Bill and Vi Goodrich: A Testimony of Faithfulness

At 4:00 a.m. on January 31, 2022, Pastor Bill Goodrich got out of bed and collapsed in his Indianapolis, IN, home. Half an hour later, his wife, Vi, discovered him unresponsive on their bedroom floor and immediately called 911. The doctors were able to perform an emergency procedure, quickly removing a blood clot from his brain and saving his life.

Up to that point, Bill had been healthy and active, bicycling around 100 miles every week and leading a morning street bike fellowship for men in the church. Following the stroke, he was weak, unable to speak, and confined to his bed in the ICU. After a week in the hospital, Bill was transferred to a rehab facility. He was stable, but questions abounded: Would he ever walk again? Talk again? What would happen to Horizon Indy, the thriving church he’d been pastoring for the past 33 years?

Rehab went well, and the situation looked promising. But then a few months after the stroke, Bill was diagnosed with stage 4 Parkinson’s Plus syndrome. Was this the end of fruitful ministry for this beloved pastor and faithful teacher of God’s Word at Horizon Christian Fellowship in Indianapolis?

A Product of the Jesus People Revival

Bill’s journey with the Lord had started almost half a century earlier—June 2, 1975, at a Monday night Bible study at Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego, CA. Bill had been married to Vi for a year at that point, and she was sitting next to him that night in the church. As Pastor Mike MacIntosh shared the Word, the Holy Spirit was moving powerfully in both of their hearts. At the end of the message, when Mike asked if anyone wanted to follow Jesus, Bill and Vi looked at each other, stood up, and walked forward. They never looked back.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

A man named Mike Ugartechea prayed with them that night and gave them New Testaments and a piece of advice they would never forget: “If you want to be a strong Christian, read the Word every day.” Bill and Vi started that day and are still going strong, having read the Bible together cover to cover over 50 times. One of their favorite passages is 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

They couldn’t get enough of the teaching of the Word and fellowship, showing up at the church anytime it was open. “We’d go 45 minutes early to get a seat near the front,” they remember. Vi, a stewardess for Pacific Southwest Airlines, a coastal California airline, began inviting crew members to church, and they were getting saved. The church was growing fast.

Within weeks, someone asked them if they would help hand out bulletins, and their involvement in ministry never stopped. After a few months, Bill started teaching the Word at a convalescent home every week along with Pete Mallinger, a friend who had given his heart to Jesus about a month earlier than Bill and Vi. (Pete is now pastor of CC El Centro, CA.) God was using this experience to cultivate Bill’s pastor’s heart, and though he wasn’t ordained yet, these people became his first congregation.

“Let Go”

While serving in the convalescent home, Bill and Vi became pregnant with their first child. The people in the convalescent home couldn’t wait for the baby to come. After Jeremy was born, Vi was staying home with the newborn to protect him from infection, but Bill told her how much the residents wanted to see the baby. Vi decided to accompany Bill to the home but determined that she wouldn’t allow anyone to touch the baby.

The convalescent community was excited by the news that Vi would be coming with the baby, and they were all at the door waiting when she showed up. One lady in a wheelchair grabbed Jeremy right out of Vi’s arms and started loving on him before Vi had time to react. Vi heard the Lord saying to her, Let go. It was a lesson Bill and Vi took to heart and is the way they have lived ever since.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”  Matthew 16:24

God then opened the door for a new ministry. A man in the church owned an apartment building that he allowed Bill and Vi to use for a Christian house ministry to the homeless. They moved out of their own home with their 4-month-old baby to live in a communal setting—called The Lord’s Place—with a group of 20-30 homeless people they had befriended in the streets. For one year, they cared for drug addicts, the mentally ill, and the like. “It was a very in-your-face ministry, but it was wonderful,” Vi remembers. Her mother found out and immediately called to insist that Vi and the baby move out and back to Indiana. Vi gently refused. “This is all of the Lord, Mom, and I’m staying here with my husband.”

Pastor Mike MacIntosh (left) and Pastor Bill in the early days when he served as Mike’s assistant at Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego, CA.

When God shut the doors to The Lord’s Place, Pastor Mike MacIntosh invited Bill to come on staff at Horizon. “They both had very tender hearts, and they were very respected and loved by multitudes of people in the church,” Mike recalled. Bill was ordained in November 1977, confirming the call that God had placed on his life. He served as Mike’s right-hand man for the next nine years.

During that time, Mike liked to challenge Bill with situations that would stretch his capabilities, confident that Bill would rise to the occasion and grow into whatever the situation demanded. One day shortly after Bill started working at the church, a demon-possessed man came into the church office. He was physically violent and actually ripped a bookshelf off the wall, threw it on the floor, and punched a hole in the wall.

