We Are Bound For The Promised Land!
On Wednesday, November 7th, of 2000, 63 people met under the carport at the home of Hub and Linda Crisp to begin a work of faith that would become Promised Land Baptist Church. The Lord granted us unusually warm weather for that time of the year so that we could meet comfortably outside. This was just the beginning of what became a regular occurrence of God smiling upon our step of faith.
We met the first Sunday at Catawba Heights Elementary School, where newly elected Pastor Tony Bazen held a weekly Bible club. The normal rental fee for the use of the facilities was $175 per day plus paying the maintenance person. The principal of the school allowed us to use the facilities at no charge and the maintenance person refused to accept any payment.
The following Wednesday we began meeting at the old Armory building in Mt. Holly. The Christian school that was there allowed us to share the space with them from November 14th through the end of January, 2001. We experienced some unusual services there. The heating system was inadequate, and many times the ladies would have to wear their coats or bring blankets to stay warm during the cold winter mornings when we conducted services. We had no real classroom space for Sunday School so we had to improvise. The nursery was in a small office there in the old gymnasium and children’s church was held in an old upstairs storage room. Sometimes over 40 children were packed into that small space upstairs.
Midway through January, the Lord led Pastor Bazen to talk to the Pastor of a Baptist Church in Mt. Holly. The Pastor of Love Fellowship Baptist Church agreed to let us rent their Fellowship hall to conduct our services. One Sunday morning in February, 222 people crowded into the Fellowship hall and classroom area that we were renting.
While out soulwinning in the neighborhood near where we were meeting, Pastor Bazen was providentially led to the door of a precious saint of God named Susie Cherry. She informed Pastor Bazen that her church, Little Rock Pentecostal Holiness Church in Lowell, was going to close its doors and that the building would possibly be available. She put him in contact with the Pastor of her church and the Lord took over from there.
Sister Cherry’s church did vote to close on February 25th. In another clear moving of God, our church was able to meet there the following Sunday, March 4th. The Little Rock Church was so gracious to us in our transition there. Virtually everything that we had not had before (pews, classrooms, office space, copier, etc.) was left behind for us to use. Many of their former members visited with us in the early days there and some have become a part of our church.
Highlights from our first year include a record attendance of 522 on March 25th, the generosity of 4 different churches in donating to our church buses to operate our bus ministry, our commissioning service at New Life Baptist Church in Concord, the start of Promised Land Baptist Bible College, tremendous revival services with Jeremiah Dixon, Tommy Steele, Barry Goodman, Lewis Fisher, and Ron Comfort, and numerous answers to prayer by our great God.
Our first year was capped off by a great homecoming celebration on Nov. 11, 2002. Brother Harold Blankenship preached a tremendous sermon, we had a record attendance of 575 (including our Saturday bus routes), and we had a great meal.
Our second year of existense was just as exciting as the first. Scores of people were saved, many were baptized, and many joined the church during the second year. It was very evident that the hand of the Lord was on the church.
We had two great revival meetings in 2002. In April Randy Cox, founder of Local Church Helps, preached a soulwinning revival for us and the Lord used him to stir our hearts about the importance of being a personal soulwinnner. In August Charles Keen, founder of Bearing Precious Seed, challenged us about having a global significant church. Many important spiritual decisions were made during both of these meetings.
Several new ministries were begun during our second year of existence. We were able to begin ministering to the deaf. Several of the students from Ambassador Baptist College who attend our church are proficient in sign language and have been able to help us in this area when the need has arisen. We also saw the answer to another prayer when in September we were able to begin our Hispanic ministry. The Lord sent Jerry and Krissy McLean to our church to begin this ministry. Jerry and Krissy and their daughters Alayna and Ariana have been a real blessing to us. We have also been able to minister to a large number of Asians. We are excited about the future as Brian McClain heads up our International Ministries.
Over and over again, God showed us that He always meets the needs of His children. We have had four vans donated to our church that have been a great help in our bus ministry. We also saw the hand of God manifested in a unmistakable way when we were needing more space to launch our Hispanic ministry. The Lord laid it on the heart of a Charlotte business man to donate a $75,000 building to our ministry. The new building housed our Hispanic department, our teen room, our young adult S.S. Class and several offices. God is good!
Our second year of ministry ended with an exciting homecoming service. Jonathan Blankenship and Lewis Fisher, two gifted young preachers, were our guest speakers. The Lord moved in our midst: several were saved, others rededicated their lives to the Lord, we had a tremendous meal, and sweet fellowship.
