THE HISTORY OF A BALDWIN CITY CHURCH: GOSPEL CHAPEL

Student researchers were Lucy Rumsey, Megan Hart, Melissa McKean, and Libby Hillman (2004)

 

Photographs

Introduction 

  1. What are the churches of Baldwin City?

  2. Has work on this church's history already been done?  Is there a written history of the church?  If yes to either question, find out more so you don't duplicate someone else's efforts.

  3. What People In This Church Know About Its History?
    The elders and most members know the history behind Gospel Chapel.  The three elders are: Steve Hemphill, Ken Keane, and Dr. Raymond Jones.  All elders are male because women do not have a leadership role in the church.  The elders are all willing to be interviewed.  There are no known people who are not members who know the history of the church.

 

  1. What Written Documents Or Artifacts Are Available?

Dr. Jones gave us a pamphlet about Gospel Chapel and their doctrinal beliefs. According to Candice Jones (granddaughter of Dr. Jones), the church has no official written documents.  The Bible is their document.  However, there are numerous biblical commentaries that explain the application of biblical truths found in the New Testament about how a church should be governed and the proper conduct of church members.

 

  1. How Did The Church Get Started?

In 1966 Dr. Jones started having meetings in his living room.  Later, the fellowship moved to the chapel where they have resided since.  There were 42 members in all.  Ed Rockhold (a relative of Dr. Jones) helped found the church along with Dr. Jones.

Dr. Jones tells of his life leading up to the founding of the church.  He was raised as a semi-orphan after his parents divorced when he was six.  His grandma in El Paso, Texas, raised him.  He went to church sporadically throughout his childhood.  He then joined the Navy in 1943 when he was 17.

A year later he was invited to a chaplain’s meeting where he heard Romans 6:23. That was the night he received Christ.  He then joined Navigators, is a college Bible study group.  He wanted to become a medical missionary, so he studied medicine and took theology training.  He graduated from medical school and in 1963 started a practice. In 1981 his son David joined his practice in 1990 the practice separated from Lawrence Memorial Hospital.  When he came to Baldwin City he learned about the Brethren Movement, the source of church’s doctrine.  The denomination is the Plymouth Brethren, which is not as popular in the U.S. because it has a British background.

  1. Who were the founders?

Dr. and Mrs. Jones and several of their friends including Ed Rockhold founded the Baldwin City Gospel Chapel.  There is a sister chapel in Lawrence, several others in cities in the United States, and several more in foreign countries.

 

  1. Why did they decide to start a church?

  2. Has the church existed in other buildings than the present one? What were they?
    Yes. The fellowship was founded and meetings were held in the Jones’ living room.  Later that the fellowship moved to its current residence.  The building has undergone several renovations and expansions over the years.  The original meeting hall was converted into Sunday school class rooms, a fellowship hall, and kitchen.  A new sanctuary was built in the early 90s.

 

  1. How have major historical events affected the church? Examples: "Bleeding Kansas," the Civil War-World War I-World War II-Korean conflict-Vietnam War, economic crises (like the Great Depression), changes in agriculture, the civil rights movement.

  2. What people have been influential in the life of the church over time? (other than the founders). These people might include a particularly beloved pastor (or a particularly unpopular one) or a lay leader.
    We interviewed Mabel Rockhold, who lives at the assisted living center in Baldwin City.  She is a member of Gospel Chapel.  She names Dr. Jones and the other elders of the church as influential.  Candice Jones feels that every member who has taken an active role in the church has contributed to what the church is today.

 

  1. What controversies has the church experienced?
    There have been some people who have left meetings because of disagreements with the practices of the elders, not with doctrine.  Those interviewed preferred not to speak about controversy in their church.  One controversy concerned a young man who was involved in questionable activities.  The elders asked him to leave the church because he was behaving inappropriately and not showing repentance.  That request divided the church because some people did not agree with the decision of the elders. Some felt the young man needed the church more than ever.  Most members of that opinion stayed in the church and worked through the disagreement.  However, some felt they needed to leave because they could not be under leadership with which they could not agree.

 

  1. What gives the church its particular identity or flavor? What makes it different from other Baldwin City churches or from other churches in its denomination?
    Several things give this church its particular identity. 

            1.  Women do not take part in public preaching ministry and are silent.  They teach Sunday school during the Sunday evening meetings and wear a head covering during the meetings.  The reason behind a woman’s role in the church is taken from I Corinthians 11:3-15 (click to see text).

2.  The members speak of meetings rather than services and elders instead of pastors.  One of the hymnbooks contains no music, only words, used in the Remembrance Meeting.  During the Remembrance Meeting the pews are arranged in a semi-circle around a table with the communion sacraments.  The entire meeting is dedicated to remembering the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is a time for silent reflection, songs of worship, and passages from the Bible that center on the theme of Jesus.  The Remembrance Meeting is followed by the Ministry Meeting, when the pulpit is open to any man who feels led by the Holy Spirit to preach to the congregation. Fellowship dinners occur on the second Sunday of every month following the morning services.  The church has a conference every year the weekend after Easter, also featuring an open pulpit and messages from traveling preachers from similar churches.  There have been up to nine speakers at a conference.

3.  Candice Jones says that what makes her church unique involves the roles of men and women:  “Because women do not take a vocal role in services, it makes the men become more responsible within the church and makes them strive to be part of it.”  She also mentioned the responsibility placed on each believer:  “Everyone is responsible for their own faith; one should never believe something just because someone preaching said it. My church teaches people to dig into the scriptures and find the truth for themselves.”

 

  1. What Is The Mission / Purpose Of The Church?

Dr. Jones says that the Church’s mission field is Baldwin City, where members offer a message of the deity of Christ, the Virgin birth, the verbal inspiration of the scriptures, and salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mabel Rockhold said their mission is to do what the Lord says.

Candice said the purpose is given in last two verses of the Gospel of Matthew:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

As she put it, “We are called to share the love of God and the gift of salvation through His son, we are to be missionaries to our friends, families, neighbors and even our enemies.”

 

  1. How Has The Church Ministered To The Baldwin City Community?
     
  2. What contact or involvement has this church had with other churches in Baldwin City?

  3. Is the church connected to a judicatory body? (annual conference, archdiocese, etc.) If so, what kind of relations has the church had with its judicatory body?

  4. What is the church's polity (how does it govern itself, how do decisions get made)? Are decisions up to the congregation only? Are others involved?

  5. What was the toughest thing the church ever went through?

  6. What Are Some Of The Church's Successes?
     

Student Researchers’ Comments.

 

Works Cited (2004)

 

Jones, Candace. Personal interview. 3 Mar. 2004.

 

Jones, Dr. Ray. Personal interview. 3 Mar. 2004.

 

Jones, Edna. Personal interview. 3 Mar. 2004.

 

Rockhold, Mabel. Personal interview. 5 Apr. 2004.