Madison, Wisconsin,
Church Project

The Apostolic Faith work in Madison, Wisconsin, began several years ago when Charles and Antonia Schleicher felt the Lord’s leading to begin a work there. The Schleichers were commuting to our church in Richland Center, Wisconsin, about an hour-and-a-half drive, to worship with the congregation there, but they had a desire to see souls saved in Madison. Through their employment at the University of Wisconsin, the Schleichers came in contact with people who expressed an interest in the Gospel. Initially, some of these people traveled to Richland Center with the Schleichers for church services. When some of these visitors got saved, they expressed a desire to have weeknight Bible studies in Madison in addition to their Sunday trips to Richland Center. In June of 1996, the Schleichers felt led to hold Bible studies in their home on Wednesday evenings. The good response inspired them to open their home for Sunday services beginning in November of 1996.

When the living room was no longer large enough to hold all the children for Sunday school, the group started praying for a place outside the Schleichers’ home to hold Sunday school. In the spring of 1997, a woman who attended a service at the Schleichers’ home told the group about the Madison Boys’ and Girls’ Club, and she encouraged them to ask the director of the club if it could be used for a meeting place on Sunday mornings. After discovering that our churches do not take collections during their services, the secretary of the club offered to let the Madison church group use two meeting rooms at no cost, instead of charging the usual fee. In the spring of 1997, the Schleichers and their group started using the Madison Boys’ and Girls’ club for Sunday school and Sunday morning services, while still holding services in the Schleichers’ home for the weeknight Bible studies and Sunday evening services.

Over the ten years that the Madison church group worshiped at the boys’ and girls’ club, the congregation changed considerably, from local individuals to mostly homeless children to what it is today: a mixture of single adults, families, and international students. As the group increased in size, the desire to purchase a church building began to take root. They prayed and pursued the possibility, and the Lord opened the door in April of 2007 for them to purchase a home with the achievability of remodeling it for a church. The facility was a former fire hall that had been renovated into a lovely home, and the large rooms, commercial kitchen, and layout made it possible to have a beautiful church without having to do extensive remodeling. In September of 2007, the remodeling work began to remove some of the walls to make a larger sanctuary, and to add a couple of handicap-accessible restrooms. Nineteen volunteers from twelve of our branch churches traveled to Madison to help with the construction, and the local congregation also assisted in many ways. After three months of hard work and plenty of great fellowship along the way, the final inspection was approved the day before Thanksgiving. The first services in the new sanctuary were held on Sunday, November 30, amidst much rejoicing and excitement for how the Lord had provided. Reverend Schleicher and the Madison congregation are very thankful for all the prayers, volunteer help, and support during their remodeling project, and they are anticipating the dedication of their new church on May 3, 2009.