Social - September 2003

New church focuses on Bible study

By DIANE TURBYFILL, Staff Writer

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Verses from the Bible have given him faith and taken him to places around the globe.

Darrel Cline and his wife, Hazel, moved from Georgetown, Texas to Lincolnton in August. They traveled to the area with one purpose.

“We came here to put a focus on what we call a Bible teaching church as a supplement to the other ministries that are already going on here,” says Cline.

Cline says friends of his in the area asked him to come and teach the Bible.

On Sundays, Cline joins with the congregation of a new church, Lincoln Community Bible Church. About 25 people are now attending the new church that has been open since August.

“It’s a start,” he says.

Cline and Hazel have been helping churches get off the ground and teach the Bible since the 1970s.

The couple has helped start churches in Texas, Louisiana and Nebraska. They also have conducted short term ministry in India, Africa, Canada and Alaska.

“It is my life,” says Cline. “I came to know Christ as a senior in high school and he changed my life.”

Lincoln Community Bible Church holds services on Sunday mornings at 10 in the Mauney Building on East Main St. Cline says the rented rooms work with the small congregation, but a bigger home may be necessary to support growth later on down the road.

Church members Trae and Robin Martin also host a weekly service in their home.

“The home setting is a lot more laid back and informal,” Cline says.

Cline says he is not concerned with formality. He only wishes to teach the Bible. And while he and his wife have traveled to many churches, he does not anticipate leaving Lincolnton any time soon.

They stayed 14 years at the last church they helped start.

“We come to add the gifts we have to the ones that are already here,” he says. “We don’t have a time frame on how long they might be needed.”

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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