Mike turned to Bill and said, “This is gonna be a good experience for you. See you later!” Then he turned and walked out of the office. Through this kind of on-the-job discipleship, Bill learned valuable lessons that would help him years later when dealing with challenging situations at Horizon Christian Fellowship in Indianapolis.

“I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.” Genesis 17:1b

During Bill’s years on staff with Mike MacIntosh, the church multiplied several times over, and Bill’s gifts and capabilities grew right along with it. Eventually, Mike realized that God was preparing Bill for something more, and they would not be together much longer. When they sat down in Mike’s office, neither man wanted to be the first to speak, each telling the other to go ahead and share what was on his heart. As a result, they both started talking at the same moment.

“I think it’s time that the Lord is going to move me on to something new,” Bill said.

“I think it’s time that the Lord is going to move you on to something new,” Mike said in unison, providing the confirmation that Bill and Vi had been praying for.

A New Beginning

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. 1 Timothy 1:12

In November 1986, God moved Bill and Vi to Indianapolis with their two kids, Jeremy, 10, and Kirsten, 8. They met and became close friends with Pam and George Markey, who pastored CC Crawfordsville, IN, but otherwise it was a trying, lonely time as they wondered what God was doing with them there.

The Goodriches started an evening Bible study in their apartment with a few others after the church they all attended closed its doors. On Sunday mornings, they would visit different churches, making the rounds with their Bible study group. One Saturday evening, the group called to find out what church was on the schedule for the next day, and Bill said he felt that he was to stay home and teach the Word to his family. The group said they were going to come, too. “We’ll feed you breakfast, and then you feed us the Word,” they offered.

Bill and Vi enjoy the local transportation during a trip to Israel.

This became a weekly ritual, and soon the Sunday morning group outgrew the apartment. They rented the clubhouse for a short time before moving to a basement that they rented from a church. “It had no running water and no seating, but the Lord was there!” Bill and Vi declared. Little by little, they fixed it up, and the church kept growing. After a year in the basement, the church let them use the entire building for two more years.

In 1991 they had grown to about 100 people and got the opportunity to rent a 100-acre plot of land that a bank was trying to sell on the northeast edge of Indianapolis. For a year, the church took care of the property in exchange for being allowed to meet there until it was sold—always knowing that any day, it could be gone. But sale after sale fell through; the property couldn’t be sold to housing developers since the endangered blue herons were nesting on it. Finally, in 1992, the bank met with them again, and Horizon Christian Fellowship of Indianapolis officially became the new owner. Only a week after the sale, the blue herons moved out.

It was a huge step of faith, because the property seemed much too large for the church. But God was doing something bigger than what they had in mind. “What God was doing was always bigger than us,” Vi noted. That property opened the doors for ministries the church couldn’t even imagine at the time and stretched their faith in ever greater ways.

By 2019, the church was employing 80 people for its numerous ministries and private Christian school. Bill clearly remembers a month when there wasn’t enough money in the church account to pay everyone. With payday looming the next day, Bill was driving from one appointment to another, praying about the situation.

Do you believe I can provide? he heard the Lord whisper to his heart.

“Yes, I believe,” Bill responded immediately.

Do you believe I will provide?

Bill paused a moment then prayed, “Yes, I believe You will provide.”

He felt the Holy Spirit instruct him to call Debbie Marshall, the church business administrator, and tell her to process payroll, because the money would be in the bank. Bill obeyed. Overnight, a large deposit the school had been waiting for came through, and all the employees received their salaries the next day without a hitch.

In 1997, Bill sent a man in the church, Rick Mohler, to an auction where the city of Indianapolis was selling off old public-school buildings. Bill thought one of them would be a great location for a downtown church plant. Bidding soon exceeded the church’s limit, and Rick dropped out. After bidding ended, the winner walked over to Rick and gifted Horizon the property! For about a year, Bill pastored Horizon Indy while also working on the downtown church plant. Eventually, God raised up Dave and Ginger Kosobucki to care for what became known as Horizon Central.

Today, in addition to a Christian school with 375 K-12 students, the sprawling Horizon Indy campus is also home to Horizon University, Calvary Chapel Bible College, and Camp Indy, a summer day camp that serves 1,000 youth and children each year.

A Heart for Outreach

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:10

The same year that the church acquired this property, the Goodriches’ friends George and Pam Markey moved to Ukraine as missionaries. Over the next several decades, Bill would make around 30 trips to Ukraine to support the Markeys’ ministry, and Horizon Indy would support many other missionaries as well. In fact, foreign missions became so important to the church that they purchased a nearby home to house missionaries when they came to visit.

