In July of 2016, we were ordained as Elders and assigned to co-pastor a newly planted ministry in Macon, Georgia. Although we both had been serving in ministry for several years, neither of us ever envisioned ourselves one day become pastors.
Deliverance Revival Church had been in existence previously, but due to it being more than the overseer could handle at the time (he had just lost his wife of 53 years and was already pastoring one of the other six churches under his ministry) the decision was made to close it down. DRC had been defunct for more than two years when the founder and Chief Apostle of Revival Church Incorporated, Bishop H. H. Norman approached us and asked if we would be willing to answer God's call to rebuild it.
Amazingly enough, just two weeks before Bishop Norman came to us and asked us to take on this huge undertaking, our then pastor, Bishop Ann L. Hardman (Faith Worship Center; Columbus, GA) stepped from the pulpit, walked into the congregation, stood in front of us (Kendra, in particular) and said the Lord had revealed to her that her dad (Bishop Norman) was going to ask her to pastor one of his churches. She said, it was a good thing and God had ordained it. At the time, it seemed so far-fetched. Kendra and her dad had never even had a conversation about it. Yet, just a few days later, it came to pass; just as the woman of God had prophesied.
But the struggle has been real. Often times people see "Pastor" as some sort of glamorous title, and in some cases; perhaps it is. Many preachers are placed in churches where the congregation is already in place, finances are flowing in, and everything is already functioning and flourishing. Many weren't given work, they were given employment. They weren't given a charge, they were given a check. Understand what we're saying... there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's a tremendous blessing as long as they are called and chosen and truly doing it to God's honor and glory and not for the title or financial gain; it's just important to understand the difference in what the assignments entail. Pastors who are charged to build a church and those who are brought in to carry on one that is already established have two entirely different experiences. Both come with their unique challenges, but the truth of the matter is that one is far more grueling than the other.
Hired pastors of preexisting churches are typically walk into their appointments with ministers, deacons, musicians, and praise team members already in place. Often times, their biggest undertaking is convincing an existing congregation to embrace them as a worthy replacement for the predecessor to whom the members had probably grown accustomed. These pastors don't generally have to worry with doing grassroots marketing to get people to know that the church even exists. They don't have the mandate to personally go out in the community and knock on doors with hopes of convincing "unchurched" people of the importance of corporate worship. They don't have to concern themselves with constantly trying to keep the handful they finally got to attend service last Sunday to continue coming while simultaneously trying to draw others. They don't know what it's like to have a weekly church deposit that only consists of the pastors' tithe and offering because there's no one else there to give. They don't deal with the juggling act of being the person/people to carry out every aspect of the service from opening prayer to the closing alter call. They don't have a clue of what it's like to carry out an a-cappella praise and worship because God hasn't yet sent musicians in the house.
No, there's nothing glamorous about being placed in an empty edifice with the charge to "go forth and build." There's nothing glamorous about getting up early and making a more than three-hour round-trip drive every Sunday for weekly worship. There's no glamour in doing it all without a salary. And there's certainly no glamour in knowing that people are watching; smiling in our faces and speaking words of encouragement in our ears, but all the while hoping we fail. All these things have been our experience. Some of them still are. But the fact that we know, that we know, that we know... that our assignment as Pastors is a divine one, handed to us by God, is enough to keep us pressing forward because we understand the importance of obedience. Our reward is one that we can't currently see with our natural sight, but we see it clearly with our spiritual vision. The struggle is real, but it ain't "real-er" than God!
We know that if we remain steadfast, unmovable, and continue to do God's work in spite of the struggles and in spite of the ridicule; He will reveal Himself in a mighty way and show us that our labor is not in vain (I Corinthians 15:58). And we know without doubt that what God has promised, He will surely bring it to pass. He has promised to fill this house, and God cannot lie. It's already done. We're just waiting for the manifestation of His word. There is a tremendous blessing awaiting us because of our sacrifice, but there is an even greater blessing awaiting us because of our obedience (I Samuel 15:22).
"...and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:13)
~ From the Hearts of Pastors Michael & Kendra Holmes
Deliverance Revival Church had been in existence previously, but due to it being more than the overseer could handle at the time (he had just lost his wife of 53 years and was already pastoring one of the other six churches under his ministry) the decision was made to close it down. DRC had been defunct for more than two years when the founder and Chief Apostle of Revival Church Incorporated, Bishop H. H. Norman approached us and asked if we would be willing to answer God's call to rebuild it.
