our history

In the 1940s, World War II was raging. Over 29,000 men and women from Indiana served the Armed Forces. One of these young men from Indiana, Lewis Smith, thought that his life was over. On a mission in the South Pacific, he and his buddies were trapped.

He was hit in the head with a bullet and knocked end-over-end into the ditch. His battle buddies dragged him to safety. The doctor was amazed as he examined Lewis. The bullet had hit his helmet liner at his forehead, circled around drawing blood, and splintered at the bottom of the metal cap.

Later, Lewis found out that his pastor’s sister fasted and prayed for him, not knowing it was the week he was shot.

Lewis was discharged in 1946. At twenty-one years of age, he was invited to attend campmeeting in Frankfort, IN, at Frankfort Pilgrim College. As a wounded soldier, the government agreed to pay for his schooling to study for the ministry.

He had cut high school short to join the army. Now he could get his GED and take college courses.

R. K. Storey was the president of Frankfort Pilgrim College. His family had been missionaries in the Philippines when the Japanese invaded. Their eleven-year-old daughter died from unsanitary water. When they tried to visit her grave, they were captured by the Japanese. In a Japanese prison camp, they learned a deep prayer life.

In 1946 when World War II was over, R. K. Storey started a prayer meeting at the college. Thanks to his influence and example, the Chapel would be started and grounded in prayer.

Lewis was standing in lunch line when Marlin Boss walked up. He turned to a friend of Lewis’s and asked,

“Paul, will you go with me to the west side of town to win souls?”

Lewis’s friend replied, “No, but Smitty here will.”

Lewis went to the west end and found a little community of around 200 people separated from the rest of Frankfort.

Fall of 1946

Lewis’s heart was stirred as he visited the west end of Frankfort. Without even water, many of the families lacked conveniences and lived in poverty.

Lewis understood this. This was how he had been raised in southern Indiana. He began to be drawn into the hearts and lives of these people. He would borrow a bicycle or spend every spare minute walking to the west end to visit and pray.

The students had services in Grandma Morris’s house. This Christian lady in the community lived with an alcoholic, but stayed faithful to God. For nine years, the students had prayer meetings there during the school year.

The next year in 1947, Lewis went to his district superintendent and got permission to have a tent meeting. God’s presence was in the services, the tent was full, and several were saved and entirely sanctified.

Howard Linton came with his big cattle truck bed filled with students to help. One of the girls, Mildred Bowers, loved the people as much as Lewis. They began working together. They knew they needed to build, but the scoffers had plenty to say. “Better make the door wider so when the church closes Bill can get his cars in there!”

A lot was purchased for $75 from Bill Sears. “Pay when you can,” he said. By the spring of 1948, they had plans to build. By April 10, they began a foundation. It was 24 feet x 34 feet. Sunday School was in Grandma’s house across the street.

On August 13, 1949, they organized with seven members. Marlin Boss and Lewis Smith led the flock until Marlin left for another pastorate a few years later.

Lewis and Mildred were married September 2, 1949, and started the next semester in college four days later.

The college students continued praying and loving the people in this community. One of these people was Bill Sears. During World War I, he was working on the railroad around the clock and fell asleep. A train ran over his leg. In those days, there was no insurance compensation. He worked hard with his peg leg to support his family. Lewis would not give up on Bill, until finally one day Bill came to the Chapel and was saved.

Not closing its doors as predicted, the church grew.

1950

In 1950 Lewis and Mildred had their first son, Henry. They moved to the community and lived in the same conditions as their people — first a house made out of tops, then a chicken coop house, and then Grandma Morris’s old house after she passed away. The houses were hard to keep warm, and the rats went in and out of their homes, but they were with the people God gave them.

Not just contained in the west end, this influence started reading out all over Frankfort. At the railroad, Gib McMasters started working for God. Derb Coy, Bob Rude, and others were saved.

At Vacation Bible School, up to 100 children came. The 24x34 church was too small. The board met and had various ideas. One man wanted to put a lean-to on the church. Lewis had a different sketch. Secretly, he thought Kramer’s would like his plan the best.

Two classrooms and 16 feet were added, making the Chapel 24x50. By the next year, there wasn’t enough room for the children at Vacation Bible School again. A United Brethren lady Mrs. Doty came to see. She went to Max Fowler of The Frankfort Times and asked him to put in a little ad in the paper to help.

Max Fowler talked to Pat Sertain, an elder of the Presbyterian church. “I’m going away on a trip and I want to surprise the old lady. She’s always doing good. I’m going to do more than she asked!”

The 1955 Newspaper Campaign—Front Page News!

Pat Sertain began to make the appeal for this project. Every day on the front page of The Frankfort Times, an update of what money came in and from whom was printed.

Workers put rooms on the back, drilled a well, and volunteers from Nickel Plate even put in electricity. (Nobody in the west end of town had water until then).

By March, people all over Frankfort had given over $3,000. Construction began with people working for reduced money and others even donating their time.

“Mrs. Black brought along her two-month-old baby and parked the cab nearby. She would take the child to a house across the way, change it, give it a warm bottle of milk, and then continue to keep the block layer supplied with mortar.”
— March 27, 1955 The Frankfort Morning Times

About $4,500 was raised—a lot of money in those days! Money came from individuals and churches such as Woodside Christian Church, the Presbyterian Church, and Kirklin Methodist. Mother Morris had prayed for years that God would send this community a church and preach. The reporter said it was “faithful, patient prayer.” Mrs. Doty said, with tears coursing down her cheeks, “This is a day of miracles.”

“The spiritual heart of Frankfort was beating within and without a building Sunday afternoon—a building that only a handful of people with faith and love and prayer knew would be finished. It was, and the victory was God’s—completely and unreservedly.” — The Frankfort Times

Bus Ministry

At first, they were only working with children in the west end, but they soon saw the need to branch out.

The church bought a bus to bring children and adults who needed transportation.

The church continued the bus ministry for years. In 1986, they were able to get a new bus with a wheelchair lift. The Presbyterian church came to their aid and gave thousands of dollars for it. Now Victory Chapel could bring those in wheelchairs easier. They would go to the nursing homes, Parkview Home, and individual shut-ins. Children, teens, older people, able-bodied, and those with a handicap were welcomed. No one was turned away.

In 2018 Glenda (Smith) Barnard was visiting the nursing home and noticed a resident, Mary Mullinax, who was unable to get to church because of being in a wheelchair. The Chapel realized that once again they needed a church bus with a wheelchair lift. Amazingly, God started opening doors the very day Glenda met Mary Mullinax! Now the Chapel, once again, is able to pick up those who need transportation.

For over seventy years, the Chapel has worked in children’s ministry—children’s services and clubs. Individuals and even churches have supported this. The United Methodist Church has donated Christmas sacks for over 60 years. Today there are Sunday school classes, Children’s Church, and Wednesday night club meetings.

For some children, Sunday school has been the first time they have heard the story of Jesus.

New Sanctuary and Retirement — 1996

The congregation put advertising inserts in the paper for years to have money toward a new sanctuary. The rest of the money was raised, and a new sanctuary and classrooms were added.

In November of 1996, Lewis Smith retired after fifty years at the Chapel. He continued helping as pastor emeritus until his death in 2016.

1999-2000

Once again, the people of Frankfort rallied with funds to purchase the property from the Wesleyan Church. Community churches, businesses, and friends donated over $99,000 for the church to be independent.

Present

Today, Victory Chapel hosts an annual youth retreat starting each Memorial Day, fall and spring revivals, and other programs. They believe the promises in the Bible, “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). “For this purpose the son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).

written by Elizabeth Smith Hamilton