Contributor:
Chad Roberts
If I have learned anything planting and leading a church these last 15 years, it is that we cannot do anything a part from the help of the Lord. So the following stories are not about the effectiveness of PCC…they are about God glorifying Himself through His own Church. I join Paul in saying, “ To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:21
#1. Preaching to 3 people (2001)
It’s not easy planting a church. Ask anyone who has attempted it and they will tell you, it is the hardest thing they have ever done. But Christ gives us a promise in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of hell will never prevail against the church. I have found that verse faithful in my journey. All the things you would think you need to plant a church, we didn’t have. We planted without any financial backing. We had a core of less than 10 people. We didn’t even have a building to gather in nor chairs for people to sit in. We rented a hotel ball room for about 9 months for around $800 a month.
I will never forget a special service I had planned maybe 3 months into our first year. I told everyone I knew and thought I had promoted it well to the community. I knew this was going to be a turning point for for my young congregation. 7pm came and it was time to begin. To my shock and dismay there were 3 people in the congregation (my mom, my cousin and one other friend). Words could never describe the crushing blow I felt. 3 people! I was embarrassed, discouraged and confused, but the Lord had a wonderful lesson for me that night. Psalm 3:3 says, “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” As I hung my head in defeat, I’ll never forget how the Lord helped me and gently lifted my head. He spoke resoundingly to me. Like a lion’s roar it was so intense. He clearly said, “When you stand before me for this night to give an account of what I have called you to do. I will not ask, ‘Who attended?’ or ‘How many people were there?’ I will ask, ‘Were you faithful to do what I called you to do, did you preach truth?’” I remember settling in my heart that I would never look for a crowd to preach the Gospel. I would be faithful to say all that God told me to say. I preached like there were 300 gathered that night, when in reality, there were 3. It was a test from the Lord, and it burned endurance into my heart.
#2. Church in a Hotel Kitchen (2001)
Part of the problem in renting a ball room is that we were not the only guests. The owner of the hotel was a Hindu from India. I gave him his first Bible with his name engraved on it. By the time we left, he was wonderfully saved and he is still in church today! The hotel had rented the ball room to a wedding party the Saturday night before our Sunday morning service. On a regular weekend, the ball room wasn’t on the cleaning staff’s agenda, so I could only imagine what our Sunday morning environment would look like after a wedding party!
So I stayed to clean the Saturday night after the wedding. They didn’t leave till 1 am. I walked into the place I would be preaching in a few short hours only to find it a disaster, much worse than I had imagined. Cake was smeared into the carpet. Beer bottles everywhere. Chairs turned upside down. It was so bad that we couldn’t have church in the ball room the next morning. I’ll never forget how humbling it was to set up chairs in an abandoned hotel kitchen. That’s where the small, faithful congregation of Preaching Christ Church gathered for worship that Sunday. I’ll never forget it. I knew that those wonderful people could have enjoyed church anywhere else that day. They could have heard large choirs, seen big stained glass windows and sat in nice, plush pews. But no! They were with me. They were my flock, and here we were in a dirty, abandoned kitchen. I’ll never forget it. But the Lord was with us. He met with us. He encouraged us. Greater things were coming.
#3. Watching God’s Provision (2002)
I was a full time pastor with no salary, but the times I have seen the Lord provide have meant more to me than any amount of money. I remember one day I walked across the street to eat lunch. As I was standing in line to pay for my food, the man behind me said, “What does your shirt mean?” It said, “Live God Loud.” I told him I pastored a small church plant and that we were in our second year. That’s all I said, nothing else. I paid for my meal. He tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a $100 bill. He said, “God just told me to do this.”
A man in Kentucky wrote to me and said God had told me to begin sending his tithe to PCC for a season. At the same time, a family in North Carolina said the exact same thing. To my amazement, a local church, Harvest Community Church, began sending 10% of their tithes and offerings to us. All three at the same time. Then, as we grew and as families began attending PCC who started gjving, all three outside offerings stopped at the same time. The Lord had spoken to all three to help us through the hardest season of our infancy and He planned it to perfection. I’m still amazed at God’s timing and His people’s obedience and faithfulness.
#4. A Thanksgiving to Remember (2002)
For 10 years, we provided a Thanksgiving Dinner on Thanksgiving night to the homeless of our city. The only reason we stopped is because many other churches began doing the same and we felt we had accomplished what the Lord wanted us to.
