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	Gracepoint Baptist's Pastor Sparks Church's Revival New Direction, Name Renews Congregation By Lindsay Melvin Commerical Appeal May 19, 2008 http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/may/19/pastor-sparks-churchs-revival/ Without a pastor, the membership at Walnut Grove Baptist Church plummeted, and there was barely enough cash in the collection plate to keep the lights on. The indictment of a former minister for sexual abuse last year splashed the small church's name across the news, sending an already waning congregation into a downward spiral. "There were times we worried we didn't have enough membership to stay afloat," said Wesley Ann Flaherty. A member of the church for 13 years, Flaherty and her family are among a handful who didn't abandon Walnut Grove Baptist after news of the scandal broke. Plenty of larger congregations in the Cordova neighborhood could have easily absorbed the remaining members. But Flaherty and other longtime members refused to leave the little brick building where their children and grandchildren had been baptized. "What we knew we wanted was a fresh start," she said. Now with a new pastor, a new name and a renewed spirit, the church is getting a second chance. Renamed Gracepoint Baptist, under the leadership of Aaron Armstrong, 31, the congregation is slowly climbing back up in numbers. On a recent Sunday morning, Armstrong stood before his nearly 70-person congregation in his usual attire, a button down shirt with khakis and a pair of fashionable yet worn sneakers. Often speaking of "God's Plan," the pastor says it has mapped out the lives of his congregation, has led the church in this new direction and, he jokes, has "only made me employable as a pastor." At its high point, the church had about 150 members. That was before Steven Haney, who had led the church for 20 years, was charged in October for having a sexual affair with a teenaged male member of his congregation. Sitting in the large room where services are held, Alicia VanGunda, a member for 7 years, said, "We've been through a lot." For a time she had to force herself to attend the flailing church services, she said. "It was just dreary," she said. "People were dropping out like flies." But since Armstrong came aboard in December, a new and younger crowd has started trickling in and old members are beginning to return. VanGunda attributes it to the pastor's laid-back preaching style and ability to keep even her two teenagers' attentions. The pastor says renaming the church was appropriate. "Every time God did something new he gave a new name," he said. "God is starting a new work here at the corner of Walnut Grove."
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