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GOOD SHEPHERD UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH
A Voice in the
Wilderness
By
Bill Jones
 The
Methodist Episcopals were the first to hold regular meetings in Hancock
County. As early as 1831,
this group had organized a society at the home of John Dukes in Blanchard
Township with Rev. Thomas Thompson being the first minister.
The first church structure was built in the late 1830s at the
intersection of US 224 and TR 123.
It was constructed of hewed logs with a clapboard roof and its
dimensions were 32 ft x 28 ft. This
church became known as the Dukes Meeting House.
A brick building was constructed in 1880 on the same site.
 The
first services of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Benton Ridge were held
in homes by itinerant preachers from Rawson.
In about 1867, Rev. Joseph Good organized the church and held
regular services in the old log schoolhouse at the north end of Market
Street. In 1871, a brick
church was constructed and this building is still standing on the NE
corner of Main and Market Streets. Some members of the Dukes Methodist Church joined the Benton
Ridge congregation at that time.
In 1911-12, a new cement block church was built at
the west end of Benton Ridge and the brick church was abandoned.
Daniel Jackson was the building project treasurer and he was
successful in raising the full $12,000 needed for the construction in less
than one year. The new
building was dedicated on Feb. 11, 1912.
In 1939, the church name was changed from Methodist
Episcopal to Methodist when the Methodist Episcopal, the Methodist
Protestant, and the Methodist Episcopal Church-South merged. It was also during the 1930s that the basement was
added to the church building.
From its beginning, the Benton Ridge Methodist
Society (Church) was part of a charge associated with other Methodist
Societies in Rawson, Keller, Gilboa, Webster, Mt. Cory and Benton Ridge.
In a charge, the pastor is shared with other churches.
In 1994, Good Shepherd first became an independent congregation.
 From
the 1950s to the early 1970s, the Methodist Mens Club working side by
side with the Womens Society for Christian Service supplied many of the
financial resources of our church. These
groups sharecropped the 110-acre farm belonging to church member, Velma
Rantz, on the west edge of Benton Ridge.
They also sponsored many special events that raised funds for
church activities. Also,
during this same period of time another fundraiser for the church was
known as the Harvest Home celebration.
This was a special time each November when each Sunday School Class
would become involved in projects to earn income for the church.
The model was that of the good servant who invested his talents to
multiply them for the kingdom. There
are many fun stories and remembrances of those activities from the older
members of our congregation.
The church parsonage was built in 1967 and our pastor
then became more of a part of the Benton Ridge community. In 1968, the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist
Churches united to become the United Methodist Church.
In 1970, the Ohio Conference of the old Methodist Church and the
Ohio Sandusky Conference of the former EUB Church were consolidated into
one new West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Calvary and Good Shepherd were chosen as the names of the two
congregations in Benton Ridge. In 1971, the Benton Ridge Charge was created with the two
churches under the leadership of Rev. Robert O. Rector (1971-1978).
In 1974-1975, an Education Annex was added to the
original Good Shepherd building. In
1976, the first Lay Witness Mission was held in Benton Ridge. This experience renewed and energized our faith and began a
period of growth and ministry at Good Shepherd that continues today.
In 1984, the Share and Care Sunday-School Class took
on the project of providing a Christmas Pageant to the community to focus
on the Biblical meaning of Christmas.
This Live Nativity Pageant has continued each year since in the
Benton Ridge Park.
In 1987, a Diamond Anniversary Rededication was held
to celebrate 75 years of ministry in the present building and to celebrate
a major remodeling of the sanctuary.
In 1994, The Benton Ridge Charge consisting of the
Calvary and Good Shepherd Churches was discontinued so that each church
could select its own pastor. The
Good Shepherd Church chose Karl Ruetz, a Winebrenner Seminary student and
member of its congregation as its new pastor.
The Calvary Church chose Rev. Dann Saylor as their pastor.
It was also in 1994 that the Parsonage garage was doubled in size.
In 1998, dividers were added in the Education Annex
Basement and the elevator was installed.
In 2001, the church website, www.focusonthecross.org was begun.
In 2002, the second service was added on Sunday
morning and the time of the first service was changed to 8:30 AM from 8:45
AM.
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