UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              Washington, DC 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

                         ------------------------------

        DATE OF REPORT (Date of earliest event reported): August 18, 2008

                         ------------------------------

                           FIRST MERCHANTS CORPORATION
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                         -------------------------------

         INDIANA                     0-17071                     35-1544218
(State or other jurisdiction   (Commission file number)        (IRS Employer
     of incorporation)                                       Identification No.)

                             200 East Jackson Street
                                  P.O. Box 792
                              Muncie, IN 47305-2814
          (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

                                 (765) 747-1500
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

                                  Not Applicable
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check  the  appropriate  box  below  if the  Form  8-K  filing  is  intended  to
simultaneously  satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions:

[ ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
    230.425)

[ ] Soliciting material pursuant to  Rule 14a-12 under  the Exchange Act (17 CFR
    240.14a-12)

[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange
    Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange
    Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

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Item 7.01.  Regulation  FD  Disclosure.  Michael J. Stewart,  the  Corporation's
Executive Vice President and Chief Banking  Officer,  and Mark K. Hardwick,  the
Corporation's   Executive  Vice  President  and  Chief  Financial  Officer,  are
scheduled to present at the Howe Barnes  Hoefer & Arnett,  Inc. 13th Annual Bank
Conference in Chicago on Tuesday,  August 19 at 3:50 p.m. ET. This  presentation
will  also be  available  through a live  audio  webcast  which can be  accessed
through the  website:  http://www.howebarnes.com.  Attached as Exhibit 99.1 is a
slide presentation that will be utilized during this presentation.

The presentation may contain forward-looking  statements about the Corporation's
relative  business  outlook.  These  forward-looking  statements  and all  other
statements  contained  in or made  during the  presentation  that do not concern
historical  facts are  subject to risks and  uncertainties  that may  materially
affect actual results.

Specific  forward-looking  statements  include,  but are  not  limited  to,  any
indications  regarding the financial services  industry,  the economy and future
growth of the Corporation's balance sheet or income statement.

The information in this Current Report on Form 8-K,  including  Exhibit No. 99.1
hereto, shall not be deemed "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities
Exchange  Act of 1934,  as amended,  or  otherwise  subject to liability of that
section.  The  information in this Current Report shall not be  incorporated  by
reference  into any filing or other  document  pursuant to the Securities Act of
1933, as amended,  except as shall be expressly set forth by specific  reference
in such filing or document.

Item 9.01.        Financial Statements and Exhibits.

         (d)       (99.1) First Merchants Corporation Power Point Presentation,
August 19, 2008.


                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

DATE:  August 18, 2008

                                   FIRST MERCHANTS CORPORATION


                                   By:  /s/ Mark K. Hardwick
                                        ----------------------------------
                                            Mark K. Hardwick,
                                            Executive Vice President and
                                            Chief Financial Officer


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                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


     99.1 First Merchants Corporation Power Point Presentation, August 19, 2008

<PAGE>


         POWER POINT PRESENTATION

August 19, 2008                                                    Exhibit 99.1