I was a mere twenty years old when God called me to plant Preaching Christ Church. With less than ten people, we stepped out in faith and established the church. I tried to tell God that no one would come to a twenty-year old’s church who was not married and did not have kids. Turns out, I was right. No one came for a long time! We spent our first five years with about thirty or less. Well, if I’m honest, thirty was an Easter Sunday service!
Those were hard days with many lessons to learn. One of the sweetest lessons God taught me was how to rely on Him to pay the bills of the church. We did not have any savings. We did not have wealthy families who could easily bail us out. It was really a sink or swim scenario. What was a young pastor to do with no safety net?
The fledgling congregation of Preaching Christ Church moved into 301 E. Main Street in downtown Kingsport. We could barely afford the lease, and I really felt I was in over my head. Next to my office was a short hallway with a small cubby hole. I can remember sitting at my old desk in this new office, worried if we could really afford this step of faith. I felt the Lord say to my heart that if I would handwrite the monthly bills of the church with precise details and place it in that cubby hole, the week before the month began, the Lord promised me, He would pass by, read that list, and pay every bill. The Lord taught me many lessons in that season. He taught me attention to details, for the list had to be handwritten. He taught me discipline. It had to be placed before a certain date, but most of all, He taught me faith that I could really trust Him to take care of His church.
Now I am in my forties, as hundreds of people call PCC their home church. Today I spend more time looking forward than backward, but it is nice to once-in-a-while look in the rearview mirror and see nothing but God’s faithfulness. It reminds me of an old quote I heard when I was sixteen years old. “It is a good thing to stand in your youth by the starry stream and dream your dream. Oh, but it is a better thing to stand and fight life through and say in the end my dream has come true.”
Sign Up For Pastor Chad’s Weekly Newsletter by clicking here!
You must be logged in to post a comment.