circle of Dedication around the entire room. It was the beginning of a new day of larger faith and vision for the Church of the Lakes.”
Under Reverend Stovall’s leadership, and with the prayers and dedication of the congregation, the original church structure was built and was dedicated on June 18, 1972. (Later additions were completed in 1976, 1983 and 2007.)
Membership grew exponentially in the years that followed.
August 15, 1975-There were 258 members reported.
May 16, 1976-There were 300 members reported and under Reverend Dick Crowley, who was the church’s first full time pastor, the congregation grew to over 400 members and associate members!
State-wide Recognition
It was reported that while Reverend Crowley was leading Church of the Lakes that the church received state-wide recognition for “an ecumenical religion with more than fifteen different denominations comprising the membership.”
Pastoral Leadership through the years
1968-1969: Reverend Dan Kapornijai
1969-1977: Reverend Thomas Stovall, M.D.
1977-1979: Reverend Everett Hayes
1979-1979: Reverend Carl Hatfield (Interim)
1979-1999: Reverend Richard “Dick” Crowley
1999-2001: Reverend Jim Land
2001-2011: Pastor Bruce Bendinger
2011-2014: Interim pastors served
2014-Current: Pastor Jon Lucas
We are so grateful to God for this church, He planted the seeds of possibility, a new church in the Lakes community, in hearts and minds of just a handful of people, so many years ago and He grew it into what we are today.
We also want to take a moment to recognize those brothers and sisters in Christ who came before us. Not only did they possess the courage and dedication to carry out the plan that God had lay before them, but through faith and prayer they formed a congregation of Christ followers who helped form the community that we live in and enjoy to this day.
To those of you who might be new to the Lakes community, we welcome you and invite you to ‘Join us on the Journey,’ which is following Christ, our Lord and Savior to wherever He leads!