Our approach to church planting, therefore, will focus not upon gimmicks, strategies and programs, but upon a winsome and warmhearted proclamation of Christ through Word and sacrament, and an utter dependence upon God in prayer.  And of course, from reverent and biblical worship will flow all manner of kingdom work such as discipleship, evangelism and outreach, hospitality, mercy ministry, and leadership training. 

After serving Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Douglasville, Ga., for almost ten years, TE Jon D. Payne is moving to Charleston, S.C., to plant a new PCA church. Jon is a graduate of Clemson University, Reformed Theological Seminary, and the University of Edinburgh, New College.

The Aquila Report had the opportunity to interview Jon about this new ministry.

The Aquila Report (TAR): The world is a big place, so why plant a church in Charleston, South Carolina? What led to your decision?

Jon D. Payne: My wife Marla and I met in Charleston in the spring of 1997 on the second row at church.  During that time I was playing soccer for the Charleston Battery, and Marla was concluding her studies at the Medical University of South Carolina (physical therapy). Prior to this, Marla spent four years at the College of Charleston.  Over the course of our marriage, ministry, and annual family reunions in Charleston, we’ve had a growing sense of the need for more Reformed churches in the South Carolina Lowcountry that are committed to reverent and biblical worship, expository preaching, disciple-making, and God-centered missions.  In the back of our minds, we always wondered if one day we would have the opportunity and privilege to serve in the extension of Christ’s kingdom in Charleston.  We were not expecting what would happen next.

Knowing my heart for – and affinity with – the Charleston area, a friend and fellow minister from Greenville, S.C., Rev. Rick Phillips, asked if I would be willing to leave my current call in order to plant a new church in Charleston. Rick’s unexpected challenge came about a year ago at the Gospel Reformation Network Conference in Atlanta. I promised to pray about it.  After a few weeks of prayer I agreed to meet with several ministers who were also enthusiastic about the idea.  As the weeks and months rolled on more and more pastors, churches, and individuals showed serious interest in getting behind the work prayerfully and financially.

The final step entailed seeking the approval of the Palmetto Presbytery’s Mission to North America (MNA) Committee on Church Planting. It was an absolute delight to work with Rev. Rhett Sanders, the committee chairman, and other members of the Presbytery.  Rhett was a great encouragement to us during the process of interviews and assessments. I am happy to report that on January 24 the Charleston church plant was unanimously recommended to and approved by the PCA’s Palmetto Presbytery (subject to a transfer exam on March 2nd).  Receiving the Presbytery’s approval and warm welcome was the final confirmation that the Lord is calling us to serve Christ and proclaim the Gospel in Charleston.

TAR: Why would you want to leave a good and settled ministry at Grace Presbyterian Church in Douglasville?

JDP: I love Grace Presbyterian Church. It is a wonderful place to minister. I love the flock deeply.  For this reason, the decision to leave was not easy. When the opportunity first emerged I asked the Lord to give me clear “objective” confirmations of his leading, and over the course of a year he provided those necessary confirmations. In short, when the Lord clearly calls one of his under-shepherds to a new field of service, he must go.

TAR: Will anyone assist you in this work?

JDP: Yes, I am very happy to say that Ross and Joanna Hodges will be joining our efforts.  Ross served as my pastoral intern at Grace Presbyterian for the past two summers. He and his new bride Joanna will both graduate from Westminster Seminary California in May, and move to Charleston the first week of June.  The Hodges possess many gifts and are full of zeal for the work of the Lord.  They will be a tremendous asset to the ministry, especially as they reach out to college and graduate students.  Ross will seek ordination with the Palmetto Presbytery in the future, and hopefully look to plant a church in 3-5 years.

TAR: How do you envision working with the PCA churches already laboring in the Charleston area?

JDP: During the past few months I’ve had the privilege of meeting and, in some cases, getting to know my fellow PCA pastors who are already ministering in the Charleston area.  I’m very much looking forward to laboring with them and their congregations in this strategic and heavily populated area where the fields are white unto harvest. In Charleston Country alone there are over 350,000 people, including thousands of undergraduate and graduate students at the College of Charleston, Medical University of South Carolina, The Citadel, and Charleston Law School.  There will, I believe, be many opportunities for our churches to unite our prayers and ministry efforts for the cause of Christ and the extension of his kingdom in Charleston.  This might include things like occasional joint worship services, conferences, and city wide evangelistic efforts.  With so many tens of thousands of un-churched and under-churched people in the area, and a Savior who prays for our unity (John 17), we have every reason to unite our hearts in prayer and fellowship, and to spur one another on to love and good deeds.

TAR: These days, there are many different methods to church planting. What will be your approach as you plant Christ Church Presbyterian?

JDP: Our approach to planting Christ Church Presbyterian will be, by God’s grace, that which we see modeled in the Book of Acts.  Luke reports that the apostles carried out the Great Commission by planting new churches through the faithful preaching of Christ and him crucified from all of Scripture (see Acts 2:14-42; 4:1-2; Acts 6:4; 16:11-40; 20:26).  The proclamation of God’s efficacious Word was their main business, and nothing deterred them from it.  The apostles knew that saving faith is both created and nourished through the Word of Christ (Rom. 10:17). Thus, they devoted themselves to the foolishness of preaching (I Cor. 1:21; 2:1-5), not unlike many of the great nineteenth century Presbyterian preachers in Charleston.  In a sermon in 1850, the great southern Calvinist preacher Rev. Thomas Smyth, pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Charleston (Meeting St), stated that the preacher must “proclaim the truth plainly and boldly,” regardless of his “popularity, reputation, or comforts.”

