I'm here with Keith Sarber, who's the executive director of Church Community Services now.

Keith, this is now going to be part of Church Community Services.

But of course, your main location is in downtown Elkhart.

But where we are right now, I've driven by this every day almost for the last five years.

So tell me about the building that we're in right now, just off the bypass.

Yeah.

So this is the site of the old Jim Town Historical Museum.

It sits on about 20 acres.

Only about four of it is recognizable or known to people who have driven past time and time again.

This is an old farmhouse in 1800s.

Farmhouse that was moved to this property when the bypass was put in.

So some 20 plus years ago, this this main floor here was a museum still keeps many of those characteristics intact.

So you can still see a fair amount of Jim town history.

The lower level is a community center.

And then the the sweeping rolling property is going to be event space as well as the museum itself.

The the main farmhouse will be an events marketing space for public awareness and fundraising for church community services.

I mean, it's a great way to bring value in this and a property and an opportunity to the community while raising awareness for church community services, right?

Because so much of fundraising is done by just goodwill and asking people for money, but to be actually able to offer them something and then be able to raise funds and awareness, that must be pretty exciting too.

Yeah, it's very extraordinarily exciting.

So in about a week and a half, we have what we're calling the annual artisan fair.

So these rooms will be filled with crafters, the downstairs left crafters, they'll be food trucks.

So family friendly fun event.

Few weeks after that, in June, there will be music in the Meadows, and we'll look outside here in a bit and we'll have three different bands playing independently.

Not at the same time, but three different bands shifting through the afternoon.

Food trucks, family friendly.

Bring a blanket, bring a camp cheer.

Yeah, fun events.

And you know, if you're like me and you're like watching the traffic, then of course you can watch the traffic as well go by, which is.

Yeah.

Or.

Yes.

Absolutely.

The semi, the semi trucks and how much the value add is to the community.

No, but I really do love it and I think this is great.

But for anyone watching that may not know about church community Services is that 58 years you've been around now?

Yeah, that's a very good memory, almost 60 years.

Church Community Services has been serving the community.

One of the primary distinctions on this property, on our south central property is we won't be running any programing here.

So the food pantry, the Women's Empowerment program, Super Success Financial Services and our garden program will all still be maintained office and run through South central Elkhart.

We will hold we will farm some of this land or garden some of this land, but there won't be programmatic offerings here other than the quality events, which again, is so great.

And I do want to go outside and look because as you mentioned, four and a half acres from the road, you can see, but it goes right back to Go Creek, right?

All the way back on this.

So, so again, this house is you know, they don't make them like this anymore.

That's right, I like it.

It feels solid, you know, and but yeah it's a beautiful house.

Let's go outside and have a look at the acres of Jamestown.

That's what you're calling it.

The acres at Jamestown.

So this is this is like my dream.

Like when I thought about living in the United States.

I think about a porch like this.

Some rocking chairs just looking out over the beautiful meadow, a windmill, a windmill, some horseshoe, some horseshoe pits.

I mean, this is American flag.

You gotta love that.

Hey, I'm an American citizen now, so this is right up my street.

So tell me about everything here.

You talk about gardening.

Some of this area, like where are you planning on gardening?

Yeah.

So imagine wherever you see the cardboard, beautiful towering sunflowers or multicolored wild flower beds up front on the on the side as you're driving in.

And these on these in these flower mounds in those mounds out there.

Imagine.

A white wedding procession down the pergola to to the end to the pastor.

So really we joked about the number of opportunities, but the sky is really the limit for families and their loved ones.

From a wedding to a bar mitzvah to a container, to a family reunion, to a high school reunion, any any of that could happen right here.

Oh yeah, and imagine the bride, sorry.

Or the groom walking out that front door down the pergola.

And yeah, again, getting married in a a wonderful space.

Well, and again, it's just, you know, it's great to know that when you do that then the money is going towards church community services.

Not that there's anything wrong with making a profit, but knowing that your money's going back into helping the food pantry or helping the women's empowerment program, Soup of Success, all those things, I just think it's like it's just got a real feel good factor.

Yeah.

Some people would say, Keith, are you crazy?

You know what?

What are you doing?

What are you doing here?

But when you think about all.

Not big on sayings, but all boats rise as we're able to develop a beautiful property and rent it out or hold events.

Yeah, our impact increases.

Absolutely.

And then you get a chance, as you said, to show off the space.

But when you do have an event coming up and you have music, maybe you have a moment to talk to people about what Church Community Services is.

So you have a built in audience then as well to, and maybe there's someone there that might need it in the future or might be able to help it.

So tell me again about some of the events that are actually coming up.

So there are some hard dates of things that you're actually going to be doing.

So this weekend on the 16th.

Yeah, the Saturday we're having an annual artisan fair.

So inside the museum, outside the museum will be crafters will be food trucks, family can families can come and explore art and have a great lunch and buy some wonderful products from local vendors all around Elkhart County.

June 14th Sunday afternoon after church music and the Meadows.

Nice again.

Imagine a band underneath the pergola families and on blankets and camp chairs out here having a nice picnic or buying a lunch off the food trucks.

I also put a shameless plug in for our huge premiere fundraiser, which is June 27th at the Goshen Theater, the historic Goshen Theater in downtown Goshen.

Stand up for a seriously funny fundraiser with a headliner out of New York that you is incredible.

Okay, so again, lots of opportunities coming up for people to get involved with church community services.

And I think this is great.

I mean, it's also great that you've got such great road frontage here that you can show everyone what you're doing as well with the big sign, you know?

So, yeah.

So again, just a just a wonderful addition.

I think it's a really innovative way to try and fundraise and grow your mission.

I mean, why wouldn't you do it?

How did you come about having this property.

Oh it's so it's a great it's a great question.

And you know me, I don't have necessarily short answers, but two board members heard me saying from Church Community Services in south central Elkhart, pointing south of town, if there were a farm out there somewhere that wanted to be donated to church community services, we would sure take it and make use of it.

And they said, hey, I think I know of a farm or a beautiful old farmhouse that might be willing to do that.

And so they knew folks on the board and the board got together.

And, you know, if I were to give it odds, I wouldn't have gave it very good.

Yeah.

But hey, but over the course of a year, we got together and, you know, had conversations.

And so the whole property, the 20 ish acres, beautiful farmhouse, was donated to Church Community Services.

And just finally, for people that did want to, you know, love the Jim Town Historic Museum and the honor of that, what are the things you're putting in place to make sure that you do still respect the, you know, the history of the building?

We are going to maintain that main level of the museum.

We have no designs on changing that.

And so families will still have access to the gym Town Historical Museum as it was when we took it over at any event.

Yeah, the museum will be open and people can walk through.

All right, so this Saturday, May 16th, what time is the arts event going to be on?

9 a.m.

to 3 p.m.. Sweet on the music in the Meadows will be a noon to five.

Perfect.

And I would be remiss if I didn't say to add in.

So in October, Fall Seeds, Harvest Seeds of Hope, Harvest Party in October, and an incredible Christmas at the farmhouse that is going to be great.

I'm not going to reveal I got all of it, but no, no.

Cut out.

I'm not listening to Christmas already.

Okay, I love Christmas, but no, it's too soon for Christmas.

But imagine lighting it up.