An incredible church, a great church planter!

I recently attended a retreat with several church planters from around the United States. There I was introduced to Chris Edwards, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in South Charlotte (N.C.), who has planted an incredible church in a very affluent area of the city. That intrigued me because Independent Baptists typically avoid those two demographics – large cities and affluent areas. I decided to visit his church and check it out for myself.

On Sunday morning, I arrived just before Sunday School began.

General impressions:

• The place looked great! The church was meeting in a “Day School” – a glorified day care center – and is “converted” into a church every weekend by a very dedicated group of volunteers. The building was modern and easy to find on the street.
• People were exceedingly friendly. Many churches advertise as the friendly church … yet few are ever really that friendly. At this church, I was worn out by the friendly! Not the fake smiles and quick pat on the back, but genuine interest in me and my travelling companion.
• It was easy to park. They had a team of people helping people find parking places.
• It was clean.
• Kids were taken care of. Because they meet in a day care center, they have great facilities for children. Outdoor play areas, toys … you name it.
During Sunday School, I saw room after room full of excited children being taught tremendous Bible lessons with great graphics. Most of the adults stayed in the auditorium and listened to the pastor teach.

During the church service, the following things stuck out:
• The service was well done.
• They kept things moving. No five-minute interruption for announcements. Everything moved.
• The auditorium was absolutely packed. I sat on the front row because there were no other seats available.
• They had a great Sunday night crowd. There were even fewer seats available on Sunday night. It was 100° outside and the AC couldn’t keep up, but 262 people came back for more on Sunday evening. How many of us can say that?


Take a look at the growth trend in this church’s average attendance:

2004 — 51

2005 — 123

2006 — 152

2007 — 216

2008 — 256

2009 — 295

Taken in context, those are incredible numbers!

General observations:

1. Pastor Edwards respects people’s time. The kids had put on a special camp service on Sunday evening, and during his preaching time, he said, “I am only going to preach for 15 minutes, because I want you to come back next week.”
2. They have been wise about real estate. They have avoided the big building/lease payment and have been able to save up enough money to buy an incredible piece of property for future building needs.
3. To many, using a day care center would not seem to be an optimum choice, but it has been great for this church. People feel good about having their kids in such a nice, secure environment.
4. Setting up and breaking down for services on Sunday and Wednesday are incredibly labor intensive and require dozens of people to move literally hundreds of pieces of furniture and chairs. To many, this would seem to be a great hindrance, but to this church, it is a great bonding point and opportunity for cooperation.

5. This church is not about the staff. They don’t have much staff, so volunteers handle pretty much everything. There is a tremendous level of participation in the ministry from the people of Grace Baptist.
6. The pastor was fun. I know this doesn’t seem very Independent Baptist, but that guy has a good time! He is constantly cutting up with people. (You ought to hear his Alison Krauss imitation)
7. The people were excited about what was going on at that church. There was a tremendous liberty in the services.
8. Pastor Edwards’ wife is well loved and respected by church members. Pastor Edwards told me many times how key his wife has been in what has happened around Grace.
9. Pastor Edwards (like Pastor Neal in the previous blog) is a second-generation pastor. He seems to have had a tremendous head-start in ministry from the experience gained by being around his father.
10. Pastor Edwards has attracted a key group of “driven” young couples around him.
11. Pastor Edwards works. He had several 18 to 20 hour work days the week I was there. The Lords blesses a disciplined approach to ministry.
12. Pastor Edwards connects the Bible with people’s hearts. His messages were easy to understand, Bible-centered, and practical.
13. The music was well done. Several of the specials involved violins and other instruments. It was obvious that people had practiced and were prepared.

Pray for Pastor Edwards. He has some needs and important decisions must be made with regard to building space. If you are a young church planter, I would encourage to visit Pastor Edwards’ ministry and see for yourself.

You can find out more about Grace Baptist Church at www.gbcsc.com.