New church focuses on under-served

COSHOCTON – Jeffery and Julia Schmidt will open a 116-year-old church under a new name Sunday with plans to serve a congregation that may feel uncomfortable with traditional Christian churches.

The Well Christian Ministries will host its first service at 11 a.m. Sunday at 802 Walnut St., a structure that previously served as an independent Pentecostal church, and before that, as a Baptist Church.

The Schmidts have stayed busy lately, refurbishing the church’s interior with help. They say they expect the sanctuary to be ready by Sunday, but admit the basement kitchen and fellowship hall will not be ready for at least another month. It “needs some help, some paint and more paint and more paint,” Schmidt said.

Jeffery Schmidt has been ordained, but said he prefers to be called Jeff or pastor, rather than “The Reverend.” He describes his new church as “independent, non-denominational and Evangelical,” aimed to serve people who don’t feel comfortable in a traditional church environment.

“We tend to reach people who find church weird and off-putting and not relevant to them,” he said.

The church’s cornerstone indicates it was built in 1899. Although the Schmidts say their approach to church service is fairly modern, they say they don’t want the surroundings to be flashy, and they are excited about continuing the history and traditions represented by the building.

“It’s amazing,” Jeffery Schmidt said. “It’s humbling to be able to jump on top of that and get into the flow of what’s been going on for 2,000 years.”

The Well Christian Ministries has a congregation of between 40 and 50 people, Julia Schmidt said. The church does not pass a donation basket, although the entryway will have a contribution box. There is no pipe organ and no choir.

Services will present contemporary Christian music played by a rotating group of church members, including the Schmidts and three of their four children. Pastor Schmidt plays guitar, bass, keyboards and drums. His wife sings.

Their 15-year-old daughter plays bass; their 14-year-old son plays drums; their 9-year-old son plays guitar. The children will play in the Wednesday youth service, in which the congregation’s youth will lead the devotion.

Schmidt and his wife both grew up in churches. His father, grandfather and grandmother were pastors, as was her grandfather.

The Schmidt family now lives in the house attached to the church’s east side. Mr. Schmidt owns his own IT company, Bright Idea Technology Solutions. Mrs. Schmidt is a freelance wedding photographer and teaches drama and show choir through the Coshocton County Homeschoolers Christian Co-op. She homeschools their children and plans to start a children’s theater in the fall.

About two years ago, the Schmidts were living in Alpine Heights, across from Conesville, when they began noticing people were hurting and struggling financially, emotionally and in their relationships. In response, they began hosting Bible studies, which grew into talks around a campfire, and, eventually, a weekly Dinner With Friends. Those dinners, too, evolved to involve more people at different locations.

“We just kind of started rotating houses,” Julia Schmidt said.

With contributions from the people joining in, the dinners feature fresh fruit, entrees and side dishes that many of the participants could not afford on their own. Even though many of those people are struggling financially, they want to help out, too, the Schmidts said.

“It’s amazing the amount of ministry that can happen around a dinner table,” the pastor said.

The dinners and the ministry have attracted people who have suffered physical abuse, or who are addicted to drugs and alcohol.

“That was the majority of the people that we were ministering to, people who weren’t being accepted into traditional churches or at least felt like they didn’t fit in,” Julia Schmidt said.

Jeffery Schmidt initially balked at starting a new church, wondering if Coshocton really needed another church, or if creating a new one would water down local resources. He acknowledges that many local pastors and their churches are doing great work, but said he believes that he can serve people who think they do not fit into a traditional church.

“I think that’s what every church wants,” he said, “to reach people who are unchurched.”

jwilliams6@coshoctontribune.com

740-295-3417

Twitter: @Joeadvocate