“Our family has been deeply blessed by Bill and Vi. Seeing them is a highlight of every visit home, because we know they are praying for us, and they truly love us,” acknowledged George Markey, Jr., a CC missionary to Ukrainian refugees in Hungary and George and Pam’s eldest son.

Bill’s visits to Ukraine were always exciting, both because of George Markey’s legendary driving skills (he once drove down a flight of stairs with Bill in the car) and because of the way the Holy Spirit was moving.

During one of Bill’s first visits, he preached to a crowd of over 200 people outdoors. An older woman named Lena was there that day. A former member of the Communist party and an atheist, Lena felt the Holy Spirit touching her heart as she listened to Bill sharing truths she’d never heard; she surrendered to the God she’d always been told didn’t exist. She felt a tremendous debt of gratitude to the man who had first shared the words of life with her, but she had no idea who Bill was. She began attending CC Kyiv, but Bill had already returned to the United States. Lena prayed that God would allow her to meet the man whose preaching had led her to Jesus. Then, one Sunday when she went to church, she was stunned to see Bill standing on the stage sharing the sermon! She could hardly wait to grab a translator and introduce herself after the service. After that, whenever the Markeys visited Indiana, she always sent a loaf of Ukrainian bread as a gift for Bill.

Bill’s heart for missions also extended to the unsaved at his own doorstep. In 2008, he joined the chaplaincy for the local police force, helping that ministry become what it is today. Many law enforcement officers respected the steadying love and gentleness Bill brought into difficult situations, as he became a pastor both to the police force and to those in the community going through horrendous experiences.

Horizon Indy sent out Arron and Vicky Moon, who now lead Refuge Fellowship Chiang Mai Calvary Chapel in Thailand—Bill offering constant support through all of their ministry life. “We’ve had the privilege to walk alongside Bill and Vi, who loved on us and encouraged us. They sent us out to our first church in Myanmar, held our hands while we were there through all the hard times, and prayed for us,” Arron stated. “I just want to share with him while he’s in this different season of life that because he remained faithful to God, that work is continuing.”

Vicky added, “We love them dearly. It’s an incredible blessing, even today, when I call Bill and he picks up the phone, and I share the ministry here. I love to share with him the legacy of his faith in me.” She also recounted how Bill would stand at the church door and greet everyone by name. “No matter what service you came to, it always amazed me that he knew everyone’s name. He would send us signed birthday and anniversary cards—I know he was doing that for everyone in the church.”

The Ongoing Legacy

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” Matthew 25:23

After his stroke and his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in 2022, Bill retired from active ministry. Jesus continues to lead Horizon Indy through its new pastor, Jordan McGaughey, but Bill Goodrich continues to love the church as best he can. He’s at most services and loves talking to anyone who comes up to him.

Pastor Bill prays for Arron and Vicky Moon, sending them off with prayer to missionary service in Myanmar. After several years in Myanmar, following a coup in the country, the couple moved their ministry to Chiang Mai, Thailand. 

Pastor Matt Schroeder of Horizon La Crosse, WI, shared, “The truth is, after his stroke, Bill continues to be faithful. Every service and conference I have attended for the past few years has continued to have Bill present sitting and learning, but really preaching the best sermon he has ever preached by his continuing to faithfully serve Jesus and His Church.”

After a lifetime of service, when asked what he would tell his younger self, Bill didn’t miss a beat. “Get more into the Word. You can never be in the Word enough.” His advice to men just starting off in ministry is simple: “Stay close to Jesus. Stay faithful. Love the brothers.”

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2

Arron Moon proudly displays his diploma from Horizon Indy’s Bible college. He and his wife, Vicky, fondly recall the love and consistent support they have received from Bill and Vi over the years of their ministry.

Bill and Vi have three children and six grandchildren (so far). Their youngest son, Brett, testified that Bill followed his own advice: “Dad was genuinely the same person at home that he was on Sundays and Wednesday nights. That simple thing has shaped my life more than I could express, and I praise God for what I have experienced by being parented and led by someone who genuinely sought to please God. It has paid massive dividends into my life. God help me do the same!”

The entire Goodrich family, from left to right: Jaden, Aria, son Brett, Julia, John David, daughter Kirsten, Bill, Vi, son Jeremy, Logan, McKenzie, Zion

Bill concluded, “I am very thankful to have been a part of Calvary Chapel through the years, learning from Pastor Chuck Smith. I’ve also enjoyed the time I spent on the CCA Board with Sandy Adams, Raul Ries, Lloyd Pulley, Mike MacIntosh, Joe Focht, Don McClure, Bill Stonebraker, Jeff Johnson, David Rosales, Malcolm Wild and all the other godly men who were such a great influence on my life and ministry.”

 

Connect with Sharon T. Markey at MommyJoys.com and BridgeUA.org.


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