LIFE COMMUNITY CHURCH | email: info@LIFE-Community.com | phone: 336.854.5433 | Copyright © 2004 - 2012
church
A CONVERSATION WITH Pastor Jake Thornhill
on staff since 1994
As a young minister on his first foreign mission trip some 23 years ago, Pastor Jake saw something in Temuco, Chile, that’s never left him.
“What really got my attention was they had so little, but did so much. And when I came back, I saw that we had so much, but did so little. Not only would people go visiting, but they’d walk two or three miles to do it. Sometimes we won’t walk across the street to talk to our neighbors. As a young pastor, that really lit a fire under me.”
Of course, the mission field isn’t limited to remote villages halfway around the globe. Our cities and neighborhoods are ripe for harvest.
“A statistic that’s haunted me for some time is that 88 percent of those 29 or younger are unchurched in America, and that statistic is growing worse all the time.”
In fact, Pastor Jake says, that challenge – the need to reach young couples – was key to relocating the church, then Hunter Hills Baptist, to the current campus. That decision was, without a doubt, a critical, but bittersweet, juncture in his ministry.
“It was one of the most exciting times, and yet one of the most difficult times,” he says.
The church lost between 400 and 500 members to the move, but it’s a decision God confirmed time and again. For example, the congregation voted twice, three and a half years apart, to relocate, and the percentage approving was exactly the same both times – 92 percent. Another confirmation was how God provided that the campus, at a very strategic location, never even went on the market.
Yet another confirmation, Pastor Jake says, is the growth the church has experienced since the relocation, and the multitudes of young families that have been reached.
“Our nurseries are packed and overflowing. All kinds of doors are opening, especially with our children and youth ministries. We never reach as many as we need to reach, but our goal was young married couples … and that’s pretty much what we’ve seen.”
Pastor Jake sees tremendous opportunities ahead, but we must remain prayerful. In fact, he’s in the office by 7 am most every day, devoting his mornings to prayer, Bible study and finding illustrations that help make his messages relevant.
FAMILY
Wife, Patsy (engaged on Oct. 13, got license Oct. 14 and were married Oct. 15);
children (grandchildren) - Amanda, and son-in-law Justin Dodson (Gracie, Garrett, Luke), & Jake III
HOBBIES
Family, church and sports (favorite team, South Carolina’s Gamecocks); works out three days a week.
SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE
DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU
Together with his son and father, caught more than 300 bass and countless oscars during a three-day fishing trip to Lake Okeechobee, Fla.
FAVORITE SCRIPTURE
Matthew 6:33 and Proverbs 3:5-7 are among them, but all-time favorite is John 15:16 (“You did not chose me, but I chose you…” because it “confirmed the journey and has strengthened me in extremely difficult times.”
HOW CAN WE SUPPORT YOU WITH PRAYER?
Pray he’ll “have intimacy with God, integrity with men and impact on a lost world.”
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I HAVE COME THAT YOU MAY HAVE LIFE ... JOHN 10:10
“Sometimes I feel like I strike out, and sometimes I hit a double” says Pastor Jake, in an analogy reminiscent of his days as a standout pitcher and first baseman in high school. “And every now and again, I get a homerun, but not nearly as often as I’d like. If someone says it’s really working well, then that’s nothing but the Spirit of God. The Lord’s providing because it’s not me.”
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT BEST DESCRIBE YOU? HONEST - LOYAL - DRIVEN
TO THE CONGREGATION - “In 1983 Patsy and I were sitting on our deck at our home overlooking an 18-acre pond hesitant about leaving our family and friends to go to seminary, and I said, “One day we will look back and rejoice in what God has done.” That was 26 years ago, and if God were to call me home today it has been an unforgettable, unbelievable blessing, and it’s all because of you. Thank you for allowing me to be your pastor and friend. Let’s expect great things from God and attempt great things for God!”
