Meet James D. Gailliard

By Ronald E. Keener

For James Gailliard church in his youth meant “no air conditioning, wood pews, and wood floors” in the small Gethsemane United Methodist Church of 40 members, about six blocks from where he lived in North Philadelphia on the campus of Temple University Dental School. Because it was a small church, his pastor, Ashton Allen, used laity to assist in the leading of worship, giving prayer, reading scripture, and making announcements.

“He began using me when I was 12. I still remember the first two lessons. The first was him placing a cassette recorder in the last pew of the church and giving me a Psalm to read as he recorded my voice. He then played it back and said, ‘Not everyone will agree with what you have to say, but let it be said that they heard you.’

“At age 15 I attended Albright College in Reading, PA and became the youngest Certified Lay Speaker in the UMC. It was as if God had put people in my life from middle school on to direct my life toward ministry. My high school yearbook lists my career goal as being ‘successful in the field of religion.’”

He notes that every year the churches would get together during Lenten season for combined worship services. One Wednesday night the Lord saved him, he says, at the age of 10.

You’ve been known to say that “real church forces change.” What does that mean?

It has two meanings: the first around the church and the second around people. Every church falls into a degree of tradition. If the church is not careful, tradition begins to speak louder than the voice of revelation. So we wind up doing things not because God said it but because we have always done it that way. After all, our methodology must shift so the church can continue to challenge the culture.

People on the other hand are one huge renovation project. One room at a time needs to be rehabbed, which means to become what God wants me to become I must always be changing. Unless a church creates an environment where change is frequent, accepting and expecting, we wind up with “sacred cows.”

How does that play out in your own congregation?

First, it is played out in worship services. Even though we have a time and scripted 90 minute worship flow, we are sensitive to what elements of worship God wants to really move in. So some Sundays praise and worship is longer and some Sundays I preach longer, or we move elements of the worship service around depending on what God is currently saying to us.

Second, it is played out in our accountability. We work hard to hold people accountable for their actions and inactions so there is a lot of movement in leadership, staff, roles, etc. When you embrace a balanced model of ministry – worship, fellowship, discipleship, evangelism, missions and ministry (we refer to it as celebration, community, congregation, corporate and care) it forces people to develop in areas where they are weak.

Third, it is played out in ministries. We know how to pronounce a benediction on something not working. So, just because we are doing it this year doesn’t mean we will do it the next year.

Give me some idea of your congregation and its ministry.

We are currently a 1,700-member church. We started with 14 people. Our ministries are similar to the typical church in that they are age, gender and marital status driven. There are about 40 active ministries currently. Our vision is to become a place of relevant ministry where relationships are built, needs are met, purpose is fulfilled and God is enjoyed. Our mission is to preach the gospel; to teach people to live Christ-like; to practice love; to give priority to prayer; and to increase in the wisdom and favor of God. Our outreach is both local and national.

What few things are key factors in successful church starts?

The most important is going where and when you are called. Too often church starters are not being prayerful enough regarding the issues of territory and timing. Additionally, you must be intrinsically motivated and have a tremendous passion for souls. I often tell young church starters if you are not active in personal evangelism then I have a difficult time believing God is calling you to start a church. I would also say having good experience and a track record as an associate minister in a growing church. There is little substitute for the church experience.

Have your churches been multi-racial congregations?

Some have. We had more success at racial balance when I planted in Philadelphia. Here in Rocky Mount our church is about 95 percent African American. The opportunity for multi-racial congregations is far more unlikely to achieve as the population is almost entirely either African American or Caucasian. Being bi-racial myself I would love to see our church more diverse. Our non-worship services (i.e., citywide bible study) is more diverse however.

You planted churches in South Africa. What countries are you involved in with new churches?

We have spent considerable time and resources in Soweto and Potchefstroom. We are also looking at placing “Impact Centers” within those regions as well to enable for the development of Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s). Much of my personal time has been in the area of pastor and leadership development. Typically in underserved areas the men who get called begin preaching and ministering with no formal training and no formal Bible knowledge.

You earned a degree in business administration. Have you been able to apply that to ministry?