On our first Thanksgiving night in 2002, I’ll never forget a young man walking in to the small store front on East Market St. He was troubled and you could see it all over him. He was in his early 20’s. He ate, but didn’t say much. I spoke and shared the Gospel. By the end of the night, the Lord had broke through his hardness of heart and had opened his heart to the Gospel. He responded and was immediately changed. After the event was over, he shared how he had already planned his suicide for later that night because life seemed so hopeless at that point. I have no doubt that God orchestrated the entire evening for his redemption.
#5. Signs of growth (2003)
I would love to say that we exploded with growth. But that didn’t happen. A good friend, Terry Whitson, would often encourage me by saying, “If it can explode overnight, then it can fall apart of overnight. Be patient. It’s a marathon, not a 100 yard dash.”
In January 2003, we moved to the Old Citizen Supply Building on Main St. Our lease was $1,000 / month. We couldn’t afford that much, but I was operating by faith, not by sight. There was a small cubby hole in my office at the Church. I remember feeling the overwhelming financial burdens the church faced, and now I had just led us into a much larger building with larger financial commitments. Sitting in my new office, I asked the Lord how we would pay all the bills. I’ll never forget what He said to me. There was a small cubby hole next to the office, He clearly instructed me to hand write each of our bills each month and place the list in the cubby hole. I knew how specific the Lord wanted this. I think He wanted me to hand write them because it forced me to think, pray and ponder each of our responsibilities. I was not to lay the bills in the cubby hole, but to hand write them. And the Lord told me that He would pass by that cubby hole at the first of each month and that He would see and pay each of our bills. He promised me that He would be faithful to my small church. I type this with tears, remembering the pressure…remembering the weight I felt and knowing the Lord was with me. He was for me. He would provide everything we needed. With tears of joy…I can say that He never, not once, did He ever let me down.
#6. A Global Vision (2003)
While God was enabling us to do community outreaches, it seemed He was opening doors for overseas work as well. To this day, I sometimes wonder why God has given us such favor in going to the nations of the world. I have traveled through 40 countries sharing the Gospel, training pastors and helping plant churches.
Our international journey’s began in 2003 with a trip to Africa with Harvest International Missions. Shortly after, the Lord opened the door to Colombia, Vietnam and Egypt. We have been tEgypt 8 times, we have taken 21 from our church there and we have brought Egyptian Pastors to Kingsport 3 times. We have taken several times to Mexico City and Tijuana.What we did not know then is that God was laying the foundation for a future organization called, Friends of the Gospel. By God’s grace, I have preached all over the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
#7. There’s no room for us in Kingsport (2005)
By 2004, we had outgrown our space on Main St. I called every commercial space I could find. Either the building was too small or too big, but usually it was that the monthly payment was far greater than we could afford. For months we searched. I remember pulling off the side of the road on a side street in Downtown. I began to pray and I broke down. Weeping, I told the Lord, “There’s no room for us in Kingsport. We can’t afford anything.”I can’t remember how long it was after that, but John Wallace, a good friend and now our financial administrator called me and said, “I think I found us a building.” It was rough. It was old. But was it affordable? We walked around and I knew, I just knew in my heart that this was our next home. The old realtor, who was well past his prime, introduced me to the owners. I said, “This would make us a great church. How much are you asking a month?” They looked at me with bewilderment. They said, “This building isn’t for lease. We use this building.” Apparently, the realtor was so old, that he listed it without their permission! I asked them to consider leasing it to us.
After a week or so, they agreed, but they wanted $4,500 / month. We were doing good to pay $1,000 were we were. Plus we had to renovate it. It seemed hopeless. I asked them if we could get creative with the lease and look at some options. They agreed. They gave us the facility for $2,000 a month. Plus they spent $10K of their own money repaving the parking lot for us. They gave us all the sheet rock and paint we needed. They were incredible to us and we have a great relationship to this day.
#8. Pastor Bob Howerton & his family join us (2006)
In 2006, things were moving along well. We were enjoying our new, spacious home. But we needed big time help in structure. We needed to grow in kid’s ministries and family life. One of the greatest blessings God has given to PCC is when he sent Bob & Sharon Howerton. It was a difficult move for them. It was uncomfortable and we were not near the organized church they were used too. But God gave them a heart for the people of PCC. They got to work helping us put structure into place. Now today, they have helped save countless marriages through their seminars and counseling. Sharon directs Rock Alley and Bob leads our Family Life department as well as sharing in the preaching as our associate pastor. Their son, Seth, is a huge addition to our kid’s program and quickly becoming a great leader. They will never know what they have meant to me. They have offered their wisdom, their energy and their skills to help build PCC into the church we are today.
