We are in the beginning. Most of the story of Blount Community Church has yet to be written. In January 2005, God called Jeff Fuchs and his wife Kim, to start a new church in Blount County that specifically targets people who do not attend church. After numerous confirmations from God through people and circumstances, plans and prayers began to be made for this new church. In the summer of 2005, over 50 Christ-followers felt called of God and committed to joining a “Launch Team” whose purpose was to begin this new church. Together, this “Launch Team” left their home church and set out on a faith journey. (written fall 2005)

Blount Church has recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. After starting January 8th, 2006, much progress has been made. God has blessed in many ways with some milestones being the lives of many people being changed; three baptismal services with over 20 baptisms; 3 membership classes with over 100 committing to the BCC Membership Covenant; many more people attend and serve each Sunday morning; and the addition of small groups.

A big change occurred late in 2006 when we moved our Sunday morning worship gathering to Alcoa High School instead of Maryville College. We left Maryville College due to the impending demolition of the auditorium to construct a new Civic Center. This move in location has been a blessing as Alcoa High provides more space and program options.

BCC in 2007 looks much different than in 2006. It will look equally as different by 2008. This year, the value of Small Groups will continue to be raised. A full-time staff is expected to be hired. And our first huge children's program, Kidstuff, is expected to launch in the spring.

Our mission to reach those who are far from God is as clear as when we begun. Our purpose to Love God and Lead Our Generation to Him is becoming more and more fleshed out. God continues to send people who need a church to point them toward Him. And God has sent Christ-followers to us who are like-minded to serve His purposes. We plan to continue striving to connect others to God. And it looks like we will meet at Alcoa High School on Sunday morning for the foreseeable future. (written winter 2006)

Having experienced many blessings and challenges from the Lord, we are different after living another year in the adventure we call BCC. Our love for God and excitement grows as we are used in His Kingdom work. Life change continues to be at the top of God’s blessing and is evident everywhere we look. As God called, He keeps allowing us to reach people who have not been connected to the church.

After meeting all of 2007 at Alcoa High School, this facility has been our home longer than any. In the first year at Alcoa, we had to move our worship service from the auditorium to the gymnasium as we needed more space. Thank God He knows the future and prepared us to be here to accommodate our growth.

This fall, Kidstuf took off like a space shuttle and we have since moved it to the Auditorium. This production is a “home run” being an action-packed environment that families love and workers enjoy the big investment they give to it. As Kidstuf continues to grow, I would not be surprised if we need to move to a larger space later this year.

As hoped for and expected, we hired our second full-time staff in May. Pastor Kenny Crook and his wife Anita have an incredible story of God’s surprises, His leadings, and His grace. You should ask them about this as there is not enough space to begin telling their story.

The Student Ministry has begun hitting on more cylinders. Traction began this past summer with the new involvement and leadership of key volunteers. We do have a Student Ministry now that is growing. One of the greatest memories was a Baptismal Service at Little River this past summer. Somewhere around a dozen people took this faith-step in what turned out to be a glorious evening. We observed the Lord’s Supper in conjunction with the baptisms and then had a cook out. This night totally represented what bcc is about: having a front row seat of God changing lives, people taking steps of faith to follow Him, and using creative places and fresh ways to give God Glory and work for His Kingdom. (written March 2008)

After more than two years at Alcoa High, the school remains an ideal place. Meeting at Maryville College when we started seems like a faint memory from the past, not unlike when a 40 year old remembers being a teenager. The support from Alcoa’s school administration allows us the space and flexibility we need. Our biggest facility challenge is having to quickly change service and/or set up times because the school needs its facility. When this happens, we have not had to leave the campus but arranged to use other areas within the school. The gym remains the place we meet for Worship Services giving us room for the growing number of people. We use more of the school’s classrooms than ever expected.

Although we continue to look and pursue property, there currently are no promising leads. We are in no hurry to leave the High School while also seriously seeking God as to what is next. The morale of Saturday night setup has not waned which is astonishing given the demand. New people continue to invest their Saturday nights to set up enabling us to do what we do on Sunday mornings.

Gina Williams was hired as Administrative Assistant at the end of the ‘08 summer with her workload drawing nearer to full-time with each passing month. In addition to keeping the pastors straight and overseeing administration, Gina took the responsibility of finances and bookkeeping in January, ’09 when financial obligations grew and needed to be an internal operation. Our staff continues to work at home as we have chosen to not rent office space.