In addition, as signs and seals of the covenant of grace, the sacraments played a central role in their ministry (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:38-39; Acts 2:42; I Cor. 11:17-29).  And this entire ministry was cultivated in the rich soil of prayer (Acts 4:23-31; Eph. 1:15-23; Phil. 1:9-11).  The ordinary means of grace (Word, sacraments, and prayer) are the objective means that God uses to save, sanctify, and comfort his elect.  Christ will build his church through his ordained means.  Therefore, like the apostles, we too must keep them central in the life and ministry of the church.  Christ communicates the benefits of redemption to his people through these unadorned means.  The Shorter Catechism states unequivocally that “The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption, are his Ordinances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer, all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation” (WSC, 88).

Our approach to church planting, therefore, will focus not upon gimmicks, strategies and programs, but upon a winsome and warmhearted proclamation of Christ through Word and sacrament, and an utter dependence upon God in prayer.  And of course, from reverent and biblical worship will flow all manner of kingdom work such as discipleship, evangelism and outreach, hospitality, mercy ministry, and leadership training.  Moreover, the Westminster Standards, as a faithful summary of biblical teaching, will assist us greatly in our endeavor to teach the Reformed Faith.

Not too long ago I dipped into John Calvin’s sermons on Acts published by the Banner of Truth. In a sermon on Acts 2:41-42 dated 26 January, 1550, the Genevan Reformer gloriously expressed his confidence in the power of God’s Word, especially as it relates to preaching. Referring to Pentecost Calvin wrote:

“With a single sermon Peter leads three thousand individuals to Jesus Christ! In that, we are to see how God works powerfully and are not to be so dazzled that we find it strange. True, we are to admire the works of God in order to glorify him in them, but we must not find them strange, as I said, since heaven and earth were created by his word alone (John 1:3). So, since we are dealing with the same word, even though proclaimed by human beings [through preaching], we must not doubt that it is powerful and that our Lord empowers it for the glorification of his name and the building up of his church, just as he has done from the beginning” (55-56).

One of the most exciting things about starting a new church in Charleston, South Carolina is that we get to witness Christ speak something out of nothing through the proclamation of His powerful, efficacious, life-giving Word.

TAR: Do you have a target group? Who do you hope to reach?

JDP: Our target group will really be anyone and everyone who will listen to the good news that Christ died for sinners.  I’m not convinced that churches should ever be focused on only one demographic.  My current congregation is constituted of believers from numerous cultural, educational, economic, and ethnic backgrounds–– a small taste of heaven.  My prayer is that we will know something of this diversity in Charleston at Christ Church Presbyterian.

TAR: Are there particular churches supporting the work?

JDP: There are several PCA churches that are enthusiastically and generously supporting the planting of Christ Church. For example: Second Presbyterian, Greenville, S.C.; Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Ga.; First Presbyterian, Jackson, Miss.; Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church, Greenville, S.C.; Covenant Presbyterian Church, Nashville, Tenn.; and Ortega Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville, Fla. Other churches and individuals have shown great interest in the work and will hopefully partner with us in the near future.  We are still praying for more churches and individuals who will commit to partnering with us by supporting our church planting efforts for 3-5 years.

TAR: Is there already a core group?

JDP: Yes, there is currently a core group of about 25-30 people.

TAR: What is the general schedule? When will the work officially begin?

JDP: There will be a general informational meeting on Monday, March 25, 7:00 p.m. at the South Carolina Society Hall, 72 Meeting St., in downtown Charleston.  We ask those interested in the church plant to plan on attending the March 25 meeting in order to learn more about the work, and to let others know about it who may be interested as well.  Our family will be moving to Charleston in late May, and our first official Sunday evening Bible Study / fellowship will take place on June 9 at a time and meeting place not yet determined.

I want to thank The Aquila Report for its interest in Christ Church Presbyterian, and the opportunity to share about our new work.

Editor’s note: For more information about Christ Church Presbyterian you can contact Dr. Jon D. Payne at [email protected].

In addition to having pastored Grace Presbyterian Church in Douglasville, Ga., for the past decade, Jon also serves as Visiting Lecturer in Practical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, and series editor of and contributor to the new Lectio Continua Expository Commentary on the New Testament (Tolle Lege Press, 2012––).  He is the author of John Owen On the Lord’s Supper (Banner of Truth, 2004); In The Splendor of Holiness: Rediscovering the Beauty of Reformed Worship for the 21st Century (Tolle Lege Press, 2008); and co-editor of and contributor to a new collection of essays celebrating the 450th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism entitled A Faith Worth Teaching: The Heidelberg Catechism’s Enduring Heritage (Reformation Heritage Books, 2013).  He is also a frequent contributor to Modern Reformation magazine. Jon and his wife Marla have been married for thirteen years and have two children, Mary Hannah (9) and Hans (7).