Deer Creek Chapel of the Christian and Missionary Alliance is located in Walnut Township.

The first church group to have the building was known as “The Church of God,” Neighborhood Chapel.  The church building was erected in 1923 under the supervision of Jack Hoover, carpenter of Peru.  The land was given by R. W. Adcock.  The church was built by donations from the local community and some outside of the community.

The first families who represented the church were as follows:  R. W. Adcock, John Burgan, Louis Loomis, John Verwers, Clyde Taylor, Mrs. Mary Riggs, Frank Kirk and C. C. Schoonover.

Deer Creek Chapel

Photo courtesy of Allen Family Collection

The church was sold to the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination in 1945. 

Through the ministry of the state directors of Child Evangelism and a missionary from the American Sunday School Union, a Sunday School was organized in the Deer Creek rural schoolhouse with a membership of 440 in the summer of 140.  They continued classes there holding some out under the shade of the trees until that fall when the Church of God gave them permission to use their church building east of the school house.  They continued their Sunday School there having special speakers and gospel teams whenever possible.

In the late summer of 1943, an extension worker from the Christian and Missionary Alliance held one week’s meeting and was instrumental in locating a young graduate out of Nyack Bible College in New York.  Through his ministry a splendid work was started.  His ministry of two years ended when he was called to the mission field in India.  It was at that time the congregation bought the church building from the Church of God and organized as a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church.

The charter members were Mr. and Mrs. Emory Ackelson and family, Jonathan Amstutz now a missionary in India, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Burkhead and Ruth, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cain, Mr. and Mrs. George Jacobs, Mr. and Mrs. Ward Parker and Dale, Mr. and Mrs. Fon Porter and family, Mr. and Mrs. Merrill Porter and Larry, Mr. and Mrs. John Peterson, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Robinett, Mr. and Mrs. Forest Spencer, Mrs. John Ricketts, Mrs. Guy Williams and Lola.

May of the young people have gone out into the Christian service and two other pastors have been called to the mission field, one to the Philippines and another to French West Africa.  Attendance ran up to 80.

The present pastor is L. J. Knouf.

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