Absolutely! It is almost as important as my theological degrees. Once you grow to a certain size the environment becomes multi-disciplinary, so you must be able to navigate waters that have nothing to do with theology — finance, engineering, architecture, zoning, politics, banking, investing, strategic planning, hiring, etc. It’s fine to hire to your weakness but in the beginning staff is small and a good church starter must be conversant in several areas beyond church.

You have something called The Impact Center. What is happening in Eastern North Carolina in human, economic and community development?

The Impact Center, which we now call WordImpact,  is the economic, human and community development arm of the ministry. The Bible has a social justice thread running through it that most evangelical churches ignore, which is bewildering to me. We will fight for the life of an embryo to be born (and we should) but not develop programs so that baby can eat and be educated. It all seems a little suspect to me so we have a separate not-for-profit in place to address these social justice issues.

We involve ourselves either directly or indirectly with addressing the major needs we all face: housing, education, employment, healthcare and public policy.

What are the ingredients for “making things happen” in these areas?

There are several. First, it must be faith-based. Everything we do must be done in the name of Jesus. It must be holistic, meaning it must speak to every area of a persons’ life because any one area can send their lives in a tail spin.

It must be community based. You must meet people where they are which means you must go where they are. It must be collaborative so there must be an effort on the churches’ part to see what assets are already in the community and help develop them before we assume we have the “ugly pill” and we can make anybody beautiful with our latest idea or program.

It must maintain people’s dignity. I used to have a lot of mission teams visit with me when I pastored in Philadelphia and so often they had a spirit of arrogance like they had no needs and they were there as our saving grace. It left us feeling worthless. So, we got the help, but the cost to our self esteem was too high a price to pay. You must maintain a person’s self worth when you are helping them.

You’ve said that about one-third of your church is unemployed. Tell us about the area and the needs and the people. How do you help them?

We are in a small city of about 60,000. If you include the county then you get up to about 100,000.

We are a one hour drive from Raleigh which is the state capital. At one time there was a lot of agriculture and tobacco here. Many of the jobs today are in factory settings although the local hospital and school system are major employers. This is a great southern town with a great location halfway between New York and Florida right on Interstate 95. The greatest need is Jesus and we are seeing that Rocky Mount is becoming a hard place to go to hell from. Secondly, skills are a need of the people: job skills, financial skills, parenting skills, entrepreneurship, and the like.

We help them by offering a biblical approach to how to live their lives. We call it developing people that cannot be destroyed, where we are being infused with spiritual and social disciplines that empower lives.

Why can’t more churches, black and white, do what Word Tabernacle does?

They can and many are. There are some great churches in our nation and we learn all we can from them. I have a network of pastors I refer to when I have a question or encounter something I need a multitude of counselors for.

In a word, “training.” If we know better we do better. My advice to churches that have a membership that has peaked or is decreasing or is not experiencing growth, is to get trained. We teach missions.

We teach evangelism. We teach worship, and on and on. Again, when we know better, we do better.

What progress are you making for people in the church and in the county?

We are making great progress. The church is now six years old. We began in March 2005. In that time we have seen nearly 1,000 people baptized and have witnessed marriages strengthened, youth leave gangs, young people go off to college, middle aged people go back to school, entrepreneurs grow and expand their businesses, credit scores increased, cohabitating couples married, children nurtured, parenting skills improved upon, and the list goes on and on.

Has anyone tried to get you to enter political office?

The conversation has come up a few times and it does intrigue me. Never say never, but I think I would be more effective just where I am. www.WordTab.net

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One Response to “Meet James D. Gailliard”

  1. Theresea Neal

    Very intrigued by this information in regards to Pastor Gailliard and all God has blessed him to do since childhood. His concern for his fellow man that includes every aspect of their lives is awesome. To me his desire is to leave no stones unturned in the lives and needs of individuals. Just like God. Would love to b a student and sit under his teachings if he had a seminary school. But it sounds like he has his cup running over already. Let us as a people of God continue to pray much for Pastor Gailliard. I don’t know him personally but follows him on the web. This is truly a man tree that has been planted by the river of living waters and bringing forth much fruit. May God forever keep you and your way be made prosperous and success follows in all you do.

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