My hometown Madison, Indiana, is in many ways the quintessential small town in America. It was recently voted one of Indiana’s best main streets. Outside my window, I can see Kentucky across the river. If you have read one of Wendell Berry’s Port William stories, this bend in the river is one of Berry’s real-life inspirations. It is the kind of place that conjures up a concrete picture of the idea of community. And here, a worshiper can take his pick of Baptist, Pentecostal, and mainline Protestant churches. Until 2020 there were no confessionally Reformed congregations nearby. Madison Reformed Church, the congregation I serve, is a church plant of the URCNA. What began as a covenant theology book study in summer 2019 and formed into a core group in 2020 was then planted officially in 2021. We just celebrated our five years of public worship services. With thanks to our generous God, I want to share an update with the readers of The Heidelblog and let you know of the next mile marker in our journey.

A Reformed church comes with built-in obstacles for Midwestern towns like Madison. Mainliners are alarmed by the expository and doctrinal sermons. Pentecostals balk at the structured liturgy. Evangelicals do not know what to do with the word “sacraments,” although they are warming up to creeds. There are many unbelievers and apostate Christians in town. There are many who grew up in church, but drug use has made that a foggy memory. We have come to realize that reaching Madisonians will be a generation-long commitment.

When visitors stop by, they find a congregation hungry for the Word. Could a pastor think of a better gift than to stand in the pulpit and see expectant eyes and open ears? These beloved people come every week to be reminded that “God has freely granted not only to others but to me also, forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation” (Heidelberg Catechism 21). They welcome new people with open arms, inviting them over for lunch and back to the evening service. They lean over during the announcements and explain how the liturgy works.

Visitors also find us in a one-room church building, which on some Sundays is nearly filled to capacity. Of all the obstacles visitors face to visiting our Reformed service, it is sad to know that the building is near the top of the list. Since we began renting our current meeting place, we have prayed and searched for a building that suits our needs and desires. In recent months, the Lord has begun to answer those prayers.

A Permanent Home: The Windle Auditorium

On a walk around downtown Madison recently, I passed by a row of run-down houses, and a pair of foxes darted across the street and into one of the houses through a broken window. Such an image is found throughout the Prophets. David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel warned of days when the temple would be torn down and their homes would be uninhabited, except by jackals and beasts. Another building in town is not yet the “haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches” (Isa 34:13), but it could be on its way. It is the John T. Windle Memorial Auditorium, originally built in 1835 as Second Presbyterian Church. Its founding was the local result of the nationwide tensions between the Old and New School Presbyterians. The famous Lyman Beecher (1775–1863) preached at its dedication service. Over a decade later, his son, the revivalist Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87), traveled through Madison and also preached at the church. Not much is known about these early days of the congregation, except the number of members added on the day of Beecher’s revival. (Forty-six, in case you were wondering.)¹

Years passed, and the building served as a Lutheran church, funeral home, and the local Chamber of Commerce. In 1961 a local preservation organization called Historic Madison, Inc. (HMI), purchased the building. For four decades beginning in the late 1970s, its first floor was used for HMI’s offices, and the main floor above was used for community gatherings, concerts, and other events.² But in 2022 HMI moved its headquarters, and the church—beautiful and solid—became uninhabited.

In the Lord’s kind providence, HMI has been our landlord at our current location. This good working relationship brought about the opportunity for our church to purchase the Windle Auditorium. After nearly two years of brainstorming, research, and planning, this proposal is now a reality. Madison Reformed Church is the new owner of the property, made possible by HMI offering owner’s financing, deferring the purchase price for five years. As owners, we are eligible for grants and can begin renovations. But with this financing agreement, we have time to fundraise.

The Building Supports the Mission

Our core group began with fifteen souls, six of whom were adults. In those early conversations, we talked about our intention to plant a church that did not drive people into the ground with endless programs. We recognized that many churchgoers give exorbitant amounts of time to their local churches but are confused about what the gospel is. Our core group, therefore, settled on the “slogan,” “Rest for your soul.” Our mission in Madison and Jefferson County, Indiana, is to deliver this wildly good news to our neighbors, that they can find rest in the Savior Jesus—trusting, leaning, depending on him alone.

Our new building is not the mission. It must support the mission. Toward that end, we invite you to join us in prayer about the next phase of our congregational life. We pray that God will use this place to more firmly establish our congregation as a generational church. We want to proclaim the Lord’s righteousness to a people yet unborn (Ps 22:30–31). We pray that by allowing us to worship in a location that is bull’s-eye in the middle of town, we might be more visible, easy to get to, and frankly safe to attend—that truth might stand up straight and firm in the public square (Isa 59:14). We pray that by having our desires for a permanent location met, we can focus more resources and attention on actively bearing witness for Christ just outside our doors and at more community events. We pray that a historic church building (the oldest public building in Madison) will help us embody the historic Christian faith and work in concert with worship services where the people recite creeds and sing three-thousand-year-old songs. We pray that a building with much more space will give us breathing room to catechize our covenant youth and invite the community in for studies and fellowship.

If you want to support this mission, you can do so in a variety of ways:

1. Pray for us. If you belong to a URCNA congregation, you likely already see our prayer requests in the bulletin from time to time or our updates in the missions newsletter “The Trumpet.” Follow us on Facebook to see updates.
2. Donate to our fundraising campaigns. If you, your business, or your church are interested in giving to the funds for renovating the Windle Auditorium, please reach us through the Contact page on our website.
3. Refer your friends and family. Think of your friends and family that live in southern Indiana. Let them know that we are here. Maybe they are nearby and want to visit. Maybe they know someone in Madison who has been looking for a church and somehow missed us.

Our deep longing is to be here in Madison for the long run, to offer the clarity of the gospel and depth of doctrinal teaching for generations to come. It is God who provides and God who gives the growth. Unite your hearts with ours in giving thanks to him for this most recent provision of a place to provide rest.

Notes

1. Gail Karns, “The Former Second Presbyterian Church,” Discover Indiana, accessed July 7, 2026.
2. “John T. Windle Auditorium,” Historic Madison, Inc., accessed July 8, 2026.

©Collin Welch. All Rights Reserved.

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Post authored by:

• Collin Welch

  

  Collin is pastor of Madison Reformed Church. He was born and raised in Madison, IN. He and his lovely wife, Nicole, have two kids—Calvin and Ingrid. After graduating from MCHS (‘08), Collin thought the Lord was leading him into filmmaking but instead, doors have opened again and again into pastoral ministry. During a time of searching, he discovered the riches of the historic Protestant and Reformed Christian faith and attended Westminster Seminary California, graduating M.Div in May 2020. He loves his family and his hometown, and he’s looking forward to ministering God’s Word in the Ohio River Valley. “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8).

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