The building began to fill with a buzz of excitement at 9:30 a.m. People were showing up early and expectant to experience a joyous and momentous service at 10 a.m. The parking lot reflected what was being experienced inside the building. A 72-space parking lot quickly filled with 80 cars and overflowed into the grass. It was like witnessing choreographed chaos. There was no way to prepare for such an outpouring of support for the first public service of a local church gathering in a facility that had been closed for more than a year.
The scene was a testament to the faithfulness of God to mobilize his church in the building up of his church. Partners like the Nashville Baptist Association and the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board provided foundational support and credibility to back a work that many considered dead. Local churches near, in Mt. Juliet and Nashville, and far, in North Carolina, provided financial support and manpower to renovate a building that had experienced four decades of deferred maintenance. Green Hill Church sent out 31 men, women, and children to serve as the Send Team to restart a local church in the Smith Springs neighborhood.
And on August 30, 151 people piled into a sanctuary with freshly painted walls, a completely rebuilt stage, reupholstered pews, and new televisions installed to create a warm and welcoming environment. To ensure the growing crowd would feel welcomed, 40 more chairs had to be brought out to make room. Twenty-four people from the community poured into the 60-year-old building for the first time. Thirteen former members of Smith Springs Baptist Church came ready to witness God’s goodness and the continuation of 151 years of gospel ministry. Another 85 people joined the Send Team to celebrate three baptisms and the amazing work God has done over the past year.
The hour-and-a-half service included songs of praise, a sermon that spoke to Jesus revealing his glory in the past and the present, and three powerful testimonies of salvation in Jesus and obedience through baptism. There was no rush to leave when the service ended. This was demonstrated by the full fellowship hall at the conclusion of the service. People lingered, laughed, cried tears of joy, and relished the goodness of God that all had just witnessed.
It was hard to remember in that moment that the building had sat empty for the past year, that the facility had been a construction site for months, and that there had been uncertainty about whether the restart should happen. As the overflowing parking lot began to clear, there was only excitement and anticipation for what God has in store for the souls in the Smith Springs neighborhood. And while this densely and diversely populated neighborhood may be the epicenter of an outpouring of God’s Spirit, the reverberations of the celebration of God’s faithfulness extend much further.
This is a victory for the church. It is a reminder of what can happen when the body of Christ remains intensely and intentionally devoted to the advancement of the kingdom. It is a picture of local churches of various sizes, ranging from fewer than a hundred to thousands of people, willing to leverage their resources for the advancement of the gospel. It is a reminder of what can happen when declining or dying congregations put aside preferences for purpose and give everything over for the advancement of the gospel. It is a picture of the beauty of people willing to leave comfort so that others can experience the comfort of Christ.
Replanting is a picture of that which is declining or dying coming back to life. There isn’t a better way to show and share the gospel than to see life breathed back into dead spaces. May this celebration continue in our city, our country, and around the globe as more local churches are replanted—for God’s glory and the good of others.
Michael Darbouze, Pastor of The Church in Smith Springs
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