Church Planter Conversation: Josh Varnedoe
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Benjamin Kreps:
Hey everyone, and welcome to the Mark Prater podcast - where our aim is to connect our global family of sovereign grace churches with our executive director. Mark, we have a guest.
Mark Prater:
We do! An esteemed guest!
Benjamin Kreps:
An esteemed guest. And our guest this week is Josh Varnedoe, who recently planted Christ Community Church, a Sovereign Grace Church in North Knoxville, Tennessee. Josh, thanks for joining us. So happy to have you here.
Josh Varnedoe:
Happy to be here.
Benjamin Kreps:
We want to hear how the church is going, and for folks to learn a little bit more about you. We're going to get right into it because we want our family of churches to be able to know what's going on in North Knoxville and to be praying for you as well. So, Josh, you grew up in a Sovereign Grace Church, which is an experience not shared by many church planters, but you have an interesting vantage point on Sovereign Grace, having grown up in one. Tell us a little bit first about your wife and the new baby you recently brought into the world, and then talk to us about growing up in Sovereign Grace and when you began to sense a call to pastoral ministry, and then specifically church planting beyond just pastoral ministry.
Josh Varnedoe:
Yeah, for sure. My wife's name is Melanie, and we first met when she was eight years old, after her family moved to Knoxville and joined Cornerstone Church. And as a little kid, I had a huge crush on her, and I just remember when I was 10 years old, I don't even know if I was a Christian or not, but I remember just praying, Lord, I pray that I'd marry Melanie one day, which is crazy. And however long later, we got married in 2020, and so we've been married for about five years. So grateful for her, love her so much, and she's just been so encouraging. I mean, just with this whole church plant, she has been right there with me. Just really grateful for my wife. I love her. In December, we had our first little girl, Jacqueline, who was wonderful. She's nine months old and just enjoying the ride, so enjoying our time with her and watching her grow up, and just a gift from the Lord. Like you said, I grew up in Cornerstone, so my dad was a pastor for a number of years there, and Cornerstone really served our family, and I just made so many friends in Cornerstone that I still have to this day, just lifelong friendships.
Growing up with my dad as a pastor was always positive for me. I think from an early age, pastoral ministry was just so attractive to me because of how my dad lived out life as a pastor, and so I never resented ministry or resented the church. I actually loved the church more because my dad was a pastor, and I was really grateful for his example. So I think that set the foundation for a desire for pastoral ministry. I think it wasn't until after that that I became a full-time campus ministry intern at the University of Tennessee after graduating. And it wasn't until after those two years that I really felt a strong desire for pastoral ministry. And so the guys at Cornerstone counseled me through it, discipled me, and eventually expressed a desire to send me to the pastor's college. Those two years spent in campus ministry gave me a taste of what ministry is.
Obviously different from pastoral ministry, but the day in and day out of meeting with students and discipling students just gave me a desire for it. I moved to Louisville in 2020. Mel and I actually got married and then, almost immediately after, moved up to Louisville and attended the pastor's college. That desire for church planting really took off. So even being in class with Nick Kidwell, so he was about to plant upon graduation, so he was always thinking about it, thinking about talking about the church he was about to deploy. And I think that got me excited. It got my wife and me excited for it. And so we were, after those 10 months, we came back to Knoxville, not knowing what the Lord had. We didn't know there wasn't necessarily a specific location, but we were just excited about the idea of church planting and going wherever the Lord led us. So anyway, that's kind of the short of it.
Mark Prater:
That's great, Josh, great that you had a crush on your wife at eight years old. That's just a great story. It's wild.
Josh Varnedoe:
Yeah, it is. It's great. It's wonderful.
Benjamin Kreps:
I don't think I've quite heard that far back before with a couple.
Josh Varnedoe:
Yeah, I still remember their first Sunday. I remember their first Sunday and seeing them across the auditorium, and there were some ups and downs between that moment and when we got married, but I was just really grateful, just amazing how the Lord works those things out, and just so good to us.
Mark Prater:
Well, you and Melanie went as a newly married couple in 2020 to the pc. Tell us a little bit more about how, beyond just your interaction with Nick and other guys in the pc, the pastor's college prepared you for church planning.
