First Baptist Church (Hammond, Indiana)
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The First Baptist Church of Hammond is an Independent Fundamental Baptist
megachurch A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Evangelical, although the term denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. A megachurch draws 2 ...
in
Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. Located along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the Li ...
, a suburb of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. It is the largest church in the state of Indiana, and in 2007 was the 20th largest in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Though founded in 1887 by Allen Hill, it was under
Jack Hyles Jack Frasure Hyles (September 25, 1926 – February 6, 2001) was a leading figure in the Independent Baptist movement, having pastored the First Baptist Church of Hammond in Hammond, Indiana, from August 1959 until his death. He was well known fo ...
' leadership from 1959–2001 when it became one of the
megachurch A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Evangelical, although the term denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. A megachurch draws 2 ...
es in the
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and during the 1970s, had the highest
Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
attendance of any church in the world.''Time'' magazine,
Superchurch
, 1 December 1975, retrieved 7 August 2008
In 1990, the church had a weekly attendance of 20,000. It also operates Hyles-Anderson College, a non-accredited institution established for the training of pastors and missionaries, and two
K-12 schools K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the world ...
, called 'City Baptist Schools' (for children of the bus route of the church) and 'Hammond Baptist Schools' (for children of the members of the church). John Wilkerson is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church. Leaders in the church have faced accusations, lawsuits, and convictions for sexual crimes over decades. These in include the '' Preying from the Pulpit'' expose in 1993 and the 2013 conviction in federal court of former pastor Jack Schaap of the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl.


History

First Baptist Church was founded in November 1887, by Allen Hill of
Jennings County, Indiana Jennings County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 27,613. The county seat is Vernon. History Jennings County was formed in 1817. It was named for the first Governor of Indiana and a nine-term c ...
. Its first meeting was on November 14, 1887, with 12 members on the 28th. However, it originally met in the Morton House Hotel which stood on what is currently the 100 block of Willow Court. Allen Hill's pastorate was short lived at approximately 4 months. By April 1888, B.P. Hewitt became the church's permanent pastor and Allen Hill went on to start several other churches. Needing more room, Hewitt moved the church's meeting place to the Hohman Opera House at the corner of State and Hohman. In 1889, the church erected its own structure for $2,358 when Marcus Towle, Hammond's first mayor and member of FBC, donated land on Sibley Street to the church. Subsequently, on January 3, 1901, Pastor E.T. Carter proposed a new building, and the first service was held on April 14, 1901. On November 27 of that same year, Carter announced his resignation for a job at the Central Baptist Orphanage in Michigan. During the early and mid 1970s the church's Sunday school used carnival-like entertainment along with free transportation by a fleet of over 200
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es to attract thousands of people from the
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and northern
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. In 1975, the weekly attendance was at 14,000, with a peak of over 30,000 in March of that year. ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine described the church's claim of having the "world's largest Sunday school" as "rock solid for the U.S., if not the world." In January 2013, John Wilkerson became pastor of Hammond, following a January 13, 2013, service with a 94% of the 2,078 members' votes. Wilkerson was previously connected to the church, notably Wilkerson graduated from Hyles-Anderson College in 1989, and his wife Linda graduated in 1990.


Activities

First Baptist Church has several outreach ministries, including Prepare Now Resources, Hyles-Anderson College ( not accredited by any recognized accreditation body), Fundamental Baptist Missions International, Hammond Baptist Schools, City Baptist Schools, Chicago Baptist Academy, Memory Lane Cemetery, Christian Womanhood Magazine, First Baptist Church Little League, Nursing Home Ministry, Sailor Ministry, Truck Driver's Ministry, Bus Ministry, Blind Ministry, Pathfinder Ministry (Educable Slow), Homeless Ministry, Rescue Mission, Public School Ministry, Inner City Chapel Ministry, and Deaf Ministry. The church also has several services in Spanish and some Asian languages. Until 2011, First Baptist Church also hosts three national conferences. The first Pastors' School invites pastors, assistant pastors, Christian leaders, school administrators, and Christian laymen to a week of training and learning. Its Youth Conference is held in mid-July and is for the youth and teenagers of Christian churches nationally. The final conference of the year, held every October, was the ''Christian Womenhood Spectacular'' for Christian women of all ages. Currently First Baptist Church still hosts the three national conferences. The first widely known as "Servant's Conference", youth conference, and ladies conference. The Church also hosts youth camps and youth revivals. 48th Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
spoke at the church in September 2011, when he was a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
from
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. Every
Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...
, the church and Hyles-Anderson College students and officials honor veterans of a particular conflict at Memorial Park. In 2008, the group honored those who died in
Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...
, and in 2009, veterans of the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
were honored.


