Address: 2100 Highway 150
Floyds Knobs, Indiana 47119
Phone: 812.944.2570
Email: wesley@wesleychapel.org
O U R C H U R C H
We are a church family rooted in Christ and growing in grace.
At Wesley Chapel, it is our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We do this by focusing on four areas: Worship, Faith Development, Serving, and Generosity. We live together as people of faith to grow as disciples in each of these four areas.
W H A T W E D O
Our Mission
Serve the Church
When we serve we are being like Jesus. Jesus calls us to serve within our faith community so that we can grow in our faith and be equipped to go into the world to share the love of God with all people. The primary areas of Serve Here are Hospitality and Food Service. Serving at Wesley Chapel also includes other ministry areas such as Worship, Faith Development, and Facility Team just to name a few. There are always opportunities to serve and we would love to have you connected to Wesley Chapel through service.
Serve the City
We believe serving those around us is central to growing in our relationship with God. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we serve our local communities in Southern Indiana.
Serve the World
We are a church on mission to go into the world and share the hope of Jesus. Through local and global ministry partnerships, we are working diligently to be the hands and feet of God.
New Here?
Join us for worship on Sundays at 8:30 am or 11:00 am. Our campus is located in the heart of Floyd County, Indiana. No matter who you are, or where you’ve been, we welcome you with open arms.
M I S S I O N
We are traveling this journey of faith together, developing the character of Jesus within, and sharing the love of God with our community.
Tony Alstott
Lead Pastor
L E A D E R S H I P
Our Team
Tony Alstott
Lead Pastor
Cory Feuerbacher
Director of Worship +
Director of 20s/30s Ministry
Becky Perkins
Director of Faith
Peter Williams
Associate Pastor
In charge of Youth and Mission
C H U R C H M E D I A
Latest Sermon Series
14
Jan '20
A Church to Call Home
14
Jan '20
“We felt very loved, there was a lot of grace, not judgement. Our lives at that time were a real mess. I wouldn’t wish any family to go through that, but we went through it. And what we found as we had that journey, and we would share that journey, the more and more love we got. It almost intensified and helped us through that time. Peoples lives are messy, and if you don’t have a mess, just wait because there will be one.
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W E S L E Y C H A P E L B L O G
Recent Articles
20
May '21
Do You Feel Like Your Sparkles Have Fallen Off?
20
May '21
Written by Lois Flowers
A few months ago, I received a hand-crafted Valentine from my daughter. On the cover, “Happy Valentine’s Day” was written in gold glitter.
Inside, the message said, “Don’t shake your card too hard or all your sparkles will fall off.”
It’s so much like my daughter, to give me a card with instructions. It makes me smile to think of it even now, all these weeks later.
A few days after Valentine’s Day—when memories of a friend who died 10 years earlier were fresh on my mind, when our schedule was all thrown out of whack due to extreme cold and snow, when my parents’ personal effects were strewn all over the basement as I work on organizing them—I woke up and just felt sad.
Thinking of Molly’s card, I sent Randy a brief text message: “I feel like my sparkles have fallen off,” I told him.
I’m wondering if you can relate. Perhaps, like me, you’re generally upbeat and optimistic, or at least fairly consistent when it comes to how you feel. Maybe not all the time, this last year especially. But overall, most of the time.
Or maybe you’re more prone to emotional ups and downs but you thought you had found a good rhythm, finally. Then something happens and the bottom just drops out.
One day you were feeling fine; the next day, it’s like you drank a gallon of blue.
Could be hormones, could be that you’re tired, could be you’re getting sick, could be an unexpected obstacle or setback is affecting you more than you thought.
It could be anything, really. And—this is what makes it even more fun—what it is this time might not be the culprit next time. (Because yes, there will likely be a next time.)
Having gone through this whole cycle a few times recently, I have some thoughts. Actually, I have three observations, three actions and three scriptures for you. They’re not a one-size-fits-all remedy for the occasional blues, but I hope they help.
Three observations:
• Feelings are not truth. They’re real, but they might not be an accurate picture of reality.