Dave Cates was hired as a Student Minister in January, ‘09. Dave came as a volunteer to lead the students in ’08 and began harnessing the rapidly growing mob of students. On average, 50-70 middle and high school students meet each Sunday evening. Students now have numerous structured opportunities in missions and serving.

Preschool, Children’s, and Youth ministries have adopted an overarching philosophy called “Orange”. Teams of workers from these areas attended the Orange Conference the past two years. Simply put, Orange is effort to gain leverage by melding the church and family together to help young people grow in their faith. With each of these areas booming, the guidance and vision Orange gives allows us to be more effective.

BCC hired Rodney Arnold, our last Worship Leader, to lead worship and learn how to better start the new church he was called to start. Rodney left BCC to launch his new church in the summer of ’09. Eddie Jett, a volunteer band member with us for years felt led by God to step into the role of Worship Leader. Eddie has never been a Worship Leader prior the summer of 2009. God has blessed us with him to lead the band and BCC in worship. His growth and leadership will be exciting to watch.

International Missions rose to a new level in ‘08 and ‘09. We entered into a relationship with Pastor Straton and Eglise Vivante Church in Rwanda, Africa. A team visited Rwanda in October ’08. We continue to support their work with orphans and HIV/Aids victims. We increased our support of Andy and Emily in SE Asia with the most recent project being an English School for College students. The newest international opportunity is with Rick and Shanna as missionaries to East Asia.

Great memories are etched in our minds of the past two Fourth of July Baptism Parties at Springbrook Pool. Many families dedicated their children to the Lord and 50 people took the faith-step of baptism. These parties were also Volunteer Appreciation Events with catered food, a mechanical bull (which by the way does not mix well with wet swimsuits), a live DJ, t-shirts for all Volunteers, and tons of memories.

If we didn’t mention Lily Loveday, this chapter wouldn’t be complete. Kidstuf Family Production created a pop icon in Lily with her highly popular video each week. Lily has used her unique gifts (not to mention her husband’s skills) and contagious antics to draw a following that enhances our children’s ministry while pointing people to Jesus.

(written summer 2009)

We are blessed to still meet at Alcoa High School. God provided the best facility we could imagine for this portable stage in the life of our young church. Worship services meet in the gym as it is the only space big enough. We continue and see God work in people’s lives. And we are nearing our 5 year anniversary in January.

Our relationship with Alcoa High School continues to be wonderful. Alcoa has had a significant influence on BCC, and there could not be any place better suited for us to meet Sunday mornings. But as we move forward, it becomes clearer that we will be more effective with a place of our own. God continues to take care of us and meet our needs, but this chapter involves us preparing for the future. The significant things taking place lead me to believe the next time I write, there will be more big changes.

When I think back over the past year, the main thought that jumps to mind is people who were changed as God used BCC to point people to Him. We often say that it doesn’t matter who you are or who you’re not, every life is always better with God in it. God has used our church to encourage many people toward Him. This is the greatest thing we do, and what continues to motivate us is God’s Kingdom and pointing people to Him. I wish I had time to share with you the stories of people being freed from addictions, marriages being changed, and people’s faith growing. Some people who were written off by others are an active part of our church as they give the Lord their Saturday nights and Sundays to invest in His Kingdom. We have seen many people grow in their faith and instead of trying to live on their own, begin to live for God with other believers as the church. We’ve even seen teenagers' lives changed! There continues to be growth in all areas of the church. God’s favor continues to be evident in the life of BCC.

Big news this year has been the progress in finding a location for a permanent church home. After years of looking for land, this past month we purchased 16+ acres located on 321 South, one mile south of Foothills Mall. God clearly provided the land for us as we developed a wonderful relationship with the property owner, Ms. Della Sharp. Even after the purchase of the property, our church maintains a relationship with her. The purchase of the property was a great example of how God works by blessing everyone involved. BCC was able to pay cash for the property, another indicator of God’s blessing. But with all the different properties we looked at, it is clear this is where God wants us.

Most recently, we hired an architect to develop the master plan for the property. We are currently in the middle of working our tails off for what we are calling “In God We Trust,” which is our effort to prepare and raise funds to build on the property. I don’t think there has been a more exciting time in the life of our church since we launched 5 years ago. God’s blessings continue to be evident, and we are making progress toward preparing to build. We are currently working with the architect to develop a plan, and after we save the money, we will be ready to take the next step and open the next chapter.

We are not sure were God is leading but we are willing to jump and follow Him.  (written Fall 2010)

Blount Community Church
P.O. Box 737
Alcoa, TN 37701
www.blountchurch.org
865-719-8813