Middlebury Community Church of the Nazarene

09/04/2026

After months of praying, looking around, and some closed doors … today we closed on 5 acres on US 6 in Ligonier.

This same land was once owned by the Ligonier Church of the Nazarene and was a vision of Pastor John Lutton.

Today, we bought it back and the plan is to build a 6800 sq ft, 200 seat sanctuary with fellowship hall in the near future.

A special thank you to a great church member of ours, Glenda Laughlin - Bright Star RES , for being such a good realtor and leading us through this purchase.

Also, thank you you to Dor Schlabach, our church board secretary, for her time today and traveling to Kendallville for this very special closing.

So , please celebrate with us today as we celebrate God‘s faithfulness to His church and the bright future that we share together. By the way, no indebtedness was incurred on the purchase of this property thanks to the generosity of two wonderful congregations!

09/03/2026

Still room for more!!! Contact Kathy today!

09/03/2026

There have been some changes and updates! We apologize for the confusion! See below!

Upcoming Church Events:

September 4th @ 6 p.m.- Volleyball/ Game Night
Join us for a "just because" type of event night! Come on down and get ready for some competition OR bring a chair and cheer on your favorite team!

September 5th @ 7:30 a.m.- Men's Group Breakfast
Join leader Bob Gage and the rest of the Men's group as we gather for great food and fellowship @ Howie's Six Mile Restaurant in Lagrange!

September 11th @ 6:30 p.m.- Celebrate America in Concert!
Back by popular demand! Come and celebrate our Nation Under God with this FREE Concert Event! Any donations before, during or after concert go to support The American Legion Post 210 & The Ligonier Church of the Nazarene Building Fund!
*Food Trucks will be on site @ 6:30 p.m. for an additional cost!

September 19th- Frankenmuth Adult Day Trip
Christmas. Breakfast. Shopping. River Boat. Water Park. Arcade. Need we say more? Reserve a spot now!! Parents- Leave the kids at home! *$55/ pp for the cost of the luxury coach transportaion

September 20th @ 9:30 a.m.- Drive Your Tractor to Church Sunday!
Join us for our 10th YEAR as families from around the area "Drive their tractor to Church"! Come out early to visit the drivers and equipment.
*The Aaron Stutzman Family Live in Concert begins @ 10:30 a.m.
*Lunch to follow concert

October 3rd- Men's Group Breakfast
Location: TBD. Updates coming soon!

October 7th @ 6:30 p.m.- Night of Worship Event
Join worship leader Christian Anthony Ross, and the MCCN Singers and Band as we sing and praise the night away with Hymns, Praise and Worship, and Gospel music! God did some amazing things last Worship Night, and we know He will do it again!

***Further down the road:

October 16-17th- Men's Ministry Campout and BBQ

October 24th- Annual MCCN All- Church Harvest Party

09/01/2026

This week we celebrate, from our fast growing Ligonier campus, Mr. Owen “ Ed” Scott.

When you first walk in the door of this incredible church it will be Ed who greets you! And ,not only a friendly greeting , he will make sure you get coffee, water, orange juice, or anything you might desire. And, I can tell you, there is never a shortage of really good cookies on Sunday mornings!

Ed has been a quiet leader in this congregation for over 35 years! When he’s not at church serving others, he’s enjoying being grandpa to the cutest grandkids in the county!

Ed, we sure appreciate you! Thank you for being a faithful servant in Gods kingdom!

Pastor Gary & Pastor Joshua Sheets

08/30/2026

Today we enjoyed a visit from our NEI District Superintendent and his wife, Pastor Andy and Lori Dayton.

Pastor Andy preached a great sermon and met with our board afterwards for my review.

Kimberley Sheets and I humbly and very gratefully accept another 4 year call to continue as senior pastor & wife of this incredible church.

After the meeting today, I cooked hibachi and even served by dad’s secret recipe made from scratch , yeast rolls! Nothing but the best for my boss and wife!!

A Grateful Pastor,

Gary Mike Sheets

08/27/2026

Today we celebrate the First Lady of our church, Kimberley Ann Sheets.

Talk about opposites attract—that was definitely the case with Kim and me. As most of you know, Kim does not like to be up front. She doesn’t enjoy accolades, and she is definitely not an attention-seeker. But what she does have is a powerful ministry right here in our church.

Whether she’s meeting with ladies one-on-one, teaching our two- and three-year-old class, filling in for Wednesday night Children’s Church, or serving in the nursery, Kim stays busy. She even decided a while back to become one of our front-door greeters so she could keep up with all the new people coming into the church.

Kim loves being part of Middlebury Community Church. She’s always willing to help in any way she can—as long as it’s not up front in front of people.
She loves spending time with our grandkids and is anxiously awaiting March 1st, when we will welcome another grandbaby into our family.

Kim is also quite the fishing lady. And yes—this is an actual picture of her holding one of the sharks she’s caught on the many times we’ve gone shark fishing in Florida.

Thank you, Kim, for all you do for our church, our family, and everyone at Shipshewana Scott, where you are an incredible teacher.
Pastor & husband,
Gary Mike Sheets

08/21/2026

Today we celebrate our Church secretary, Darlene Plank.
A standing joke between Darlene and me is that when we bought the church, she came with it! Darlene served faithfully as the secretary of Forks Mennonite Church for many years, and we saw no reason not to continue that relationship when we became Middlebury Community Church of the Nazarene. It has truly been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.
When Darlene isn’t busy in the office preparing bulletins and handling the many other tasks that keep things running smoothly, she is making sure our Wednesday night children’s church has a lesson, a craft, and all the activities planned.
She also takes care of changing our decorations from time to time and has developed a team to keep our outdoor flowers looking beautiful.
We are so grateful for Darlene’s faithful service to the Lord at our church. We appreciate the many things we see her do—and the many unseen things she does as well!

You are appreciated,

Pastor Gary Mike Sheets

08/19/2026

***ATTENTION!!! DON'T FORGET!!!!***
Today, August 19th, we will be meeting in Shipshewana at the Michiana Event Center (MEC Arena) to help with this AMAZING cause!

***ALL AGES AND ABILITIES WELCOMED TO HELP!***

Please meet with Autumn Morrison and the Church staff @ the Front Entrance Starting @5:45 TONIGHT! We will start helping @ 6!

Our regular Bible Study Wednesday's will resume next week!

08/19/2026

Reminder, no activities at church tonight, Wednesday August 19.

We will all be in Shipshewana packing food for feed my starving children!

08/16/2026