The GracePointe Story
In May of 2003, Stan and Nancy met in their living room with a dozen or so friends to discuss the possibility of establishing a new church. That night evolved into three months of weekly meetings where the group grew to approximately thirty-five. Each week through prayer and discussion these friends laid the spiritual and philosophical foundation of what would become GracePointe Church.
On August 11th of that same year, GracePointe Church held its first service, meeting in the cafeteria of Lipscomb Elementary School in Brentwood, Tennessee. One hundred and twenty-nine excited people gathered to worship, learn and celebrate together. On that first Sunday one of our Elders, John Starnes, brought his “music box” and led us in singing praises to God. During those initial months, John, as well as another Elder, Bevan Hock, led our music without the aid of live musicians. Our Children’s Ministry consisted of a nursery and two classes for our youngest children. We were small and at best semi-prepared, but we were excited and full of hope.
Week after week, new people joined GracePointe. The services were exciting and the cafeteria began to overflow. Eventually, in January of 2004 we moved to a larger worship space in the gymnasium. That spring, attendance grew to over 300 people, classes were added, our music became fully “live,” and we began developing our staff. Kim Benson joined full time as GracePointe’s Administrator; Terri Jackson came on board serving children’s ministry; and Mark Borders became our Pastor of Education.
Around the same time our CARE Groups were established. Approximately a dozen couples or individuals were chosen by our Elders to be ordained as Lay Pastors. These Lay Pastors began meeting with Stan and Nancy on a monthly basis to discuss the care of the flock God had given us. We had no way of recognizing then what this network of care would eventually mean to our community of faith.
We celebrated our first Easter in 2004 with just over 600 people packed into the gym. By the end of the summer our CARE groups were flourishing, so much so, that Alan Foster, himself a Lay Pastor, was brought on staff to pastor the entire CARE system. Leila Borders soon joined the staff as Administrative Assistant.
During this time, the Elders clearly recognized the need to actively begin searching for our own property. Looking chiefly in the Brentwood/Cool Springs corridor the search has been challenging to say the least. We have had many leads with several meriting very close looks. To date, we still have not found that place we believe God has for us, yet we trust more than ever that at the right time the doors will open and our permanent home will become clear.
Through the end of 2004, the first months of 2005 we settled in and began learning how to function as a church. The honeymoon was over, but a wonderful family has been established. Our elders, staff, and Lay Pastors, along with volunteer team leaders truly have developed a great infrastructure that will sustain years of growth to come.