By Greg Miller

STAR Correspondent

Heartland Fellowship Church Pastor Marvin Slagle and his wife, Sara, have been serving the church for 27 years.

Slagle says he was 13 years old living in Indiana when he became a Christian.  “I attended church with my mother and sister,” said Slagle, an Alabama native. “My mother became a Christian at the same time. My father became a Christian later.”

Following his conversion, Slagle worked in and was mentored by his local church for about a year. “I also did some speaking in other local churches,” he said. He began preaching when he was about 16 or 17 years old.

According to Slagle, his wife is a “big part” of his ministry. “She’s the one who stands with me, we discuss and she shares her thoughts,” he said. “She helps with every part of the church when she can.”

Slagle first pastored a church in South Dakota, before pastoring two congregations in West Virginia. Prior to moving to Tennessee, he pastored a church in Michigan.

Slagle explains his ministry philosophy. “I think we have to connect with people where they’re living at and get them connected to a personal relationship with the Lord,” he said.

Commitment to the Lord is one of Slagle’s favorite preaching topics. “Commitment is a decision of our will,” observes Slagle, who notes the importance of discipleship in that commitment. “Disciple means to be an imitator of the teacher,” he said.

Slagle describes his vision for the church. “As the church grows, we’re planning to build a new auditorium,” he stated. “We’ll not build until we have the financial means to do that. We’re not going into debt. We don’t believe in putting a burden of debt on the church, especially in this day and time.”

According to the church’s website, the current church building was completed in 2007. “The first service at the new location was held on Dec. 2, 2007,” the website states. “Since then God has continued to bless our congregation and our efforts to build the Kingdom of God under His direction. It is the desire of this church that you will receive spiritual strength and instruction through worship, prayer, fellowship and the Word of God.”

The website states, “The mission of Heartland Fellowship is to bear witness for Christ and His truth and to spread the gospel of the Kingdom in all its fullness and power, so that the rule of God is brought about in the hearts of men. Our Mission Statement:

The life, emphasis and focus of Heartland Fellowship are centered around God’s Word.

Heartland Fellowship is more concerned about pleasing God rather than pleasing others.

The main priority of Heartland Fellowship is to build the Kingdom by winning souls through reaching the lost with every possible means and resources that are available.

Heartland Fellowship believes that equipping believers for service is a biblical requirement.

Heartland Fellowship’s greatest testimonies are changed lives; not buildings, budgets or numbers.

The only image Heartland Fellowship is concerned about is being obedient to the call of God.”

Prayer, Slagle says, plays an important role at Heartland Fellowship. “We do stress a lot of prayer in our church,” he remarked. “We have several prayer groups that meet every week. We have a monthly prayer service, and we know prayer is the foundation of any ministry. Prayer is the foundation of the Christian life. That’s how we got saved, through prayer and God sensing the sincerity of our hearts. We’re very dependent on prayer in this church. We can’t rely on intimidation. We can’t rely on new methods. Our vision is not in the building. It’s not in how much money we take in. It’s in reaching people with the message of the hope of Christ.”

The church, Slagle said, can currently seat 150-175 people. If necessary, he said, the church could begin having an additional service on Sunday mornings. “Right now, we can expand some more in the building we’re in,” he said.

The church was started around 1933 in the Valley Forge area, according to Slagle. “Around 1948, they purchased a building on Park Avenue,” he said.

Worship services at Heartland Fellowship begin on Sundays at 10 a.m. Slagle estimates the average attendance at the morning services to be about 100 people. Children’s church is conducted simultaneously with the morning service. Sunday’s evening service begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday’s opportunities include Bible study for adults and classes for children and youth.

Slagle describes the Sunday morning worship services as expressive. “We try to do blended worship,” he remarked. “We don’t restrain anybody in their worship of the Lord. As the Bible teaches, we clap our hands and raise our hands.

“We’re here to let the Spirit of the Lord lead us in our services. I don’t try to have a ‘canned’ type service. We try to follow the flow of the Spirit wherever He wants.”

The worship services include special singing and a message by Slagle. He says there have even been times when people went to the altar to pray during the middle of the service.

Sunday’s evening services are themed, according to Slagle. The first Sunday night of each month features a prayer service. “We pray for needs,” he said. “We pray for our nation and reaching people. On the second Sunday night, we have what we call ‘Talent Night.’ People in our church use their talents in singing or sharing stories, and usually somebody will give a message of some thought from the Word of God. On the third Sunday night, we do a ‘Fellowship Night.’ We have finger foods and we break up into small groups in the church to go over a lesson and try to connect with people in a meaningful relationship with each other. That’s usually our highest attendance. Sometimes we have more on Sunday night than we do on Sunday morning. On the fourth Sunday night our youth are in charge of the service. They do a tremendous job.”

Heartland operates a monthly food pantry ministry for the community. The food is available on the fourth Friday of each month at 11 a.m. Shawna Odom oversees the food pantry ministry.

Anthony Ford is the church’s youth pastor. “We have a very good youth ministry here,” Slagle said. “We have a lot of young people. He’s very dedicated to the youth. There’s always something going on several times a week for the youth.”                                        

The Rev. Dennis Hensley serves as a staff minister at the church. Amy Sands is the church’s children’s minister.

Slagle graduated from Hobart Senior High School in Hobart, Ind. He attended one term at Church of God of Prophecy Bible School, Cleveland, Tenn. “We’ve also taken several classes over the years to continue to upgrade our education when we can,” he said.

According to the website, Slagle was ordained as a licensed minister in 1970. He was ordained as a bishop in 1976 and served as a district bishop and camp director for the denomination. Slagle currently serves as the senior chaplain at Sycamore Shoals Hospital.

The Slagle’s daughter, Rachel Pearson, and son-in-law, Craig, reside in Gilbert, Ariz., with their two children, Rayanna and Jonas. According to the website, “their oldest child, Perry, departed this life in July of 2015 and is now in the presence of the Lord.” The Slagles’ son, Kevin, and daughter-in-law, Kim, and their daughter, Riley, live in Elkhart, Ind.

The primary goal at Heartland Fellowship Church, according to Slagle, is to “keep reaching people for Christ, mentoring people, discipling people, building relationships…”

Heartland Fellowship Church is located at 140 Minton Hollow Road, in the Stoney Creek community of Elizabethton. For more information, call 423-543-7770, or send an e-mail through the church’s website, www.heartlandfc.org.