Our third year of existence was just as exciting as the first two were. One of the highlights was our first Faith Promise Missions Conference. Toru Marshall, director of N.O.W ministries, along with national pastors from the Philippines, Malawi, Cuba, and Myanmar challenged us about the needs of the world. When the commitments were tallied, well over $30,000 was committed to worldwide evangelism. This enabled us to support over 50 missionaries at that time.
We also had an exciting revival meeting in May of 2003 with Evangelist Ron Reilly. We had tremendous crowds each night, and many were helped form the preaching of God’s Word.
The year 2003 saw continued growth to the point that we were out of run at the 604 Martha Avenue facility. Chairs were brought out on a regular basis to accommodate the crowds and all of our educational space was maxed out. Again our great God showed Himself mighty on our behalf. We were given the opportunity to buy a larger, more modern facility at a great price. In October 2003 we moved into our present facility and also found a buyer for our former facility. Our dedication service for this facility was held on October 26, 2003. We had a packed house and a memorable service.
Homecoming 2003 was a time to remember God’s blessings and rejoice in his bountiful provision. We had a meal and service on Saturday, November 8th. Our dear friend, Harold Blankenship, was with us again and preached a powerful message on dying to self. Homecoming Sunday was highlighted by a dynamic message from Tommy Steele and another soul-searching challenge by Brother Blankenship. The evening service was a time of testimony, thanksgiving, and triumph.
The year 2004 has been an exciting year as well. A highlight was our second Faith Promise Missions Revival in March. Brother Marshall from NOW Ministries was with us again along with national pastors from Cuba, Jamaica, Peru, and Malawi. The Lord moved upon the heart of His people and over $40,000 was committed to be given to worldwide evangelism. We were able to increase our missions family to a total of 58.
We were privileged to hear many great preachers during this year. Tom Farrell, Greg Locke, Dwayne Hinson, Mickey Carter, Chad Watson, and others challenged us this year from the Word of God. A special highlight was Friend Day 2004 in June when Evangelist Tom Farrell preached and 19 souls walked the aisle for salvation. Our Vacation Bible School in June was also a great blessing. Chad Watson preached with great power during the week and many decisions were made.
September 12, 2004 was also a landmark day for Promised Land Baptist Church as we mothered our first church. Brother Chad Watson was sent out by our church to Hartsville, SC to begin Glory Land Baptist Church. The Lord’s hand on this work has been evident from the very start.
Homecoming 2004 was a tremendous blessing as our dear friend Tommy Steele again preached a powerful message and we saw a number of people saved. The food and the fellowship was wonderful as we rejoiced over 4 years of God’s amazing grace upon this work.
We adopted the theme “Taking The Next Step” for 2005. This vision became a reality as we saw great growth spiritually in our people. Our missions giving topped $50,000 annually in 2005 as we partnered with over 60 missionaries around the globe.
We started two new ministries in 2005: Promised Land Baptist Academy and Baptist College For World Evangelism. The two ministries factor in to our overall strategy to reach the world in our generation.
Highlights of 2005 included our Vacation Bible School in June where more than 50 trusted Christ and also 2 revival meetings: an October meeting with the David Young Evangelistic Team and a November meeting with Evangelist Greg Locke. Brother Locke was also the Preacher for our 5th Homecoming celebration on November 13th.
The beginning of 2006 saw increased growth to the point that we were out of space in the sanctuary. We prayed about God’s direction and again He opened a door. We moved into a 6.2 acre facility off of Modena Street in Gastonia. We recently purchased additional land adjacent to this property to help with future ministries like a Youth center, children’s home, radio station, and retirement community.
Our theme for 2006 was "Here Am I, Lord." In keeping with this theme, we were privileged to host two exciting Conferences. We hosted the first North Carolina Pastor's Conference for World Evangelism in April. Austin Gardner, Lonnie Mattingly, Tommy Steele, Tony Howeth, and Toru Marshall challenged us about reaching the world in our generation. We were also able to host our first Youth Conference in May. Steve Roberson, Tommy Steele, and Chad Watson preached powerful messages and many lives were changed.
Our theme for 2007 was "The Value Of One." As our church grew past the 300 mark in average attendance, we wanted to remind our people about the importance of the individual.
We hosted the Second Carolinas Youth Conference in April of this year. We were blessed by dynamic preaching from Steve Roberson, Dave McCoy, and Scott Pauley. In May we broke ground on a 4,000 Sq. Ft. Educational Wing. This building will help us to better minister to the people the Lord sends our way.
God has blessed us mightily in our short time in existence. Many souls have been saved and many lives have been transformed. As someone once said, “The future is as bright as the promises of God.” We thank Him for His goodness!
