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Our History

Pat and Catherine Feeman began to build a cabin on Bear Lake in the summer of 1950. Bear Lake in Kalkaska County is 300 acres, 1 by 1 1/2 miles and roughly pear shaped. The beautiful Michigan lake is clear, cold, spring fed and surrounded by cottages, cabins and year round homes. Building the Feeman cabin was a family project, starting during their vacation and continuing through their weekends. Although faithful in attending church services, they soon realized the sawing and hammering only paused during the few short hours they attended service and they were not observing the Sabbath. Reflecting on this, they had a dream of creating an outdoor sanctuary nearby in a natural bowl with pine trees for shade and bleacher seats on the slope allowing vacationers and summer residents who wished to attend church services to do so without dressing up and driving the 13 miles one way into town.

In the summer of 1971, (God moves in mysterious ways. His wonders to perform) three Bear Lake organizations teamed up to build the community center within close proximity to the vacationers and summer residents (The Improvement Association, the Women's Club and the Township Board). Pat and Catherine Feeman along with Frances Gohrsch were given permission to hold Sunday services in the center while they looked for the ideal permanent setting. In 1982 the Feeman's dream of a permanent site was finally realized with the purchase of land across from the Community Center and in 1984 the log chapel still in use today as the sanctuary was completed by mostly volunteers.

Due to its unique beginnings as a place for vacationers and summer residents to worship, the church was nicknamed the 'come as you are' log church and remains so to this day. Although the name initially referred to attire, today we embrace the nickname in a different way. We recognize we are not a church of perfect individuals with perfect characters, but we 'come as we are' and by His grace we are perfected.