'A good man': Jim Strietelmeier, founder of east-side church and clinic, dies at 58
Jim Strietelmeier leaves behind a legacy of helping other people in Indianapolis through his faith.
“This funeral is celebrating the life of a man who was taken sooner than any of us would have liked,” said Moses Strietelmeier while speaking at his father's funeral service Tuesday. “But he accomplished more good in the years he did have than most could in 100.”
The 58-year-old pastor died on May 7 due to complications from pancreatic cancer.
Strietelmeier co-founded the Compassion Clinic on the east side of Indianapolis with Dr. Javier Sevilla. He also founded the Neighborhood Fellowship Church, also on the east side, with his wife Debra.
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The church began in the Strietelmeier’s living room about 27 years ago, then moved to its current location on East 10th Street. The clinic first opened inside the church in 2009, but now operates out of a larger space that opened last year across the street.
Each year, volunteers at the Compassion Clinic provide care to thousands of uninsured people, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it. The volunteers are students and faculty from schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, social work, law, health and human sciences and pharmacy at Indiana and Butler universities.
Jim Strietelmeier wasn’t afraid of helping people who were ignored in the community, said Max Weiss, an elder at Neighborhood Fellowship Church.
“Jim did what he read in the Bible,” Weiss said. “Jesus says to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty and be with the sick. Jim took that to heart, and he made sure the most marginalized in society had a community to be a part of.”
Jim Strietelmeier graduated from Indianapolis Baptist High School in 1983 then from the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago in 1986. After they married in 1987, Jim Strietelmeier and his wife traveled to minister in South Africa.
The couple returned to Indiana, where they partnered with Zionsville Fellowship Church to plant their own church in Indianapolis. They saw an opportunity to help the community.
“That goes back to what Jim said with loving God and loving your neighbor,” Weiss said. “He made the poor his neighbors. He intentionally did that.”
The couple’s door was always open to those in need in the community, according to Jim Strietelmeier’s obituary. Jim and his wife raised 8 children together.
Moses Strietelmeier said he could always find his father inside the church building by listening for his laugh or the jingle of his keys. His father found a way to laugh when things were good and when things were hard, Moses said.
Joseph Strietelmeier said his father used to say that anything worth doing is worth doing badly. This was an idea Jim Strietelmeier applied to playing music, fixing things around the house and helping others.
“Have the faith to do good badly because it is one of the very few things that is worth doing,” Joseph Strietelmeier said while speaking at the funeral service. “That in my mind is my father's legacy. It's not that he was an excellent man, although he was excellent at many things. He was something far more important to the world. My dad was a good man.”
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Four days before his death, Jim Strietelmeier delivered the communion service to the congregation at the church he helped found.
“It just showed you the perseverance he had in his work,” Weiss said. “He would say two things. He would tell you to love God and love your neighbor, and do that by faith.”
In an IndyStar article from 2019, Strietelmeier spoke on his philosophy for helping other people.
"We don't minister to the poor," Strietelmeier said. “We are the poor. And we're just sharing what we know.”
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Jim Strietelmeier, founder of east-side church and clinic, dies at 58
