Faithfulness When Progress is Slow
In 2010, I attended a funeral at Victory Baptist Church in the rural town of Whiteville, NC. I did not know then that in December of 2013, I would become the pastor of this small church and begin praying that God would bring new life to this congregation. But before that could happen, God needed to bring “revitalization” to my own life. My wife passed away in 2010, and I began working in Rock Hill, SC, as a hospice chaplain. I attended Harvest Baptist Church, where the Lord used the preaching of the Word, prayer, and the edification of believers to bring spiritual healing to my life. It was there that I met Linda in 2012, and we were married a year later.
When I accepted the call to this pastorate, I knew I would need to get a part-time job to supplement my income. We moved into the church prophet’s chamber in the fellowship hall where we would live for the next two years.
Most major industries had moved out of the Whiteville area several years previously, and the economy was suffering. Many folks received government ass istance, were on disabi l i ty, or st ruggl ed f inanc ial ly. Drug addict ion (especially opioids) was rampant. Crime was high. Only God could “build the old waste places” (Isaiah 58:12).
In the first week after our arrival, church attendance dropped from 35 to 25. But despite the challenges, God gave us a love for the people and the community there. For years the members had loved the Word and loved each other, but there was a lack of outward focus. Nothing was being done to reach the community.
As we began to make changes in the church, we heard comments such as, “We’ve never done it this way before.” But the church grew in their God-inspired desire to change and move forward. It was important to prioritize. What needed to change immediately? What needed to change over a longer period of time?
Having been a GFA church planter in Texas in 1982 and the pastor of a “replant” in Cheraw, SC, in 1990, I knew that revitalization would be slow. People would ask, “How is the church doing?” or “How many are you running now?” I knew that the attendance was about the same as it was the last time they asked that question, and I would jokingly say, “We are running about 500, but only catching about 25.” After a while I began to include, “The Lord is still working.” Linda and I often told the Lord in our daily prayers that we knew He promised to build His church (Matthew 16:18). We would say, “We can’t, but God, You can.” We remembered the words of Psalm 127:1: “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it,” and John 15:5: “…without Me ye can do nothing.” We often prayed “for God to do exceeding abundantly above all that we [could] ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
The church continues to grow in their love for the Lord and for His Word. In an area where illiteracy is high, people of the church are learning to read the Bible. Believers are growing, seeking discipleship, and evangelizing the lost. Some of the members (as well as the pastor and his wife) are seeing Columbus County, NC, as a mission field!
Attendance has increased as well. There are now a few children in the nursery and new spiritual babes in the pews. Church brochures and tracts are being distributed. Members created a booth at the county fair, the local NC Pecan Festival, and the NC Yam Festival. They also designed a float for the Whiteville Christmas parade and distributed flyers about the upcoming Christmas cantata.
Inconsistency is still an issue, and we are praying for the Lord to send us three families by the end of 2018 with parents who love the Lord and His Word and are rearing their children to serve Christ. We are asking God for two couples to join us in the work to help with youth, music, and secretarial responsibilities.
Perhaps the Lord is working in your life to pray about helping with revitalization efforts in a local church. Would you be willing to follow the Lord and move to assist a pastor in such a ministry work? I’m praying for pastors whom God would call to leadership in a revitalization ministry. Are you willing to serve prayerfully and patiently? The preaching of the Word will continue to accomplish the work of bringing souls to Christ and conforming them to His image. Would you have the perseverance to go to a needy church and stay several years? I promise you would be drawn to greater God-dependency and grow in your ability to say with confidence, “The Lord is still working.”
Gary Ledbetter is the pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Whiteville, NC. This article first appeared in Sowing & Reaping, the publication of Gospel Fellowship Association Missions. We republish it with permission.
Victory Baptist is a wonderful ministry!