Father David Epps is Rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church at 4881 Hwy. 34 between Peachtree City and Newnan. He may be contacted at frepps@ctkcec.org. The church, which meets Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., has a Web site at www.ctkcec.org.
By Father DAVID EPPS Contributing Writer
When my father was adding two rooms to our house in Tennessee during the late 1960s, he stressed the need for a good, solid foundation. I thought he spent way too much time chopping into the frozen earth that winter and I thought he dug way too deep. He was of the opinion that, if the house was to be strong, the foundation had better first be strong. He was right, of course, as he nearly always was.
A few nights ago, I was sharing with our clergy, commissioned ministers, and their spouses about some of the "foundations" we attempted to lay in the establishment of our church. That was more than eight years ago, so I think it's reasonable to take a look back and see some of the results. Here are a few of our "Foundational Principles" that I doubt will be found in any "church growth" book:
• Our worship would be directed to God, and not man. Nearly the entire book of Revelation involves worship in Heaven before the Throne. We said, "If it's not appropriate to sing a song before the Throne, do not sing it in a Sunday Morning worship service." As a result, some songs that are popular with the "I wanna feel the mood of the Spirit" crowd are absent from our service. So are some of the "old-time foot-stomping- Gospel songs." The worship service is for Him, not us. The result has been a significant increase in reverence and, yes, in joyful, exuberant praise.
• We would wait until there was a leader before we launched a ministry. In the first few months of the church, a family came with 10 children. When you have 40 people, 12 more is a HUGE increase! Then the mother asked, "What is your children's program like?" I was so tempted to tell her that, if they would come, we would start a great children's program. But the leadership wasn't in place yet. So, I referred them to another church. Now we have very dedicated and loving children's ministers who teach the kids each week. I wish the family had stayed but we held to our foundational principles. We have quite a few ministries now, all birthed not in a committee but in someone's heart. I think it was a good decision.
• We would honor children. We would provide ministry, lessons, activities, and the like, but mostly we would honor them and see them as gifts and blessings. I know almost all the kids by name, was present at their birth (if they were born while their parents were attending our church), I pray for them daily, and we publicly bless and pray for them each Sunday. Interestingly, there has never been a single day since the church began that some lady wasn't pregnant. Currently, we have three on the way. God has filled our "house" with children. It's noisy sometimes, but oh, well.
• We would focus on people and not facilities or money. There has been one tithing sermon in 8 ? years and we have never pressured anyone for money. Yet, we have 11 ? acres, a new facility, and money in the bank. We spend a lot of money on missions for a church our size and we spend a lot on giving pastoral care and nurture. Oh, and while we have someone who counts how many we have at church, I usually have no idea what that number is.
• We would lay a foundation for future ministry before it was needed. We actually have 11 clergy (six priests, five deacons) and three commissioned ministers. I guess we have over a dozen Licensed Liturgical Ministers, as well. Now, almost none of those people receive a salary. They work a job that enables them to financially support their family while they do ministry. Some of those clergy will leave us to pastor their own churches, as two have already done, some will be with us for the duration to minister to the growth that will surely come.
• We would focus on men. I don't mean that we would launch a men's ministry, which we eventually did. We would not ignore women or children either. We would just honor men as the priest of their family and the head of their home. If I called to give a message to the family, for example, I might talk to the wife or the kids, but I would always try to give the important messages to the man. Sexist? No, scriptural. Today we have the largest percentage of men in our church of any congregation I have been affiliated with. And-believe it or not-we seem to have the most spiritual and contented group of women I have encountered.
• We would plant 20 churches in 20 years, God helping us. Christ the King began in 1996. We planted St. Matthew's in Hogansville on Pentecost Sunday, 2002. Church of the Holy Cross had its first service in Fayetteville on September 11, 2004. Other targeted areas include, for now, the counties of Meriwether, Clayton, Carroll, Fulton, Douglas, and Heard.
We've made a ton of mistakes, but, thus far, these and other foundational principles have held us in good stead. We are not a mega church or even a large church. I'm not sure that we qualify as a midsize church, for that matter. But, like all churches, we serve an awesomely huge God!
Father David Epps is Rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church at 4881 Hwy. 34 between Peachtree City and Newnan. He may be contacted at