#9. Meeting my wife, Sadie (2007)
Another great addition to our church was Buddy & Melissa Capps. Buddy came to be our worship leader in 2006. I knew they had a daughter in college but didn’t think much of it. They had attended for probably 8 months or more before I met her. It was difficult being a single pastor. I didn’t feel like I could preach on marriage, parenting, divorce and other huge family issues. I felt very inadequate to do marriage counseling. But all of that was going to change.Sadie came home for Mother’s Day in 2007. Several people were coming to hang out at my apartment for a cookout, including Buddy & Melissa. Sadie ended up coming with them. That was the first time we met. Long story short, she began coming home more often. We would hang out, talk, go to movies. When she came home from college in 2008, we began dating. We dated for 1 year and was married March 6, 2009. When I heard Buddy sing for the first time, I never could have imaged that he would one day by my father-in-law! I’m in awe of how God works His plans.
#10. Friends of the Gospel (2010)
From 2003 – 2010, the Lord sent us all over the world in spreading the Gospel. I knew our opportunity was really bigger than my congregation, so in 2010, we formed an organization called, Friends of the Gospel. Since 2010, we have been able, by God’s grace, to raise over $100,000 for global missions. We have planted churches, supported pastors, printed Bibles, served orphans, helped build a gospel radio station, 2 Christian schools and much more. We have also been very pleased to join with other great organizations in Kingdom work. Harvesters International Missions, New Vision International, Of One Accord Global Missions and many others.
#11. Rise Together (2014)
From our beginning, we have been risky. We’ve bet the farm on numerous occasions. I think God is honored and glorified in taking calculated risks. It’s really in our DNA. We would have never rented the Holiday Inn or started a church with no members or no financial backing if we weren’t risky people. We wouldn’t have accepted a $2,000 monthly lease that we couldn’t afford if we didn’t know how to calculate risk and we certainly would not have rented the Farmer’s Market on a Spring Sunday in 2014 if we didn’t’ love taking risk!No church had ever brought their Sunday morning service to the Farmer’s Market. We had to get special permission from the city. We had never moved our Sunday morning service since beginning in 2001. It was risky. We didn’t know what to expect. We knew the Lord told us to rent 500 chairs. We knew we had great partners in LampLight Theatre, Starbucks and Texas Roadhouse. We knew we wanted to reach out to families who didn’t feel comfortable in a traditional church setting. Maybe, just maybe, they would try church in a neutral setting like the Farmer’s Market.We set up early Saturday evening. We were ready. Everyone had bought into this idea. We had 500 chairs set and ready to go.
I arrived at the Farmer’s Market at 6am the next morning. I prayed. I was nervous. I didn’t know if people would come. I thought back to the service in 2001 where I expected a great turn out and had 3 people show. Even though the Lord taught me a great lesson, I didn’t want to repeat the experience.But I knew in my heart, even if no one showed…even if you could hear cricket’s chirping…I was going to preach my heart out. No matter what, I was going to do what God had called me to do.People began to pile in, then more people came in and soon we ran out of breakfast. We prepared for 300. By the time the service began, 515 people had made their way to that Sunday’s service!
#12. Walls of Faith (2015)
No doubt 2015 has been the hardest year of ministry. It was odd because I could feel the Lord leading me to do things, yet it seemed He was not blessing what I was doing. I did not realize it then, but God was teaching me a life lesson that I will never forget. Because PCC was growing in both numbers and finances, perhaps there was a feeling creeping into my heart that we had turned a corner and could accomplish anything. Well, the Lord knows just how to humble us, doesn’t He?
I had a vision to build a wall creating a true lobby and auditorium feel. I pitched the idea in January 2015 and was ready to begin raising the funds for it in February. I knew in my heart that this is what God wanted, but the project didn’t seem to go anywhere. The wall alone was going to be $10,000 and the entire project was going to be $20,000. Well, it seemed the Lord would not bless my plans. They went no where in a hurry.
Frustrated, I began to pray and seek the Lord as to why this was not working. It was in this season that the Lord really took me into His school of prayer and began to build my faith. He told me that my plans were not succeeding because I was not really dependent on His blessings. I was depending on my ability to create a strategy and execute what I had created. He told me clearly, “It is not physical walls I want to build right now. It is walls of faith I am trying to build in your church.”