• You’re not alone. Others feel the same, some more acutely.
• Just because you feel like this today doesn’t mean you will feel like this tomorrow.
Three actions:
• Tell God how you feel. Don’t worry about whether or not your words make sense, or sound good, or seem worthy to copy and paste into an Instagram post. Just pray. Cast your cares on him one by one, no holds barred. Out loud or in writing. Just do it.
• Talk to a person about it, in person if possible.
• Go outside. Take a walk, or weed your flowerbeds, or just sit on a chair in the sun.
Three scriptures:
• “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:13-14)
• “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5b)
• “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I praise Him with my song.” (Psalm 28:7)
Finally—and this is important—if you are feeling like its been weeks or months since your sparkles fell off, or you can’t remember ever having sparkles at all, it might be time to seek additional help. Talk to your doctor, ask a friend to recommend a counselor, share your feelings with your spouse or sister.
Trust me—life is too short to spend it feeling bad all the time.
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13
May '21
Prepare The Way For The Lord
13
May '21
Written by Becky Perkins
Tangled Christmas tree lights are something I hate to straighten out and untangle when I put up decorations each year. Each year when I put the Christmas decorations away, I intend to take time and patience to put them away in an orderly manner and prepare a way to make the next year’s decorating time go more smoothly. But, every year, I am ready to put the decorations away, and I am in a hurry to get it done. So, every year, I have to deal with tangled up Christmas tree lights, because I did not prepare the way for the next year.
In Luke 3:1-6, John the Baptist was the person God called to herald the way of the coming Messiah. In Biblical times when a king was traveling to a town or region to meet the people, a herald would go ahead of the king to announce his coming and call for everyone to make the way smooth and straight for the king. The way was to be cleared of debris, the crooked path was to be made straight, valleys were to be filled in, mountains were to be leveled out, and rough places were to be made smooth. This process would require powerful construction, and a forceful grinding was required of the rocky places. This process took time and patience. The person doing the work would need help from others to help them get the job done. Once the way was made clear, the procession of the king was a grand and safe celebration. People rejoiced when the king arrived and spent days in the festivities.
I have had times in my spiritual life when I have felt that my spirit was in a tangled up mess. There are times when I felt like the rough road that needed smoothing. There are times I was in a valley and needed the Holy Spirit to fill in those deep places of unbelief and discouragement. There have been times when my spirit needed those mountains of self-sufficiency, idolatry, and pride to be leveled out so that I would be humble and ready for God’s use.
The process to make a life of humility for the use of the king requires some grinding, shaping, and refining to make the soul level and straight for the arrival of the king. This process takes time, patience, and often the help of others to get us on the straight path. The only way to get the life straight, level, and safe is to spend time with God on a consistent and regular basis each week. Time in His Word and in prayer. It takes patience to work out the rough places with the Holy Spirit. The working out of our salvation is something we have to give over to God and let his Holy Spirit chip away the rough edges and make them straight. It takes time to study the Word with other people. We need to have a village of supporters around us who will pray with us and for us. We cannot hurry the process. The Holy Spirit will work within his time table. This process of working out our salvation, often called sanctification for those of us on this side of the cross, will continue on until we reach that time of entering his kingdom.
Next Christmas, when I take down all of the Christmas lights, I hope I remember that the process will go much smoother if I only take the time to prepare the way for the next Christmas.
“Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, The rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation” Luke 3:4-6
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06
May '21
The Greatest Blessing
06
May '21
Written by Diane Forler
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22
Life got away from me. It just did. I didn’t mean to, but somehow I got into my late 30s before I managed to get married and have kids. So, when I gave birth to the two little girls I had always wanted at 38 and 40 years old, I was beside myself with just about every emotion I could imagine. Amazement, wonder, fascination, disbelief, but most of all love. The greatest, biggest, deepest love I had ever felt.
Don’t get me wrong- I love my parents (now deceased), sister, husband, family, close friends, people, and I love God all very deeply. Yet, the love a mother feels for her child, that moment when she first sees that baby’s face, well, there is nothing quite like it. You know in that instant that this is someone you would lay down your life for without hesitation, and that never changes.