Josh Varnedoe:
I mean, I would say one of the main ways is just helping me grow in my love for God's word. The PC instilled in me a reverence for it that, I mean, was there, but it sharpened it and a desire to live under the authority of God's word. And so those classes that Jeff would teach, and then also Josh Blunt, both those guys were very influential in helping me understand God's word more and make connections, and even gave me a great desire to preach it. Now, Jeff scares you in the preaching class. With fear and trepidation. He helps instill a fear of the Lord in you for sure.
But I would say that's the main way. Obviously, we could talk for two hours about it, but I think when I think about the pc, I just think love and reverence for God's word increased during those 10 months and really changed how I viewed God's word and read God's word. But I think also for our marriage, Mel and I, like you said, were newly married. And so during those 10 months, we had a lot of conversations about our future and what our desires were. And the word was really used during that time to unify us in our desire for church planning in particular. So, we left with a unified desire for it, and we hadn't really talked about it before being in the pc, but being with the Kidwells and various guys from Sovereign Grace coming in to teach classes, you just got exposed to a lot. And so it forced us to have conversations and really think through what our desires were. And so we came back to Knoxville, excited about church planning, unsure what it would look like, but as a couple, unified with a desire for it.
Benjamin Kreps:
Excellent. You're talking about your dad and his influence and how, actually, his example and his, just the way that he was a dad to you, actually produced a desire for pastoral ministry, which praise God for that. There are a lot of stories when things go a different way. And so you grew up experiencing godly pastors, including your dad, and healthy church environments that you enjoyed and served in. Now you have planted a church in North Knoxville. And so what is your vision, hope, having planted Christ Community, when you think about what you would love to see the church grow in and become over time?
Josh Varnedoe:
Yeah, I mean, this area of North Knoxville just desperately needs a Bible preaching church and needs a gospel proclaiming church. There are a lot of church buildings in North Knoxville, but there's not much life. And so, our desire for Christ Community is that it is a church filled with life that proclaims God's word that reaches the community. I think right now, I mean our hope and desire is to make disciples, and that's the whole point of planting this church, which is evangelism and outreach. This part of town is more secular than even where Cornerstone is. And so there's a real need for that. So that's the main vision and hope that our church would always have this desire for outreach, always have this desire for evangelism that loves God's word, that's passionate about God's word.
Benjamin Kreps:
Excellent.
Josh Varnedoe:
And the church is a welcoming place for people. There are a lot of different kinds of people in this part of town. It's really interesting. It really changes street by street. And so to have a church that welcomes the people of the community in and preaches Christ to them. So that would be the desire, we want to reach our community, make disciples, proclaim Christ and continue to do that 10 years from now, never let off the gas, not just in this church planning phase, this first six months, but 10 years from now, we're still thinking evangelistically. We're still trying to reach the community as best we can.
Mark Prater:
Amen. That's great. I think before we start recording, Josh, you said you've had five public services now on a Sunday. Of course. Tell us how those have gone.
Josh Varnedoe:
Yeah, it’s been very encouraging, always leaving with a sense that God was with us, that he was present, that he blessed the preaching of his word, that he blessed our singing and the receiving of the Lord's Supper. There's just a lot of joy when we're together, just really thankful for that. And so, yes, I am always left aware that the Lord has been with us. The Lord has blessed our meetings, and we've had new people come, which is encouraging. You spend all this time preparing, and then you wonder who's going to walk in the door. And we've had new people come and they've been trickling in and families, and one guy heard about our church, heard about the church plant, and he was waiting on us to start for about six months. And so he showed up that first Sunday, and he's been coming with his family ever since.
And so there are just things like that happening that are very encouraging, just obvious the Lord is in this. And so, always leaving with an awareness that the Lord was faithful to us, blessing our plans. And Drew and I, Drew Williams is the other pastor with me, and it's been so cool to watch the Lord bless our planning. This is so new for us. We've never been in this position before. I've never led a church before. And just the Lord blessing our plans, we're sitting there and trying to think through the songs or thinking through pastoral prayer, preparing a message and just the word blesses it. And he's just blessing far more abundantly than all we could ask or think. And that's been fun to watch just a month in. So
Benjamin Kreps:
What are you preaching on?
Mark Prater:
Yeah, what are you preaching on?
Josh Varnedoe:
Going through the Gospel of Mark.
Benjamin Kreps:
The Gospel of Mark. Wonderful. Why'd you pick the Gospel of Mark?
