Church Planting in North Knoxville, USA
An update from Joshua Varnedoe, Lead Pastor of Christ Community Church, North Knoxville, Tennessee, USA…
On Sunday, August 17th, Christ Community Church opened its doors to the community of North Knoxville. This morning was the product of two and a half years of prayer, discussion, planning, and more prayer! It was a celebration of the Lord’s faithfulness to both Cornerstone, the sending church, and Christ Community.
Since its founding in 1990, Cornerstone has been gripped with a passion to reach the lost. Over the years, this has been illustrated by its vibrant campus ministry at the University of Tennessee and the church’s love for church planting. In the last 15 years, CCK has planted 3 churches: Redeeming Grace in Franklin, TN, Trinity Grace in Athens, TN, and Christ Community in North (downtown) Knoxville.
Christ Community Church was planted so that those living in the North Knoxville community might hear the Gospel and trust in Jesus Christ by faith. One of the reasons why this part of town was such an attractive location for a new church was the lack of spiritual life. The philosophies and priorities of man reign supreme in the coffee shops, the grocery stores, and in the neighborhoods. Our mission is to bring light into dark places by preaching the Gospel of Christ which is the “power of God for salvation” (Rom. 1:16).
Cornerstone Church has sacrificed in significant ways for this church plant, most pointedly in the people they have joyfully sent out for the cause of Christ. Represented in the church plant team are families who have been members of CCK for decades. A large number of them became Christians and got married through CCK’s campus ministry. Still more have been faithful servants in the church—community group leaders, musicians, children’s ministry teachers, and the list goes on. However, because they love the mission, they eagerly volunteered to help start a new church in North Knoxville. Most of our team live within 10 minutes of where Christ Community is located, and they have been boldly inviting their neighbors, co-workers, and friends to come on a Sunday morning.
The Lord graciously provided a meeting space for Christ Community through a local Baptist church. We began renting their gym and some classrooms earlier this year and have gradually updated our new space with fresh paint, new lights, wall décor, etc. Finally, after months of hard work, Christ Community was ready for our first Sunday.
Our first service was a joyful occasion. God’s grace was on display as members of the planting team arrived early to prepare for the meeting. As the morning progressed, we were shocked by the number of new faces that came through the door. Many had heard about Christ Community from friends and neighbors. One family had been waiting for us to launch all summer!
We sang songs celebrating the grace of God in Christ, we prayed together, we began our series in the Gospel of Mark, and we received the Lord’s Supper for the first time as a church. The Lord was present with us, and we were aware of his pleasure in our gathering.
Looking forward, much of our focus and energy is being devoted towards outreach and evangelism. We’re spending a lot of time thinking about creative ways to engage our community. We want to build new relationships and invite more people to join us on Sundays. Who knows who might walk through the doors of Christ Community Church! May the Lord of the Harvest receive all the glory for what he has done and for what he will do!