Like all new things, reality does eventually settle in, and raising those little precious babies has its challenges. I remember one time when my oldest was about 4 and acting out to the point I was at a loss. My Dad was there and I tearfully asked him how I was going to handle her. His answer was simple: Just love her. Well, I knew I loved her, but I maybe didn’t know exactly HOW to love her at that point. I never forgot him telling me that, and knowing the deeper meaning of it. It takes every single Fruit of the Spirit to show your kids the love they need.
Loving your kids doesn’t always just mean being the sunshine and softness in their lives. Love must also be tough (stole that from James Dobson). It’s a hard balance to strike. While it seems like we just want our kids to have a good, happy life, what we really want is for them to learn to think for themselves, be strong when things don’t go their way, believe in themselves, find ways they can be a blessing to others, in big ways or small, and, most of all, l trust God. That means we have to walk the walk because kids notice EVERYTHING, and the older they get the more they let you know it. If I want them to see Christ in me, they need to see the attributes described in Galatians showing up in the way I am living my life.
A few months ago, we were having a group meltdown (not my finest hour), me and my 2 now young adult daughters, when I was lamenting they’re not doing certain things I thought they should just know they should be doing by now. Silly me. I just figured it would come naturally. They see me doing these things. They are plenty old enough to help. So why am I still doing it all?? Well, I found out. My precious child looked at me and said “Mom, you haven’t really let us grow up. You still do all this stuff for us that you want us to do for ourselves, you just don’t give us a chance to do it ourselves!”
Wow, I said. I can help you with that! I immediately started handing things back to them when they would tell me they needed something. You’re out of vitamins? Walmart carries the ones you take, or you can order them online. You need that outfit for tomorrow? There’s the washer!! Hey, this is kinda fun! We HAD taught them to do for themselves, I just didn’t trust them to DO it. Now it’s my turn to let them.
It was a life lesson for me. It’s funny because in pharmacy management I have always supervised a team of employees. My goal is always to enable them to do their best, take on more responsibility, and work independently. It makes them feel better about themselves and makes my life and my job a lot easier. Why didn’t I apply that to my kids? I guess it was easier to just do it for them, but it is not too late. It’s never too late to be a part of making your kids’ lives better.
Raising kids is a lifelong process. The best advice I can give, aside from obviously praying and seeking God’s will, is to love them enough to meet them where they are, with all the “fruit” you can carry. The relationship changes as they get older and at this point, when my kids are 19 and 22, I am not done being their Mom. I find I need to watch them more and more, see who they are becoming, and be there when they need me. Be patient, talk less, listen more. Patience is not my strong suit, but it is so very important when they are at this point, on the brink of adulthood, needing me to trust them, and still looking to their parents as role models.
My daughters are the greatest blessing in my life, and I thank God every day for them, and for a husband who is a great “girl Dad” and partner in this journey. I pray daily that they will find their way to all that He has in store for them, and I am so thankful to be able to be a part of their journeys, and for the love I have in my heart because of them.
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Pastor Tony recommends reading:
A Firm Foundation
What does the future hold for The United Methodist Church? It is the question being asked all around our denomination. What should be the response to the competing visions and notable division within contemporary Methodism in North America? Can we explore the issues confronting us in a post-Christendom era without rupturing our relationships?
This carefully curated volume engages the deep heart questions of United Methodists and casts a compelling vision by trustworthy voices for dynamic faith. Contributors explore the power of classic ideas such as:
The Lordship of Jesus Christ Engaging scripture meaningfully The power of the Holy Spirit The promise of sanctification Living with undivided purpose Fostering dynamic discipleship The gift of the global church
This resource is a useful tool not only in navigating present challenges but in pursuing the future promise for the people called Methodists. The foundational principles that have guided Methodist thought from the beginning of John Wesley’s countercultural movement remain rich resources as we explore what it means to remain faithful disciples in the tradition of the Wesleys.
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