Josh Varnedoe:
I picked the Gospel of Mark because it gives us an opportunity to look at the person of Christ in a different way every single Sunday. And I think the Gospel of Mark is uniquely accessible to unbelievers, so it's very engaging, even the way Mark writes, even including the emotions of Christ. It's just very relatable, I think, for people. And so we were excited to do the Gospel of Mark. I remember preaching messages from Mark at UT on the campus, and it just really lends itself to evangelism and calls to unbelievers. So we've really enjoyed it so far. It's been a blast.
Mark Prater:
I'm glad you mentioned Drew, because you and Drew were sent from Cornerstone Church in Knoxville, a longstanding member church in Sovereign Grace. Both of you were sent from there to the pastor's college, came back, served on the pastoral team there, and then they sent you two pastors, along with some of their best members, to plant this church in North Knoxville. So how did their sacrifice impact you, and how does it inform your hope for the future with Christ Community?
Josh Varnedoe:
We could talk for an hour about how grateful I am for those guys. I've known Bill Kittrell my entire life, and so that man loves church planting. He loves evangelism, and Cornerstone is planting churches and they're excited to plant churches and they're willing to sacrifice for the cause of Christ. And like you said, they sent out some of their best. They really did present to our team, our folks that have been in Cornerstone for decades, that became Christians through Cornerstone, that serve in a variety of functions in the church. Some of them are community group leaders, so the cost of the plant, Christ Community Church, was astronomical. I mean, even though we're right down the road, they were sending out years of sowing. And so now Drew and I get to benefit from that. And so we've got guys leading community groups that have been leading community groups for 10 years. We've got guys involved in the music ministry who have been playing for Cornerstone for decades. So in terms of people, Cornerstone has sacrificed in tremendous ways, and they've done it joyfully. So Bill and those guys, they obviously feel it. It's a sacrifice. It's hard, it's difficult. There were tears on that last Sunday.
But their love for the mission leads them to sacrifice and their love to see gospel centered churches planted makes it worth it. And so, I’m really grateful for Cornerstone, even in our continued relationship with them. So we'll still do stuff with their team, and I mean, we're only 45 minutes down the road. So, there are a lot of opportunities to continue to learn from those guys and get their thoughts and continue, and even to be discipled by them as younger pastors. So, really grateful for Cornerstone.
Benjamin Kreps:
Wonderful. Excellent. Well, if someone watching this lives in North Knoxville, or maybe if you know someone checking out the podcast, think about sharing this with them if they live in that area. But if somebody wants to come and check out the church, how do they find out where you guys meet and what the church is up to and that sort of thing?
Josh Varnedoe:
Yeah, they can go to our website cccknox.com, and there's a big visit button at the top, right. They can click on that, and it gives them the address, time, and all the information they need to know about a Sunday service. And they can also look us up on Instagram, so we keep it updated with what we're doing and keep people in the loop. So that would be the best way to do it.
Mark Prater:
Right, Josh, we always want to ask this question. When we interview church planners, how can the people of Sovereign Grace, the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace, some of whom listen or read this transcript, this podcast, how can we be praying for you? That's an important question for us because even though we are a denomination from an organizational standpoint, we're still a family of churches and you're going to have a family of churches throughout the world praying for you and for Drew and for your church, Christ Community. So give us some ways that we can pray for you.
Josh Varnedoe:
Yeah, well, you can pray for our series in the Gospel of Mark. You can pray that the word builds his church through the preaching of his word and that it draws people so that unbelievers would respond to the preaching of God's word. And you can pray just for guests. I mean, that's something I'm always praying for, is for new people, bring new people, add people to our number. So that's the main request that we better reach our communities, strategize on how to reach our community, what does that look like? So, wisdom for outreach. We have some events planned for this fall, so please pray that new people attend and that families in the area join us. And so those are the main things that I can think of: blessing, the preaching of his word, and the new people, that folks would be added, and we'd see conversions. That's why we're doing this. We want to see conversions. We want to see people come to know Christ and walk in the light. And so those are the two ways.
Benjamin Kreps:
Excellent. Well, Josh, thank you. And if your wife checks this out, thank you, Melanie. Thank you guys for your faith to leave the familiar that you grew up in with pastors you love and people that you've been friends with your whole life to strike out up the road, but still to leave behind the familiar church you grew up in to go and plant a new one. Thanks for your faith, and we are grateful for your ambition to make Christ known in North Knoxville. And thank you, everyone, for checking out this podcast. Please be praying for Christ Community Church in North Knoxville and for Josh and his team. So thanks for checking out the podcast, and we'll see you here next week. Lord willing. Bye for now.