Treasuring Christ Church is a group of Christ followers seeking to reach from Raleigh, NC to the ends of the earth with the gospel of Jesus. As our mission statement indicates, “We exist to spread among all peoples a joyful love for Jesus Christ in all things for the glory of God.” We seek to do that by growing deep knowledge and affection for God through discipleship, caring for one another through our community groups, pursuing racial harmony, ministering to the poor, and planting and reforming churches among all peoples. From those who visit and give us feedback we are known for being God-glorifying, gospel-centered, loving and accepting to all, and intentional in fighting against sin and for faith.
Three Pastors, One Dream
Kent Capps, Travis Williams, and I (Sean Cordell) have known one another from our high school days in Knoxville, Tennessee, and God used various ministries throughout different seasons of our lives to grow us closer to one another and to develop a common passion within us to work among the poor.
This desire to work among the poor emerged within us in 1997 when Kent and I started a ministry together in a mobile home park in Knoxville, Tennessee. God united our paths at this time as Kent and Travis were also working together in the college department in their church. Not long afterwards in 1999, our paths diverged as Travis and I headed to Wake Forest, NC, where our friendship grew stronger as we attended Southeastern Seminary and Open Door Baptist Church, while Kent traveled to Minneapolis to begin an apprenticeship at The Bethlehem Institute. God was equipping us for working among the poor as Travis and I served in a low-income housing project in Raleigh, NC, and Kent was learning about urban ministry under Kenny Stokes, his mentor. One year later, in the Fall of 2001, I also began an apprenticeship at TBI with Kenny Stokes as my mentor and urban ministry as my focus. While at TBI, the dream was placed within Kent's and my hearts to plant an urban church in Knoxville, and since God was placing within Travis an increasing desire for church planting, it was not long before our urban church planting discussions included all three of us.
How Did Our Dream End Up in Raleigh?
While pursuing Knoxville, we met resistance as we sought for approval from the local Baptist association and as we looked for housing in the lower income areas of interest. As we got to know the area better we discovered several churches and ministries that were newly focusing on the very area we desired to plant in. This gave us some reservations about Knoxville. So, in October of 2004, the three of us met in Raleigh for a couple of days of fasting, prayer, and discussion. After a few days of prayer and discussion over several cities, we narrowed our focus to Raleigh and Knoxville (we weren’t ready to give up on Knoxville just yet). Raleigh stuck out to us because of a massive increase in population in the past ten years, exponential growth among its Hispanic population (the second highest percentage in the U.S.), an already relatively large number of foreign-born residents, a large state university with many international students just outside of the downtown area (NC State), and so on. (I am indebted to Dwayne Milioni and Open Door Baptist Church not only for their love, training, and wisdom, but also for being the catalyst for our desires toward downtown Raleigh in the first place). So, on day two of our time together, we prayed for clear direction from the Lord and in a matter of a few days some homes came available in a ripe urban context (next door to an African-American university downtown), a few local churches were eager to support us (Open Door Baptist Church and Providence Baptist- to both we are so grateful), as well as Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis, MN, and the local association and state convention seemed to be excited about the idea (e.g., the regional church planting director, who was nearing retirement, told us he had not overseen an urban church plant in North Carolina in all his years of church planting work). By January 2005, we had all moved to Raleigh to begin the preliminary work on Treasuring Christ Church. In February we had an informational meeting and several bible studies around our mission statement so that by the end of March we had our first corporate worship service.
From January 2005 to 2008
Since the church was planted in March 2005, God has been so kind in forcing us to our knees in prayer, prompting us to love the gospel in deeper ways than we ever knew possible, and stirring up love in our church body for one another and for the world.
This church was started in prayer. When I arrived in Raleigh looking for housing, my real estate agent, whom I didn’t know, surprisingly knew all about me. Little did I know that his mom, a woman in her early 70's, had been praying for over four years that a “Bethlehem-like” church plant would come to Raleigh. When Desiring God Community Church was planted in Charlotte, she almost despaired thinking that Charlotte was the wrong city. Yet in God’s providence He was turning our gaze from inner-city Knoxville, TN, to downtown Raleigh. I will never forget going to her house thinking I was going to meet with her and her husband and “a few friends.” When I entered her house I was given a name tag and ushered in to meet 15 people who were ready to hear me share about the church. Ever since then God has been moving in the hearts of people to be a part of Treasuring Christ Church (TCC).
