Faithful to Fruitful

by Richard Jacob

Church planting is a pioneering work. It is a thrilling experience because it is part of God’s plan. This does not mean it does not have its challenges.

Planting a church takes faith. It takes trusting the God who commands us to do what He so desires. My family and I lived in Knoxville, Tennessee. I served the Lord on the pastoral staff of Temple Baptist Church and I taught at Crown College of the Bible. When God’s call was crystal clear, I turned in my resignation to step out in faith. This was easier said than done. It would take faith to trust God to provide. We saw our bank balances dwindle to a few dollars but the Lord took care of our needs.

Leaving the place and people we knew was not easy. When it came time to make the final move to Nashville, we left behind all familiar territory and stepped into the unknown. God knew the end from the beginning. The one assurance my family and I had was experiencing the peace of God as we pulled out of our driveway.

Nashville is a big city with over 750,000 people. Each of them needs to be reached. We prayed for God to lead us to a specific location to start this church. We found a conference room at the Courtyard Hotel. After a great deal of outreach, passing out flyers, and evangelism, we had our Grand Opening. We arrived early and waited for visitors. These were anxious moments. No one seemed to turn up, but about ten minutes prior to our start time a few individuals walked in. By the time we began we had about 30 people. This was a thrill! Nashville Baptist Church (NBC) had officially begun.

The Trials
As with most church plants, navigating through the baby stages of the church was not easy. There were many Sundays when it was just our family in attendance. I am so thankful and blessed to have my wife and our three children follow my calling. Gideon and Emerald had just completed their education at Crown College of the Bible and Marcus had finished high school at Temple Baptist Academy. Uncertain about their future, they still chose to follow me to Nashville, serving the Lord with no job or paycheck and doing it with joy. 

Setting up and taking down our sound equipment and everything needed to have church became routine. Often, we labored without help. COVID-19 came within five months of our church start, putting a damper—but we did not let this discourage us. We continued to run all our regular services through these trying times in our basement, like an underground church.

The Triumphs
During COVID I needed to keep serving the Lord. This led to the start of the online Nashville Baptist Bible College. Through this, God helped me train a newly saved Indian man who lived in Virginia. He worked an IT job but gave it up to answer the call and started a church in India. This last December, 36 men graduated with a one-year Bible foundation certificate through NBBC. Glory to God!

Six years later, one Sunday in September 2025, I gathered a few men and shared the need to locate a permanent place for NBC—one we could call our own. That next Monday morning on realtor.com, I found a 10-acre property with a house for sale. I contacted the broker and soon we were in contract, nothing short of a miracle. Through COVID the Lord helped us save the rent money, allowing us to make a large down payment. No finance company would give us a loan but about 15 days prior to closing, I contacted a company and God did another miracle. We signed off on the loan. A family from church connected me with Gary, who did construction. He agreed to remodel. On the day of closing we began remodeling, turning the garage into a church. God provided AC units for free, chairs, free labor, and more. We had our Grand Opening on November 20, 2025.

As I look back, our two sons who are now married found their wives in Nashville. The church now has a property. Many have been saved, baptized, and discipled. God is at work. To those called to start a church, stay encouraged, knowing the Lord who called you will equip you and establish the work He wants you to do—if we remain faithful. 

Next Article