TrueNorth Church: TNC 5th Birthday // Staff Thoughts: Gene Jennings
Gene Jennings came on board TrueNorth Church towards the end of our second year. He is the Campus Pastor at the North Augusta location, and has been waiting for a church like ours in the area for a long time. Gene took a few minutes to talk about this, as well as share his thoughts on TNC's fifth birthday this weekend.
1. What does TrueNorth Church turning five mean to you?
TNC is literally a dream come true for me. I dreamed of this type of church in North Augusta when I was in seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in 1987. I prayed for it. I told God it would be great if I could be a part of it, but my ultimate prayer was that someone would see the need and start a church with a contemporary approach to ministry. I knew North Augusta was ready and ripe for this kind of church. God sent Steve Davis to start it. 19 years later (2006), I was asked to be a part of TNC. It’s been a great ride so far.
2. How has God used TNC on Sunday mornings to make an impact?
Obviously, our approach to ministry is a huge reason why we’ve impacted so many lives. Our casual style and contemporary music is attractive to people. We’ve taken the mystery out of worshipping God and made it more practical and relevant. Steve’s teaching style is engaging and easy to understand. We work hard to avoid “church lingo.” Our volunteers are awesome and their energy and excitement creates a mood of expectancy before each service. One thing is for sure, you never know what might happen at TNC on a Sunday morning!
We’ve baptized (dunk’d) in the neighborhood of 500 people in 5 years. That is almost unheard of! God has blessed us incredibly.
3. What are some of your favorite things about TNC on Sunday mornings?
Seeing people that I’ve known for years at TNC. When I began praying about this church 22 years ago, I knew that there were people that I went to school with, taught during my brief career as a teacher, and knew through other connections that desperately needed to be a part of Christ’s family. To be honest, there are some that I would have never thought I’d see in church but, sure enough, they come to TNC and worship Jesus. That is so cool.
I also love watching and listening to my son, Cliff, lead worship.
4. Where do you see God taking Sunday mornings at TNC in the future?
We will continue to transition our communication and worship style in a way that is relevant to the culture. Being culturally relevant is an important value at TNC. How that will flesh itself out exactly, I don’t know. But don’t expect the same old thing. TrueNorth will be different in five more years. We don’t want to get stuck in a rut like, unfortunately, so many churches have done. A.W. Tozer, a great pastor, writer, and theologian of the 20th century, said that the problem with churches is that they perform the rote, get stuck in a rut, and then they rot.
We don’t want that to happen here.
You can check out more of Gene's thoughts on his blog.
5 Year Anniversary Weekend
Join us for all the 5 Year Anniversary festivites THI