HISTORY
The Southwest Indiana District Church of the Nazarene began on Wednesday morning, August 25, 1948, at the Camby Campground, Indianapolis, Indiana. The assembly vote was unanimous to divide the Indianapolis District, thereby creating the new Southwest Indiana District. Rev. Leo C. Davis, pastor at Elkhart, Indiana, was elected as the first superintendent.
The District began with 4,760 church members, a Sunday School enrollment of 11,073, and an average weekly attendance of 6,762. Church property value was nearly one million dollars and $485,583 was received for all purposes in that first year. The District experienced exceptional growth under the dedicated leadership of Dr. Leo C. Davis, who served 18 years as superintendent until his retirement in 1966. The number of churches had grown to 106, church membership to 6,911 and weekly Sunday School average attendance 9,200. Doctor Davis was made District Superintendent Emeritus by the 43rd District assembly in 1991.
At the Eighteenth District Assembly at Bloomington, Indiana, in 1966, Rev. C. R. Thrasher of New Albany First Church became the second District Superintendent. Following the assembly in 1967, Rev. and Mrs. Thrasher were involved in a serious automobile accident that claimed the life of Mrs. Ruby Lee Thrasher and inflicted serious injury to Reverend Thrasher. Feeling he could not sufficiently carry on the duties as District Superintendent, Reverend Thrasher retired from the superintendency in September 1968.
Dr. Charles W. Oliver, who was serving in his eighth year as superintendent of the Mississippi District, was appointed as superintendent of the Southwest Indiana District by the Board of General Superintendents and began his work on October 1, 1968. During his nine years of superintendency, the church membership increased to 8,500 and Sunday School average attendance to 9,001. Many new churches and parsonages were constructed and the value of churches and parsonages increased to a total of $12,015,819. In June 1977, Doctor Oliver resigned to become superintendent of the Alabama District.
At the 29th district assembly in July 1977, Dr. B. G. Wiggs, pastor of the Seymour First Church since February 1959, was elected as the fourth district superintendent. During the superintendency of Dr. Wiggs, several new churches were organized or reopened, and a new district office was constructed. At the 1992 district assembly, Dr. Wiggs retired after 15 years as superintendent. He was made District Superintendent Emeritus by action of the 45th district assembly in 1993.
In September 1992, Dr. M. V. Scutt, then serving as Executive Director for the Department of Evangelism, was appointed by the Board of General Superintendents as the fifth superintendent. Dr. Scutt was raised as a minister’s son on SWID and was pleased to be "back home again in Indiana." In his years as superintendent, Doctor Scutt implemented a number of successful initiatives, a few of which included the planning and construction of a new district parsonage, the appointment of zone superintendents, and the successful implementation of church planting. At the 1999 district assembly, Dr. Scutt retired after 7 years as superintendent.
On July 14, 1999, at the 51st District Assembly, Dr. Garrett Mills, then the pastor of the Seymour First Church, was elected to serve as the sixth superintendent. Dr. Mills was a graduate of God’s Bible College, Cincinnati, Ohio, with a bachelor of ministry degree. He received his master’s degree from Mount Vernon Nazarene College. He had pastored several churches on the Eastern Kentucky District, and had served as district superintendent of that district. In recognition of service rendered during his tenure as Eastern Kentucky district superintendent, Mount Vernon conferred upon him the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. After serving SWID eleven years, Dr. Mills resigned as Superintendent in 2010 to return to serve as pastor of his home church, Turkey Creek, in Inez, Kentucky.
On July 21, 2010, at the 62nd District Assembly held at Camp Camby, Dr. Garry D. Pate was elected as the seventh District Superintendent. Dr. Pate had served as Senior Pastor of Christ’s Community Church in New Albany, Indiana. He is a graduate of Southern Nazarene University (both Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees), Nazarene Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity degree), and The Theological School of Drew University (Doctor of Ministry degree).
On July 26, 2016, at the 68th District Assembly held at The Point Church of the Nazarene in Seymour, Timothy Crump was elected as the eight District Superintendent. Pastor Tim received his Bachelors in Theology (1982) and a Masters of Arts in Religion (1985) from Olivet Nazarene University. He has done additional upper-graduate work at Nazarene Theological Seminary.
Tim has pastored for 31 years. In September 2012 he accepted the call to be Lead Pastor at Salem First Church of the Nazarene, Salem, Oregon. Prior to his arrival in Salem. Tim led churches in Braidwood, Illinois, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, Lombard, Illinois, Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Decatur, Illinois. He has served as District SDMI chairperson on the Michigan and Illinois Districts, been a District Advisory Board member, Palcon presenter, and the Mission Strategy Chairmen on the Illinois District. His wife, Cindy, is a certified schoolteacher with a degree from Olivet in Elementary Education. She presently enjoys her full-time work as a pastor’s wife. She has been a home day care provider and was the Day Care Director for the Gospel Mission in Kalamazoo, and Creative Kids Day Care in Decatur. She also worked at Step Forward as a QMRP, which serves the needs of mentally and physically challenged individuals in Decatur.