Overview & Response
On Saturday, July 27, 2013 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 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 are 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!
Countless numbers of believers, churches, businesses, and community organizations have sent flowers, expressed prayer, posted strengthening words, and been a ministry of God's grace to our church family at this time. We cannot overstate the encouragement you have been to our church family, and we want to humbly thank you all for your loving and generous kindness, especially to those families directly affected by this accident.
God's grace is being found to be sufficient for our every need (2 Corinthians 12:9-10), and we are grateful for the rich and everlasting hope we have in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:51-58) — since "absent from the body is to be present with the Lord," (2 Corinthians 5:8) we "sorrow not as those who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), for an everlasting reunion is promised with friends and family who have gone before, and in our midst will be our accomplished and victorious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Revelation 21:1-5, 22-23).
Countless numbers of believers, churches, businesses, and community organizations have sent flowers, expressed prayer, posted strengthening words, and been a ministry of God's grace to our church family at this time. We cannot overstate the encouragement you have been to our church family, and we want to humbly thank you all for your loving and generous kindness, especially to those families directly affected by this accident.
God's grace is being found to be sufficient for our every need (2 Corinthians 12:9-10), and we are grateful for the rich and everlasting hope we have in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:51-58) — since "absent from the body is to be present with the Lord," (2 Corinthians 5:8) we "sorrow not as those who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), for an everlasting reunion is promised with friends and family who have gone before, and in our midst will be our accomplished and victorious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Revelation 21:1-5, 22-23).
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Click on the document below to view the notes from our services (Sunday, July 28; Wednesday, July 31; and Sunday, August 4). Or, click on the links at right to listen to the sermons from the week. 
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Sun, 7/28 ABF — Pastor Lewis: Purposeful Difficulty & Precious Death Sun, 7/28 AM — Pastor Phelps: Why Art Thou Cast Down? Hope in God Sun, 7/28 AM — Pastor Taylor: The Lord is My Shepherd Sun, 7/28 PM — Pastor Taylor: God's Grace During Dark Times Sun, 7/28 PM — Pastor Heller: Encouragement of the Believer Wed, 7/31 PM — Pastor Phelps: Whether by Life or by Death Wed, 7/31 PM — Caleb Phelps: God is Good! Jesus is Enough! Wed, 7/31 PM — Joe Fant: A "Trage-tunity" Wed, 7/31 PM — Governor Pence: The Lord is Close to the Brokenhearted Sun, 8/4 ABF — Dr. Barber: Theology of Illness and Suffering Sun, 8/4 AM — Pastor Phelps: Committed to Compassion Sun, 8/18 AM — Pastor Phelps: The Benefits of Burning Sun, 8/18 PM — Testimonies: Tracing the Footprints of God | ||
"Footprints of God" Testimony Service • August 18, 2013
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On Sunday evening, August 18, our church family enjoyed a special service in which we shared how we have seen God's footprints during our time of tragedy. You can listen to this service by clicking here — Tracing the Footprints of God.
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Community Appreciation Sunday • September 15, 2013
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We want to thank the many local churches, business, and community organizations that actively supported and served our church throughout this time.
To do so more publicly, CHBC hosted a Community Appreciation Service on September 15, 2013, inviting and honoring first responders, medical providers, prayer warriors, and all those who helped in this time of crisis. The service featured Youth E.D.G.E. teens in song, special gifts for all who gave so much to us, testimonies from survivors, and a special message from God’s Word. |
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Memorial Gardens Commemorative Service • May 14, 2014
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The lawn areas between the A- and B-Wings and between B-Wing and the Heller Building have been landscaped into beautiful gardens. Not only do these renovated areas provide a more attractive entrance to our facility, but they have also been dedicated as Memorial Gardens as we seek to honor the memory of those whom the Lord took home to be with Himself on July 27, 2013. The centerpiece of each garden is a sturdy Dogwood tree—one planted in loving memory of Tonya Weindorf and the other planted to remember Chad, Courtney, and Baby Girl Phelps.
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Remembrance Sunday • July 27, 2014
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Our church family enjoyed a special Remembrance Service on Sunday, July 27, 2014. We continued to ask God to minister healing and to "Fan the Flame" of this "trage-tunity."
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This video was shown during the Remembrance Service. It highlights the hope, healing, and opportunity that have come as a result of the bus accident.
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Resources
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On October 12, 2012, Pastor Chad preached a sermon on the Purpose of Suffering to the teens at Colonial Hills Baptist Church. Since then, that sermon has been produced in a beautiful 4"x6.5" booklet, and through this message "he being dead still speaks" (Hebrews 11:4). You can read the booklet below, but we ask that you please not reproduce it. To purchase additional copies, contact our church office ([email protected]; 317-253-5597).
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Hymns
Two hymns were impacted by the events of our "trage-tunity". Shortly after July 27, Chris Anderson dedicated his text, "I Am With You", to our church. More recently, Chad's brother, Caleb, collaborated with Chris to take a text that Chad had written and set it to music. The result was "My Lord was Emptied", a meditation on Philippians 2:5-11.
Memorials
Tonya Weindorf
Visitation — Thursday, August 1 from 3:00-7:00 p.m.
Funeral — Friday, August 2 at 10:30 a.m. For obituaries, memorial details, and donations information, please click here.
Watch the Funeral
If you have a special story, memory, or picture of Tonya to share for encouragement to the Weindorf family, you can email that to [email protected]. |
Chad & Courtney Phelps
Visitation — Friday, August 2 from 3:00-7:00 p.m.
Funeral — Saturday, August 3 at 11:00 a.m. For obituaries, memorial details, and donations information, please click here (Chad) and here (Courtney).
Watch the Funeral
In striving to provide Chad and Courtney's little son, Chase, with a legacy journal, the Phelps and Gaddy families have created www.forevermissed.com/chadcourtney. If you have a special story, memory, video, or picture to share, please do so via the link above. Furthermore, Chad's brothers, Caleb and Daniel, are seeking to preserve Chad's legacy of faithful Bible preaching and teaching at www.fanningflames.org. 
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