July 30, 2001
DeSoto church overcomes decline
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___DESOTO--It's hard to put a finger on what has led Windsor Park Baptist Church in DeSoto out of its decline, but it's obvious to everyone around that things are different today.
___And that's good news for the church that experienced its strongest years in the early 1990s, with about 350 regular worshippers.
___By the end of the '90s, the atmosphere at Windsor Park had become anything but festive, however. Only about 80 people remained, and the church was without a pastor for the second time in the span of only a few years.
___Even those who remained were not happy with the way things were going, reported Lynn Eckeberger, who served the church as intentional interim pastor. But that dissatisfaction is one of the things that enabled the church to make a turnaround, he believes.
___"One of the things they realized was they needed to do something," said Eckeberger, who also serves as coordinator of the Baptist General Convention of Texas church health and growth section. "Just the realization of that is an empowering thing. There was a real consensus that what they had been experiencing in church was not what they wanted it to be."
___Many struggling churches won't admit to themselves that a problem exists, he said. "If there is no displeasure with the current set of circumstances, there is no reason for changes to be made."
___Ken Hughes, minister of education at the church for the last four years and a member for eight years, said Eckeberger helped the church see things more clearly.
___The interim pastor "had a lot to do with it," Hughes explained. "The intentional interim program was really good for us. It helped the congregation see that a lot of changes needed to be made."
___While Eckeberger and the intentional interim program were key components, all agree the real resurgence came with the devotion to prayer, ministry and spiritual growth that Chris Seidlitz brought with him from San Angelo when he was called as pastor less than two years ago.
___"Our pastor is just a praying man and totally relies on the Holy Spirit in everything," Hughes testified. "He keeps everybody's focus on Jesus--not on the man."
___Seidlitz agrees prayer has made the difference, but it is the prayers of his congregation, not himself, that he cites. "This is the prayingest bunch of people I've ever been around."
___To help facilitate the prayer life of the church, a prayer room was built and furnished and is well-utilized.
___During the invitation time in Sunday morning worship, people are invited to come and place written prayer requests in baskets at the altar. Those requests are prayed over immediately after the service and then placed in the prayer room.
___Seidlitz sets the example for his church as he prays for his congregation regularly by name.
___He continually brags on his congregation that now regularly counts 250 in worship services.
___"The ones who stayed are spiritually mature Christians, just fine Christian people," Seidlitz said. "Most of the new ones are young Christians, and they are just eating up spiritual things. It's an exciting thing to see.
___"The deacons are just wonderful men of God. They're servants; they're magnificent."
___Deacon Chairman Roger Vernon likewise sees a spiritual growth among the people.
___"I think it helped to have new leadership, but there also have been a lot of people who matured a lot. We've become more of a church and less of a meeting place," he said.
___The church also ministers to the community, especially the junior high school students who attend school on property adjacent to the church.
___"People have become more involved in missions and ministry, and that's helped bring some people together and develop closer relationships," Vernon pointed out.
___Evangelist Ken Freeman came in December to lead a youth rally, and extra chairs had to be brought in. An afternoon Bible study and tutoring meeting then began on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays after school. By year's end, almost a dozen were in attendance some days--none of them church members when the program began.
___"We're just trying to show them the love of Jesus," Seidlitz said.
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