Pictures from Solomon's Porch

Thanks to Brenda Walker Williams for these photos!

Photo #1 - The front porch of "The Porch". Note the "ICKTHUS" sign above the porch. Tom Pickens and Bud Sempsrott.

Photo # 2 - Sharon Middleton, Bill, Eric, Gary Rinker



Photo #3 - Ron McNeil, Don Whitesel, Tom Pickens, Russ Willis. "The Children of Light"

Photo #4 - From left to right - Ron McNeil, Tom Pickens, Don Whitesel, Russ Willis


Photo #5 - Inside "Solomon's Porch" Karl Sempsrott, Leslie (Murray) Sempsrott

The "Love" Revival of 1970 - As I Remember It

By Brenda Walker Williams

February 20th of 1970 at 2 p.m. I received a call from a lady who attended South Meridian Church of God. She told me they had such an exciting service that she was still at the church. A group of students had come from Ashbury College to talk about a revival that had broken out on Campus. The response was overwhelming and Pastor Tarr had decided to continue services as long as the Holy Spirit led. The lady had called Park Place Church to get the phone number of some girls who could possibly help in the nursery. They told her about Roxanne Ogle, Polly Thompson & me. They were willing to pay us each $1 per hour as nursery workers. This was my first paying job (I was 13).

The first night I worked with the 3 & 4 year olds and we had around 30 children in that room. They asked me to come back the following night and I worked in the toddler room with Roxanne. The third night I worked in the infant room. They had a sound system that monitored the service and for some strange reason all the babies were quiet and sleepy that night, so I listened to the service.

The service consisted of testimony after testimony of how God was changing the life of each one who spoke. People spoke about the new and real feeling of God’s Love they were experiencing in their lives. The first night, as I entered the church I had felt something different in the air. Everyone you saw was excited about Jesus and talking about Him in a way I had never heard before. That night I felt compelled to make my way into the service and ask Him to take control of my life. For the full 50 days the Revival I was there (although the first three nights I was in the nursery).

As I remember the theme song we sang each night was "To God Be the Glory", and there was a sign there that read "God's power shows up best in weak people".

The people I remember from those Revival services are Ray Renner (he testified several times), Johnny Cawthon (he later was the leader of the Youth For Christ meetings I attended at North Side Jr. High) and Royce Miller (who went on the witness team to VA with me).

Two times I went out on witness teams. Once I went for a weekend in Ohio and on another occasion for a week (over spring break) I went with a team that went to my grandparents church in Blacksburg, VA, my Uncle Jim’s church in Roanoke, VA, a church in Bristol, VA and another church somewhere in North Carolina.

The way the witness teams’ services that I participated in usually went were: The local pastor would open with a few songs. Each person on the team would then give their personal testimony. Following the testimonies there would be an altar call. Because the Holy Spirit was so strong and in evidence it would not be uncommon for every person in the service to respond to God’s call.

Later in June of 1970 at the Church of God Convention the Fishermen had some type of a gathering I think in the basement of the Student Union Building (Bud Sempsrott, Ray Renner or Lawrence Chewning can correct me if I’m wrong about the location) and Tom Pickens caught the fire. The Fishermen went traveling over the summer. I think in September of 1970, when they returned to Anderson and began meetings at Solomon’s Porch.

The Anderson Revival and the Beginnings of the Jesus movement in Anderson: The Fishermen

In February 1970, a spontaneous spiritual awakening occurred in the city of Anderson which resulted in a fifty day revival, three services a day. Hundreds of people accepted Christ during this time, warranting a full page story in the Chicago Tribune. Lawrence Chewning, then a student at Anderson College (now Anderson University) was very active in this revival, traveling on weekends with other students to various parts of the nation in order to give their testimonies.

In the summer of 1970, Lawrence banded together with several other friends and began traveling full time. They called themselves "The Fishermen" and within a couple of years, evolved into a music group featuring original songs penned by Lawrence. During this time, Christian music was experiencing a breath of fresh air as young people began to write and sing of their love for Jesus in a more contemporary style. The Fishermen became part of this movement and began performing in coffee houses, college and high school campuses, Jesus festivals and outdoor concerts throughout the Midwest, the South and the New England states.

During one of the Fishermen concerts at a Christian coffeehouse in Hartford City,Indiana, a teenager named Ray Boltz accepted Christ. Ray went on to become an award winning Christian recording artist.

Thanks to Lawrence Chewning's web page (see our links) for this post and the following 2 photos of the Fishermen in the story labled "The Fishermen".

The Anderson Revival

One morning in 1970, without warning, all heaven broke loose during Asbury (KY) College's 10 a.m. chapel service.....thus began the "Asbury Revival" which later gave birth to the "Anderson Revival". Students from Asbury college began to spread across the country telling about what God had done on their campus.

Wherever the Asburyians traveled, revival followed. By the summer of 1970, the revival had reached more than 130 other colleges, seminaries and Bible schools, and scores of churches, according to published accounts. It spread from New York to California, and even to South America.

When several Asbury students gave their testimonies at the Meridian Street Church of God in Anderson, Indiana, for instance, the church experienced a spontaneous revival that lasted 50 consecutive nights. According to old clippings from Indiana newspapers, the Anderson church soon became so packed that the services had to be moved to a school gymnasium. Up to 2,500 people a night flocked to the gym in hopes of being touched by God.

This is a brief summary of the "Anderson Revival" of 1970. If you have stories, photos or memories you would like to share please email us at missionarymike2004@yahoo.com

The Fishermen

Here is a photo of the group "The Fishermen" featuring Lawrence Chewning, Karl Sempsrott, and Bud Sempsrott. Probably taken in 1971 or 1972




This hearse is the vehicle they used for a while for traveling. I can remember seeing it for the first time in the fall of 1971 parked at "Solomon's Porch".

Welcome Home

Welcome to this new blog! This blog is the result of conversations I have recently had with several old friends. All of us were a participants in and affected by what is commonly called "The Jesus Movement", that extraordinary time in American culture and history than roughly began around 1967 and ended in 1973.

We all lived in central Indiana during that time period, coming from Anderson, Alexandria, Muncie, New Castle, Middletown and other places, some from across the country.

The primary focus of this blog is to remember the good times and bad times that experienced during those hectic years. We are all older now and hopefully somewhat wiser. Many of the things we saw and participated in have had a lasting impact upon our lives.

This is not my blog, but rather it is our story. The story of a bunch of kids, some who were searching and some who were not. Many of us found something which dramatically changed the rest of our lives.

I encourage you to contact me via email. Tell me your story, send me any pictures you have. Let's hear your "testimony". What did those times mean to you and how do you remember them now?

Missionarymike2004@yahoo.com