Controversies

In 1989, the paper '' The Biblical Evangelist'' published a story "The Saddest Story We Ever Published", accusing Jack Hyles of sexual scandals, financial misappropriation and doctrinal errors. These charges were denied by Hyles who deemed them "lies". In 1991, a First Baptist Church of Hammond deacon, A.V. Ballenger, molested a 7-year-old girl in her Hammond Sunday school class.Lehmann, Daniel J. "Pastor Linked to Sex Abuse Lashes Out," ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', June 2, 1993. pg. 5
During a Sunday school class "a church worker reportedly witnessed the act and removed the girl from the room, police said.""Church leaders sued in sex-abuse case," ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', October 16, 1991.
The ''Chicago Tribune'' in a 1991 article reported that Hyles was sued for $1 million by the parents of the girl. The paper reported the "lawsuit claims Hyles and the church had not fulfilled their obligation to ensure that children were protected from harm during Sunday school." Furthermore, the lawsuit "claims the minister told the child's parents that Ballenger 'just loved children,' and, 'You don't have a case.'" The church settled the lawsuit out of court and the terms were not disclosed. At the criminal trial, three young women testified deacon A.V. Ballenger "had fondled them years ago." One of those girls testified that she was molested on the Hammond church bus. A former security officer at the church testified he saw Ballenger fondle a young girl in 1978 or 1979 in a Sunday school room after being called to the room by a female teacher. In 1993, Ballenger was sentenced to five years in prison. In 1993,
WJBK WJBK (channel 2) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Owned and operated by the Fox network through its Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on West 9 Mile Road in th ...
aired Preying from the Pulpit, a news series, examined "allegations of child molesting, abuse and sex scandals in several churches across the nation appear to be part of a pattern of such scandals among churches affiliated with the First Baptist Church of Hammond." It examined fresh claims of sex abuse in five different fundamentalist churches where church workers who molested children were traced back to Hyles-Anderson College."Preacher has links to molest suspects." '' The San Diego Union'' San Diego, Calif.: May 17, 1993. p. A.7 Besides the abuse, the program examined Hyles' teaching, including a 1990 sermon where "Hyles pretended to pour poison into a glass and asked an associate pastor, Johnny Colsten, to drink from it. Colsten said he would." The report "said the sermon has the 'ring of
Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, an American religious movement under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became in ...
' to it—the mass suicide in
Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
in 1978 by followers of cult leader
Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...
." Hyles called the program "poor journalism" and organized a national campaign to respond. ''
The Times of Northwest Indiana ''The Times of Northwest Indiana'' (NWI) is a daily newspaper headquartered in Munster, Indiana. It is the second-largest newspaper in Indiana, behind only ''The Indianapolis Star''. History The paper was founded on June 18, 1906, as ''The Lake ...
'' also condemned WJBK's series, calling it "highly irresponsible" and "a monstrous overreach". In 1997, Hyles and the First Baptist Church of Hammond were sued "for negligence in connection with alleged sexual assaults on a mentally disabled church member over a six-year period" The lawyer for the woman, Vernon Petri, "says Hyles is a defendant because he failed to protect the woman", such that "controls have to be set to be sure things are conducted appropriately." However, ''Christianity Today'' pointed out that no criminal charges were ever filed in the case. Also, Hyles denied the allegations that either he or his church were negligent in the care of the woman in an October 12 advertisement in the Hammond Times. According to the lawyer, "a church program instructor led her to a room and served as a lookout while two to three males raped her."Debra Gruszecki
Suit claims rape at church
''
Northwest Indiana Times ''The Times of Northwest Indiana'' (NWI) is a daily newspaper headquartered in Munster, Indiana. It is the second-largest newspaper in Indiana, behind only ''The Indianapolis Star''. History The paper was founded on June 18, 1906, as ''The Lake ...
'' October 4, 1997
The women developed a "serious" infection and doctors "found, embedded in her, a plastic object." The "civil suit filed in
Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...
Court in Gary claims the Chicago woman was "induced by agents" of the church in 1991 to ride a bus to attend Sunday." The women and church settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum. After Hyles' death in 2001, Jack Schaap, Hyles' son-in-law, succeeded as pastor. Schaap's sermons were controversial. On July 31, 2012, Schaap was fired "due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor". Schaap reportedly admitted to deacons of the church that he had an adulterous affair with the young woman, who was 16 years old at the time. Since 16 is the
age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to Human sexual activity, sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is un ...
in Indiana, sex with the girl would not have constituted
statutory rape In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent (the age required to legally consent to the behaviour). Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sex ...
. The case was turned over to the
Lake County Sheriff's Department (Indiana) The Lake County Sheriff's Department is the county law enforcement agency for Lake County, Indiana. History The first sheriff was elected in 1837, when Lake County was organized. Notorious gangster John Dillinger was held in the Lake County j ...
for investigation. In September 2012, Schaap was charged in a U.S. District Court for taking a minor across state lines to have sex with her (the
Mann Act The Mann Act, previously called the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910, is a United States federal law, passed June 25, 1910 (ch. 395, ; ''codified as amended at'' ). It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann (Illinois politician), James Rob ...
) and pleaded guilty. In October, nearly a quarter of the Hammond church staff were laid off. An article in the January 2013 issue of ''
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
'' magazine about First Baptist Church stated, "A string of assaults and sexual crimes committed by pastors across the country have one thing in common: The perpetrators have ties to the megachurch in Hammond, Indiana." In January 2013, Schaap asked the court for the minimum 10-year sentence, claiming he was under great stress, exhausted and depressed at the time of the relationship. In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors revealed that Schaap "groomed" the girl, including kissing the victim during counseling and had sex with her in his office. In March 2013, Schaap was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for having sex with an underage girl. On May 4, 2022, Schaap was given an early release from incarceration. In 2023, Joseph Eyer a former
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
, was sentenced to 2 and a half years for molesting a teenage boy over several years in Gary, Indiana.


References


External links

{{commons, First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana
Official website
1887 establishments in Indiana Baptist churches in Indiana Churches in Lake County, Indiana Evangelical megachurches in the United States Christian organizations established in 1887 Megachurches in Indiana Independent Baptist churches in the United States Sexual abuse scandals in the Independent Baptist movement