In Loving Memory
Just this past Saturday (July 27) at around 4:30 p.m., the Lord allowed a bus accident to take Pastor Chad and Courtney Phelps (and their unborn baby) and Mrs. Tonya Weindorf home to enjoy Him in His presence forever (Psalm 16:11; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Hebrews 11:13-16). Dozens of our children and teens were returning from a week of camp when the accident occurred with the teen bus. The Lord spared the lives of all 33 teenagers and 2 children on board and the bus driver, although many are still recovering from significant injuries. God's mercies in this tragedy are too many to recite (Psalm 103), and we magnify His sovereign goodness even in the moment of sorrow (Psalm 119:68; Romans 8:28-30). We believe the Biblical message of good news that God willingly and lovingly sacrificed His own Son, Jesus Christ, upon the cross in order that we might be rescued from the penalty of our sins; and because that same Jesus rose from the dead, we of all people have an assured hope of eternity beyond the grave through His resurrection and life (John 10:21-27). Furthermore, we have heard of God drawing people to Himself in saving faith through this situation, and we're amazed by a God who brings beauty out of ashes (Isaiah 61:1-3). For these reasons and many more, we rejoice, even as we sorrow!
In Loving Memory
Just this past Saturday (July 27) at around 4:30 p.m., the Lord allowed a bus accident to take Pastor Chad and Courtney Phelps (and their unborn baby) and Mrs. Tonya Weindorf home to enjoy Him in His presence forever (Psalm 16:11; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Hebrews 11:13-16). Dozens of our children and teens were returning from a week of camp when the accident occurred with the teen bus. The Lord spared the lives of all 33 teenagers and 2 children on board and the bus driver, although many are still recovering from significant injuries. God's mercies in this tragedy are too many to recite (Psalm 103), and we magnify His sovereign goodness even in the moment of sorrow (Psalm 119:68; Romans 8:28-30). We believe the Biblical message of good news that God willingly and lovingly sacrificed His own Son, Jesus Christ, upon the cross in order that we might be rescued from the penalty of our sins; and because that same Jesus rose from the dead, we of all people have an assured hope of eternity beyond the grave through His resurrection and life (John 10:21-27). Furthermore, we have heard of God drawing people to Himself in saving faith through this situation, and we're amazed by a God who brings beauty out of ashes (Isaiah 61:1-3). For these reasons and many more, we rejoice, even as we sorrow!
The programs and videos of both funerals are now available at our Bus Accident Memorial webpage. Also accessible at that page is — the press conference, our church's response in the following Sunday/Wednesday services, information about donations, etc. We hope and pray that our Lord Jesus will continue to glorify Himself through the message of legacy and hope offered by this webpage!
Thank you Keith for the info about archiving the service. I wanted to watch it but have two little ones at home that keep me pretty busy. Our hearts and prayers are with you all! God has truly been glorified in this situation. He is working all across the globe through these faithful people that he has called home.
Was wanting to hear the funeral service in honor of Tonya as a servant of the Lord! We sorrow with you in this time of bereavement. Colonial Hills BC is near our parents/in law.
We served a church nearby Frankfort several years ago. We have met many folks of the church and so it is kind of personal to us the pain our dear friends are feeling at this time.
Thank you for your prayers and support, and we're honored that you tuned in for Tonya's funeral. While we sorrow, she is rejoicing, and therefore, we rejoice.
The funeral service has been archived and will be uploaded to our church website (www.colonialindy.org/bus-accident-memorial) at a later time. While we may not be able to get it up this week, we will seek to do so by Tuesday of next week at the latest.
Will the service be on line somewhere? I didn't know the time difference so missed the first part of the service and would love to see it if it is going to be repeated.
I'm sorry that I forgot to say how very much we've been praying for these families; & for the entire church family! Our God is great, & so willing to comfort & help! PTL!
I was sorry that I tuned in too late to hear Tonya's funeral service--I forgot about the time change! Will this be available to see/hear at a later time? And, the Phelps' funeral tomorrow--will that be available after the live broadcast time?
We understand that the video quality is a bit poor, and we sincerely apologize for that. We had tested it before and are doing all we can to correct it. In the meantime, we trust that the audio will be an encouragement to you. Again, we apologize for not being able to provide a better video at this time, and we will keep on working on it.