Great Soul-Winning Churches - Elmer Towns

Last summer the camp registered 808, with 268 first-time decisions for Christ. The old
lodge at the camp was built by slave labor; walls are two feet thick with rifle slits in them. Its
rustic atmosphere is a natural for Christian camping experience.
The Future
When Berry came, the church had been averaging approximately $2,200 a week income.
His first steps were to initiate a stewardship program via a banquet where Dr. Bob Gray, of
Jacksonville, Florida, spoke and the people were asked to fill out a Faith Promise Card. Those
who were absent received a series of letters asking for a financial commitment. The budget was
raised and within 18 months the weekly offering was up $2,000. At present the church is
working on a $4,430 a week budget to meet all of its commitments. They just completed a
$212,527 year in contributions. But when all income from the school, printing and the camp is
considered, the total income was $618,033. The church has 85 employees, the sixth largest
employer in Cecil County.
Next month the church is going into a $1 million bond program with Fidelity Plan, Inc.,
of East Point, Georgia. All of the debts will be consolidated into a large loan, providing finances
to build the new gym, purchase additional acreage and construct a services building, containing a
garage and print shop. Instead of contracting the job, they hired a crew out of the church to work
full-time. Some of the men take leaves from their employment to come and do special jobs on
the building, such as install steel and plumbing.
The church averaged 714 on the buses last year with 17 routes, 20 buses in three states
(Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland). A new bus route is moving into New Jersey soon.
The Baptist Bible Church shows that the ministry begun by a great pastor can be
furthered by another great pastor.
Chapter Ten
Trinity Baptist Church,
Chattanooga, Tennessee Charles Thompson, Pastor
“From Carport to a Front Porch With Eleven Columns”
The Trinity Baptist Church was begun in a carport in Lake Vista subdivision,
Chattanooga, Tennessee, July, 1962, when 29 folks gathered to start a New Testament Baptist
church. Ten years later, the 1,700-member congregation meets in a 1,400-seat auditorium with
eleven columns on the massive front porch and the Sunday School-spreads into seven buildings
valued at $2.5 million. The Reverend Charles Thompson, who founded the church, had led in its
yearly growth, reaching an average of 900 each Sunday and a high day of 1,730 in Sunday
School and over 2,000 in the church service in November, 1972. On this same day a record high
was reached on the buses with 1,184 riders.
Charles Thompson came to know the Lord in April, 1951, while he was a salesman for a
meat company in Decatur, Alabama. God was working in his heart, even though he couldn’t