In 2005 we changed locations three times as God gave us growth, and we still are amazed at how people found us and how God has kept the church together. To God's praise we have not had one Sunday since our inception where we have been without a visitor. In late May we met with the elders of Bethlehem and were officially approved as a part of what is now the TCT Church Planting Network. Bethlehem’s accountability, wisdom, resources, and wider influence has helped our church grow in maturity, number and move us forward in incalculable ways. By the end of 2005 we had three community groups, where we seek to live out the "one another" commands of Scripture, three pastors, around forty members, seventy in attendance, several community outreaches started to the city and to the international families of NC State, and over fifteen people regularly attending a missions sending Bible study on Sunday mornings.
In 2006 the somewhat smooth beginnings of TCC came to a screeching halt in April and May when one difficulty after another hit the church. But God was continually faithful. He gave us strength as we walked through a couple discipline cases, several serious illnesses, one death, and a steep learning curve in caring for the addicts and the poor in downtown. Looking back we see how God taught us much and grew the church not only in number but in maturity. On a Friday in September while watching a cycling event in downtown we stopped by our facility and read a sign on the front door that said, "Unsafe Building." The city had declared what we had known for almost a year. This meant in two days we had to relocate what was now a church of eighty members and over 100 attenders on Sunday mornings. We changed facilities again and God continued to remind us that the church is not a building but a people. Our God "...does not dwell in temples made by man,... [and he has] determined the allotted periods and boundaries of [our] dwelling place...." This year was characterized by awakening to the glories of the gospel, watching the church grow through our study of the Psalms, the gospel, and 1 Peter, and several baptisms in our baptismal pool- an eight-foot horse trough. With four community groups, several trips to visit our two international units on the field, and a reprieve from the trials of April, we were able to rejoice in how God is building his church.
2007 was a year of marriages, moving, and mending. Marriages because we had eight couples marry in a church of eighty people. Moving because we saw an influx of people moving into downtown to love on the community. Nearly 30% of the church body currently has moved to the general downtown region to love the community and participate more fully in the church. Mending because we had to remove a member through church discipline and although painful it brought much unity in the body and a greater fear of God. One of our pastors, Kent Capps, feeling like he was pastoring “out of compulsion”, stepped down early in 2007 leaving us to a lot of adjustment and decision-making. God strengthened our eldership and gave helpful direction for the church. In the hottest recorded summer in Raleigh's known history, we met in an unair-conditioned gymnasium. At the end of the summer we had grown to 100-120 members and 140 in average attendance. However we also lost some key people, which we were later told is normal for church plants. Although there was excitement in the church, our young church members were also tempted to fly to something else either newer or less difficult. Many contemplated leaving, and through patience and pastoral prodding we reiterated the need for commitment to a local body and to live out the metaphor of family, and many have persevered through the difficulty of a new church plant.
If 2007 was the year for marriages, 2008 was the year for children. Fifteen families will add children to our already booming nursery in 2008. After moving from the unair-conditioned gym we have met in two more facilities in 2008. We are presently leasing space at the IMAX theatre in the heart of downtown while still praying for a 24/7 facility. We have seen more people come and more go. Over twenty people are a part of our international church planting sending program and five are in the beginning stages for national church planting. The church has grown to 138 members and an average of around 170 on Sunday mornings. We now have six community groups, we are adding six deacons in the Fall, and we are praying for more elders. We are finally seeing our prayers for leadership within the church being answered and by God's grace we are becoming known in the city as a church that cares for the city, racial harmony, the poor, and one another. More have moved into downtown and we have seen continued growth and excitement in the church. Our study of Matthew has been so timely as we have been driven to prayer, self-examination, and more and more to Christ. He is our message, our hope, and our confidence as we look towards, Lord willing, many more years of ministry in downtown Raleigh, among the cities in our nation, and abroad. "Not to us O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness" (Psalm 115:1).
