World Renewal International

Fairfield
It’s a little town that no longer exists except in the mind of a few Hoosiers. I am one of them. “Fairfield was a small village in northern Franklin County, Indiana, but it is a town that really no longer exists. In the 1960's the Corps of Engineers built Brookville Lake. Fairfield was the only town in the Whitewater River Valley, so the town was inundated. There were attempts to move the town, but most folks just moved elsewhere. All of the cemeteries were moved to one location east of the former town site,” says Lyndon Irwin on his genealogy page.
Yet it provides a rich memory of my dad. I was about 10-11 years old when my dad was asked to preach services at a new church plant in the little town of Fairfield, In. My dad and I traveled to the church, it was a small garage that had been converted to a church, it was one small room. They had built a platform and an altar out of 2 x 4’s. The lumber had not been covered; it was not finished, just nailed together.
Later, I heard dad say he was taken aback by the small and unfinished facility. My father was a successful revivalist. God used him as a tool to bring spiritual renewal to congregations. As a result, usually unchurched folks would find Christ as a product of the believers in that congregation being fruitful in their new found deeper walk with Christ. However, was there much to work with in this little place? Why was he here?
I remember it was just dad and I as he knelt at the raw framed altar before people gathered for the service. Dad did his usual and prayed out loud. I listened to dad’s prayer as he struggled to pray at first, then, as he often described, heaven opened. The presence of God was there and dad prayed louder with excitement and stopped and shouted a bit.
I observed the Lord working through my dad that week, which I think was extended a second week of services because so many people were being introduced to Christ. There seemed to be a neighborhood group, on the wild and promiscuous side, that was around the little town and church. I am sure there was not much else to do in the little town of Fairfield.
One of the girls from that group came to the services. I think her grandmother was requiring her attendance. She mocked my dad while he was preaching by setting with her legs on the seat in front of her, deliberately exposing more of herself than she should. She would look at my dad while he was preaching and laugh and make fun of him. I heard him describe all this to mom when we would get home. Other friends peaked in the windows making noises and throwing rocks onto the metal roof of the church while dad tried to preach. It was quite entertaining really. These disturbances escalated during the week. Dad’s reaction was one of joyous determination. Instead of being offended he seemed to embrace it all with prayerful enthusiasm
Of course, the highlight of these services was when the teenage girl ran to the altar towards the end of the week, wept loudly, and asked God to forgive her of her sins. She and dad became immediate allies in a mission to win her rowdy friends to Christ. I am talking about the ones that had been throwing the rocks on the metal roof. One by one they gave their lives to Christ. Dad would tell this story for the rest of his life. I believe it was a great lesson to him in prayer and perseverance. My grandfather Milner, came and helped him with the music during this time. Granddad led singing and sang solos with his powerful voice. He experienced great joy with these services too. I wanted you to know what a wonderful man your grandfather was. He only stood 5’6” but he was a spiritual giant. I just wanted you to know.