Amazingly enough, just two weeks before Bishop Norman came to us and asked us to take on this huge undertaking, our then pastor, Bishop Ann L. Hardman (Faith Worship Center; Columbus, GA) stepped from the pulpit, walked into the congregation, stood in front of us (Kendra, in particular) and said the Lord had revealed to her that her dad (Bishop Norman) was going to ask her to pastor one of his churches. She said, it was a good thing and God had ordained it. At the time, it seemed so far-fetched. Kendra and her dad had never even had a conversation about it. Yet, just a few days later, it came to pass; just as the woman of God had prophesied.
While it has been a challenging past ten months, we knew then, and we know now, that our placement at Deliverance Revival Church was the will of God. For the first two months, it would only be the two of us at the church. We would get up every Sunday morning and drive nearly 100 miles (one-way) to get to a church and carry out a service where it would be just us and the four walls, but we remained encouraged and determined. We made special trips to Macon and walked the community handing out flyers. We used social media to get the word out to people who we'd likely never meet face-to-face. In September, a frequent visitor began coming, but in October, he moved away from the city, and it was back to "just us" again. In November, DRC got its first official members when two young ladies joined. In December a family of three came to the alter and made the connection. When the New Year rolled in, the Lord began to draw others. One at a time, our family of believers began to expand. By the grace of God, it's no longer the two of us.
But the struggle has been real. Often times people see "Pastor" as some sort of glamorous title, and in some cases; perhaps it is. Many preachers are placed in churches where the congregation is already in place, finances are flowing in, and everything is already functioning and flourishing. Many weren't given work, they were given employment. They weren't given a charge, they were given a check. Understand what we're saying... there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's a tremendous blessing as long as they are called and chosen and truly doing it to God's honor and glory and not for the title or financial gain; it's just important to understand the difference in what the assignments entail. Pastors who are charged to build a church and those who are brought in to carry on one that is already established have two entirely different experiences. Both come with their unique challenges, but the truth of the matter is that one is far more grueling than the other.
Hired pastors of preexisting churches are typically walk into their appointments with ministers, deacons, musicians, and praise team members already in place. Often times, their biggest undertaking is convincing an existing congregation to embrace them as a worthy replacement for the predecessor to whom the members had probably grown accustomed. These pastors don't generally have to worry with doing grassroots marketing to get people to know that the church even exists. They don't have the mandate to personally go out in the community and knock on doors with hopes of convincing "unchurched" people of the importance of corporate worship. They don't have to concern themselves with constantly trying to keep the handful they finally got to attend service last Sunday to continue coming while simultaneously trying to draw others. They don't know what it's like to have a weekly church deposit that only consists of the pastors' tithe and offering because there's no one else there to give. They don't deal with the juggling act of being the person/people to carry out every aspect of the service from opening prayer to the closing alter call. They don't have a clue of what it's like to carry out an a-cappella praise and worship because God hasn't yet sent musicians in the house.
No, there's nothing glamorous about being placed in an empty edifice with the charge to "go forth and build." There's nothing glamorous about getting up early and making a more than three-hour round-trip drive every Sunday for weekly worship. There's no glamour in doing it all without a salary. And there's certainly no glamour in knowing that people are watching; smiling in our faces and speaking words of encouragement in our ears, but all the while hoping we fail. All these things have been our experience. Some of them still are. But the fact that we know, that we know, that we know... that our assignment as Pastors is a divine one, handed to us by God, is enough to keep us pressing forward because we understand the importance of obedience. Our reward is one that we can't currently see with our natural sight, but we see it clearly with our spiritual vision. The struggle is real, but it ain't "real-er" than God!
We know that if we remain steadfast, unmovable, and continue to do God's work in spite of the struggles and in spite of the ridicule; He will reveal Himself in a mighty way and show us that our labor is not in vain (I Corinthians 15:58). And we know without doubt that what God has promised, He will surely bring it to pass. He has promised to fill this house, and God cannot lie. It's already done. We're just waiting for the manifestation of His word. There is a tremendous blessing awaiting us because of our sacrifice, but there is an even greater blessing awaiting us because of our obedience (I Samuel 15:22).
"...and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:13)
~ From the Hearts of Pastors Michael & Kendra Holmes
