The Good Hand Of Our God: The Story Of Gbc (15th Anniversary Sunday 2019)

Well, I knew that name right off. He had been a missionary in one of the hardest fields in Europe—Scotland. He and his wife had left Scotland broken and discouraged. Years before, when we needed a furlough, he and his wife filled in for us at our church in Wiesbaden and upon our return, he told me, “Chuck. I was totally burned out in Scotland. I didn’t think God would use me again. But we’ve had more fruit at your church than all my years in ministry put together. Thank you for letting me fill in for you. I’ll never forget it.”

Dr. Kennard said, “Chuck, Jim’s Scotland church was in the name of three missionaries there, including Jim. The church had closed down after he left, so they finally were able to sell it 20 years later and they need to donate the funds to another Christian cause. Jim called me saying he had his share—$35,000—to donate, and asked if there was there a church needing some financial help? I told him I just ‘happen’ to know one that needs it.”

When Jim Whitted heard he was talking about me, he cried out, “Amen! I always wanted to do something for Chuck. Let’s do it.”

But we still needed another $15,000, so back the Lord we went in prayer. Unexpectedly, I received a call from one of the former members of the church I had pastored in Wiesbaden named Chuck Foster who had been a successful investor. He said, “Chuck, we got Dr. Kennard’s letter requesting donations. Money has been tight lately, but I just ‘happen’ to have some I can give here shortly.”

I said, “Praise God, Chuck! How much is it?”

He said “$15,000”—which, when I heard it, I almost fell out of my seat. When our 6-month loan was due, we were able to pay the investor off on time without borrowing a single penny more! The good hand of our God was upon us.

The sanctuary remodeling was a major expense. The greatest expense was this sanctuary, which, when we bought it, was a large mechanical shop with two attached rooms. It had meter-wide columns, which were load-bearing, and the floors were grimy, filthy, greasy black tiling. The builder who we had talked with earlier put this I-beam up [POINT TO THE I-BEAM] with the metal poles in place of the columns [POINT]. Work teams from the U.S. came and tore out the rooms in the back and laid down the white tile we have now.

There were many other miracles of special gifts provided PRECISELY when we had the need and often in the EXACT amounts needed, like when one of our members’ dad visited in only one service and got so excited, he sent us a gift of $10,000 for remodeling—JUST at the time when we needed exactly $10,000 for new tiles project!

The good hand of our God had truly been upon us, often in miraculous ways. $100,000 later in November of 2008, we dedicated our sanctuary to God.

IV. MOVING ON

All along, God was working on the ministry and spiritual sides: People continued to be saved and baptized; folks rededicated their lives to God; families joined the church; ministries were added one by one; and God continued to bring us exactly the people needed for the time and then moved them out.