OUR HISTORY
Humble Beginnings.
In the early 1960s, a couple came with a burden to start a church in Hutchinson, Kansas. Bro. & Sis. Lonnie Barker started the church in South Hutchinson, Kansas, in an old theatre. After having church there for a short amount of time, Bro. Barker began looking for a building to purchase in Hutchinson. He found a beautiful, little white church on the corner of 4th and Star St. With the help of two young couples, he purchased it along with the two-story parsonage house next door. Bro. & Sis. Barker stayed for a time and later felt led to go to another city.
When they left, another couple came to Hutchinson and began to pastor the little white church at 4th and Star St. Bro. & Sis. Bohde pastored the church for a couple of years and later, also felt called to another city. After they left, a young lady in the church wanted a pastor. She called Rev. Gene Sorrells, pastor of the church in Salina, Kansas, at that time, and asked to speak with a young man who was faithfully attending the church there. Sis. Beatrice Dean spoke with Bro. Carl Elder and asked him and Sis. Elder to come and be her pastor. At that time, Bro. Elder wasn’t interested, but God had other plans and had already set the course for the little white church on 4th and Star St.
In September of 1967, God brought Bro. & Sis. Elder and their three young children, Jeffrey, Marsha, and Paul, to Hutchinson to pastor the church. When they arrived, Sis. Beatrice Dean, her husband Ed, and their baby, Steve, were the only people attending services. Bro. & Sis. Elder and Sis. Dean’s family began to have church, pray, fast, knock on doors, witness, and teach Bible Studies, and God began to bring precious souls into that little white church on the corner of 4th Ave. and Star Street.
One day, Pastor Elder noticed that the congregation had outgrown the little white church, and they began praying for a place to build a new building. God provided the land at 1319 E. 17th Ave. through a precious saint, Bro. Dave Unruh. The people of Apostolic Faith Tabernacle worked together in unity and built a beautiful new red brick church. God continued to grow the church, and they continued to have revival.
In April of 2011, Pastor Carl Elder passed on to Glory and God placed Bro. & Sis. Nathan Karriker as the Pastor of Apostolic Faith Tabernacle. Pastor and Sis. Karriker continue to bring the priceless truth of God’s Word to the people in Hutchinson. Out of its humble beginnings, from the little white church to the present-day group of precious people, God continues to grow Apostolic Faith Tabernacle in Hutchinson, Kansas.
