John Lewis, Church Planter In Central Nebraska
By Eva Wilson
The late afternoon sun filters through the arched windows in the rear of Brownlee Community Church.
This community of “20 or so,” according to a hand-fashioned sign, is tucked in the heart of the Nebraska Sandhills, about an hour’s drive south of Valentine.
Pastor John Lewis begins the service by reading from Genesis 4, his sermon text, and leading in prayer. Then he leads the tiny congregation in singing “He Hideth My Soul.” His wife, Carol, accompanies on the piano.
The Lewises have been making the nearly 250-mile round trip to Brownlee every Sunday for more than 20 years. In their “day job,” the Lewises direct the ministry of Bethel Bible Camp at Wellfleet, about 25 miles south of North Platte.
They are among the featured missionaries for the 2008 Kansas-Nebraska Missions Offering.
On this spring Sunday at Brownlee, the congregation consists of three women. The men in their lives are still involved with calving. In fact, one of their prayer requests is for safety during the upcoming branding.
As John prays, he asks God to “give them good brandings without accidents.”
Then he launches into his sermon about Cain and Abel.
“There’s one place you don’t want to be and that’s away from God. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. [But] God is ready to forgive. I think Cain could have been forgiven if he had turned back to God, but he didn’t.”
Their Sunday trek to Brownlee is only part of the Lewises’ busy ministry schedule. Although they are retirement age, they are not slowing down. In fact, their Sundays begin by teaching the college-and-career Sunday School class at Calvary Baptist Church in North Platte.
After the worship service ends at Calvary, they grab a quick lunch and head up U.S. Highway 83 to Brownlee. Upon arriving at the church, Carol stays in the car and reads a book. John goes inside, takes cushions from a front pew and lies down on the floor for a nap before the church service begins at 5 p.m.
Monday night finds them leading a home Bible study on a ranch north of Gothenburg, Neb.
On Wednesday nights, they lead a Bible study in the Medicine Trail area southwest of North Platte. However, this group doesn’t meet during the summer when the Lewises are involved in camps.
Along with serving in Nebraska, they have served in the mountains of Kentucky and the rural areas of Nevada.
After the service ends on this Sunday at Brownlee, the Lewises and the three women linger for conversation. Then the women climb into their vehicles to begin the trek home over the sand roads. John and Carol slide back into their Ford Crown Victoria, which provides a comfortable ride and even decent gas mileage when driven conservatively.
As they head back to the main highway, John remarks, “Sometimes I get discouraged when only three or four show up, but I don’t feel the Lord wants me to quit. If I didn’t come, there’d be no church.”