When I saw what the Lord was doing, it calmed me down. I began to take the 30,000 ft. view. I began to rest and say, “When the Lord is ready, He will build this wall. Until then, I am focused on building my faith.” This was February & March. When April came around, the owner of the construction company came by the church and said, “Hey Chad, I thought we were building a wall?” I said, “We are, just when the Lord opens the door.” (That is pastor talk for we cannot afford it right now.)
He looked at me and said, “I’ve been thinking. I want to help you. I think I’m going to build this wall for free for you?” He said, “You get the doors, the frames, baseboard and paint and I’ll do the rest.” I was in complete shock! What a game changer! How could I boast in my plans or my strategy. They failed! Now I could only boast and glory in the Lord and His provision for His Church! Our 4 doors were donated by another company ($3,600). Our paint was Sherwin Williams top brand…$8 a gallon! Our frames $1,000. Our flooring was $800, lighting was $192 and exit signs were about $100. What should have costed $20,000 only cost about $1,500. Only the Lord could have done that.
#13. Reaching Beyond Our Walls (2016)
It does not impress us when our building is filled to capacity, nor does it shake us when there are more than an unusual amount of empty seats. We see that pendulum swing both ways. What excites us…thrills us…fires us up is when we begin reaching people far beyond our 4 walls. Sure it’s nice to pull out extra chairs…but it’s a greater thing for us to hear about people in other cities, states and even nations who are listening to the sermons and growing spiritually. Just last week I received an email from a man in Bulgaria who is listening weekly to our sermons.
So we growing much more intentional with our resources. Just in 2016, we have added video sermons, video devotionals, podcast, sermon intro’s and new articles. I have also written my first book, Calling on the Name of the Lord, in hopes that it will reach others who may never step foot inside our church. We are serious about reaching people with the Gospel and strengthening people in their faith. Creating resources is our greatest outlet to accomplish this goal and the Lord is enabling us to do this in a great way.
#14. Pastoral Counseling (2016)
There has always been a need for counseling in people’s lives, but as the problems of our society grows worse, it seems there is a greater need for pastoral counseling. I am not a licensed nor professional counselor. I am a shepherd…a pastor. I listen to people, pray with people and offer Biblical guidance. Often, it is not that I give the right answers, but rather, that I ask the right questions.
One of the surprises to me has been the increase in pastoral counseling over the last couple of years. Just in the first 10 months of 2016, I have had 53 counseling sessions at the church. That is not people dropping by or on the phone…those are scheduled appointments where we deal with serious family / spiritual issues. I am learning more and more how to get to root of problems and use the Word of God (which is sharper than a two edged sword) to fix those problems.
We deal with various different counseling. The majority seems to be marriage and divorce counseling, but there is always a great deal of spiritual life counseling, as well as grief, abuse, anger and addiction counseling. Again, while I am not a professional, I am a praying pastor and I can walk people through the spiritual aspect. It seems when we get our spiritual lives in order, everything else begins to follow.
#15. Purchasing Our Facility (2016)
We have leased 707 East Sullivan Street since 2006. We have wanted to purchase the building for a while. Well, one day TriSummit came to our church and wanted to know if we would be interested in banking with them. We saw no reason to leave our current bank, so we politely declined. As they were packing up to leave, they asked how long we had owned the building and we said we did not own it yet but wanted to purchase it.
Well, long story short, God used TriSummit to help us purchase the building, but there was a huge problem…the down payment was astronomical. I saw no way that we could come up with that much cash. Then they got creative! They suggested if we purchased the building from the owners as self financing for a year, then we could come back to them 12 months later to “re-finance” with zero money down because, technically, we owned the building. The plan was genius!
I pitched it to the current owners and they were so kind and gracious to work with us and help us in this way. Now, our loan with TriSummit has been approved. Not only have we purchased the building, but we are buying the parking lot adjacent to the Church. What seemed like such a long shot, God has done. Indeed, He does move mountains!
What Do We Need Now?
As I think about our future and what the Lord wants to do through this Church, I ask myself, “What do we need?” Very quickly, the Lord reminds me that at the end of the day, what we need is more of the Holy Spirit. We need more of His power, more of His anointing, more of His counsel. What can we do that is effective and eternal without His help?
It is not more strategy, creativity or even energy that we need…it’s more of the blessing, presence and power of His Spirit. As we go forward, please pray for Preaching Christ Church that God will help us and enable us to do all that He has called us to do!
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