Young Pastor Starts New Venture

Jeremy Isaacs was a teenager when he declared he was not going into the family business.

He had no desire to commit to a field in which he had no interest.

"My dad and grandparents, aunts, uncles on both sides of the family tree were all pastors, with the exception of one or two," he said. "I wanted to go to law school and be in politics."

He was a student at Lee University in Cleveland, TN, when God got his attention.

The young student was in a chapel service on campus, focusing more on his homework than the speaker's message.

"I wasn't even listening to what the pastor was saying," he said. "At some point during that service, I felt the Lord grab my heart. I perked up, and went to the altar that night. I said, 'OK, God. I'll do whatever you want me to do.' "

Isaacs immediately jumped into student ministry, working as a youth pastor in Cleveland while in school. He decided to put college on hold when he was offered a job in Mobile, AL, in 2003. He and wife Corrie were newly married and starting a family, so Isaacs focused on working to support them.

In spring 2009, his mother was diagnosed with cancer.

"It was always her dream that I finish at Lee," he said. "She asked me to promise I would go back and finish."

He began taking classes again through the school's distance learning program and completed his undergraduate degree in Christian ministries with a Bible/theology emphasis in the spring of 2011. His mother passed away just two months before he graduated.

While he was on the academic track, Isaacs jumped right into seminary by taking online classes from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He expects to graduate in December 2012 with a master’s in theological studies.

The 30-year-old's latest venture is leading Mount Paran North's newest campus in Canton. Isaacs joined the staff of the Marietta church in 2007, working first with students and youth before becoming pastor of the 20s/30s adults group.

Canton was chosen because hundreds of Cherokee residents were driving to Marietta for church each Sunday. It's at least a 20-minute commute, which is just far enough to keep them from getting involved in other activities during the week.

Mount Paran leaders have studied the area and estimate that as many as 85,000 unchurched folks live within a seven-mile radius of , where services will be held at 10:30 a.m. each Sunday beginning Jan. 8.

"I believe the post-Christian culture that we are living in—even here in the South—will lead more and more people to claim to be spiritual or even religious, but not be connected to regular church attendance," said Issacs, who has lived in Canton since 2007. "Where older methodologies of faith included the importance of corporate gatherings as far back as the book of Acts through the later 20th century, present day "faith journeys" are about individual discovery and expressions of faith—even within some circles of Christianity."

Isaacs said he is eager to work with other congregations in the area. "We'd love to partner with what other churches are doing in this community to see people come to know the Lord," he said.

Two preview services will be held before the 2012 launch. One is at 10:30 a.m. today.

About 200 people are committed to the new location, and volunteers are constantly working to iron out the details of worshipping in a high school. Adult worship will be held in the auditorium, with children gathering in some of the fine arts classrooms.

Isaacs stressed that the few staff members assigned to the startup are simply facilitators. His goal is to actively engage members of the congregation in the life of the church.

"We're equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry, so that every member of the church has a role," he said. "We really believe, as we get people plugged into places of service and ministry, that it is way more effective than a few folks on staff doing all the work."

On a recent weeknight, volunteers and Sunday production folks spent more than six hours at the Marietta campus gym, practicing how to set up on Sunday mornings.

"It's been really great," Isaacs said. "The Lord has given to us some great people."          

ABOUT JEREMY ISAACS

Hobbies: "I coach my kids' baseball teams. I love all sports. I play golf and softball, and I love to read and write." Isaacs has written a book, You’re Not As Good As They Say You Are, But You’re Not That Bad Either, published in 2009.

Family: Jeremy and Corrie were married in 2003, and have four children. Cooper is 6 years old; Branson, 4; Tucker, 2; and daughter Kinley, 4 months old.

ABOUT THE CHURCH

Mount Paran North Canton will hold preview services at 10:30 a.m. today and Dec. 11. Weekly worship begins Jan. 8, 2012, at Sequoyah High, 4485 Hickory Rd., Canton. The adult worship service will be held in the auditorium. Classes for children of all ages will be available. For more information, call 678-285-3288 or go to www.mpncanton.com. The church has a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MPNCanton.