Curt and Suzi Stapleton have been in Athens, TN since 2021, planting Redeemer Athens. The church started in 2022, and in its second full year (2023), the congregation found a physical home in the form of their own building. Along with this blessing, the church body continues to experience spiritual growth and evangelism.
Purchasing the building in August 2023 involved a capital campaign which Curt called “a patient, teaching process” through which $70,000 was raised from inside the congregation itself. They have $80,000 left to raise. Redeemer first met in a hotel and then at Cleveland State Community College, so they are thankful to no longer be dealing with scheduling conflicts, contracts, and rent.
The building offers new challenges in the form of renovation projects. It was previously a realtor office with great office spaces, but Redeemer is using the 1,110 square foot garage as the sanctuary, so the congregation is working together to transform the space.
Curt said, “We have a lot of capable people who pitch in and help. The Lord’s blessed us with a few carpenters and handymen.” The church usually holds two work days a month, and Curt recalled when eight men showed up on one particularly cold day to work on the exterior of the building.
Because the building is on a main road, opportunities for evangelism started coming to Curt in the form of drop-in visits. “People pull in the parking lot and talk to me. I get to explain the gospel and pray with people.”
Since moving into their new space, Redeemer has typically welcomed a new visitor every Sunday. The congregation currently has 25 members and another 30 regular attenders. These people are eager to share the gospel, invite people to church, and grow deeper in their own faith. Curt says, “There’s evangelism and discipleship always going on.”
About a quarter of the congregation has a PCA background, but 75% had never heard of the PCA before. Also, 30% did not attend church before coming to Redeemer. “That speaks well of church planting,” says Curt. The plant is reaching the unchurched, dechurched, those without PCA backgrounds, and (as the only PCA church in Athens) providing a PCA option for people looking for one.
Noting that leaving great Sunday School programs and other benefits of established churches isn’t easy, Curt says, “People have to be called to participate in a church plant. It’s no simple thing to jump in on, and I’m thankful how the Lord is calling people from diverse backgrounds to that.”
In Redeemer’s second full year, the offering covered 50% of the budget. This was partly due to numeric growth, but also, as Curt said, “people are catching the vision and seeing the purpose and value of the church.”
The campaign to buy the building further stirred hearts for generosity. Curt says, “I think the building and campaign stirred up commitment—in time, talent, and treasure—and I’m very encouraged by that. It feels like people are really on board. Sometimes I stand back amazed, thinking, ‘Wow, God’s really at work.’”
One milestone in 2024 for the church was the celebration of a wedding. The wife had never been to a church before, and she attended her first Bible study in her life through Redeemer Athens.
Another praiseworthy story is from a high schooler who used to attend a charismatic church. He told Curt that he loved the worship and people at that church, but when he went home, he couldn’t recall what was said in the sermon. Next, he went to a Baptist church and had the same experience. Now, he’s at Redeemer. He told Curt, “You really walk through the Bible and explain it and apply it to our lives and I can remember what you say.”
Curt says, “You want to preach and teach in such a way that ten-year-olds can understand it but that it also challenges the highly educated. That’s encouraging to me as a preacher that people see the difference.”
Curt challenged the church to read through the Bible this year. “It’s encouraging to see people take on that challenge. Knowledge of the scriptures is a huge way to address poor theology that our people may have been taught before.”
In January, the church wrapped up a 30-week study of Romans, the men’s Bible study started a study of Job, and the women started Colossians. “They need a theological framework to understand the rest of the Bible, and Paul’s letters are the Cliffnotes of the Bible,” says Curt.
Once, at a previous church plant, a man asked Curt, “When will you stop talking about vision?” Curt’s answer: “When I lose my way or I’m dead. People need to be reminded of our vision in the gospel.” Therefore, Curt focuses on simple expository preaching.
He adds that church plants aren’t superheros—people are simply so hungry for the gospel and sound theology that “you could put any PCA pastor here who preaches the Bible, and the people will show up.”
Current prayer requests are to continue reaching the lost, reaching the community, and seeing believers grow in grace. Curt has been pleasantly surprised to witness how the Lord is sanctifying people in His own way and in His own timing, and he prays for continued personal growth of individuals in the church.
Other prayer requests are to see the body grow and for the Lord to raise up leaders. Over the next year or so, Redeemer hopes to begin officer training, add Sunday School, add a young adult program, and start more Bible study groups, all of which will require leaders prepared by the Lord.
Comments