History of the Statement of Faith Bro. Jack Kinckle of Mansfield, Ohio was the initiating force behind the Statement of Faith. He was the son of a German minister and married to a daughter of an elder from the Mansfield church. He was a very prosperous and influential business man in the community. His wife converted at around 30 years of age and then, twenty years later, at the age of 50, he did too. At that time, in the mid-forties, the church was very disorganized and didn’t seem to have a firm grasp of what it believed in. Bro. Jack, having only been a member for one year, was appalled at how the church was run and this inspired him to study God’s Word and initiate the founding of our Statement of Faith. His baptism was around the time of Bro. Tony Betz’s elder ordination, and he developed a close rapport with him. For those who don’t know about Bro. Tony, he was an uneducated man by this world’s standard of wisdom. His secretary, Sis. Pauline Miller, did all of the writing and business aspects for him since he wasn’t able to do so. These three godly forefathers, Bro. Jack, Bro. Tony and Sis. Pauline spent many hours putting together the statement of faith. This all happened around 1948 to 1950. Although the Statement of Faith as we know it today, has been slightly expanded and modified, its basic principles have held true and faithful over fifty years, having been initiated by a brother of only one year with an unquenchable zeal and love for the church and for his Lord. Bro. Jack was also responsible for starting the Foundation and the Mansfield Retirement Center. When he died, he didn’t leave any wealth to any of his children, since throughout his lifetime he had pampered them. Instead, Bro. Jack left all his earthly possessions and wealth to charity.