KY Church Gets a New Start After Pastor’s Public Scandal

Orginally published on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 at 7:00 AM
by Todd Rhoades

Emotions ran high Sunday at First Baptist Church of Cold Spring, KY. Ron Rouse and Mike Herald embraced in tears after the service. Many of the 300-plus people at the church that afternoon also shed tears of joy and relief after they voted 99 percent in favor of the Rev. Ronny Raines as the new pastor. The election of Raines has, for many, closed the door on a tumultuous two years. The former pastor, Larry Davis, who guided the church from 300 to 1,600 members in almost 20 years, was sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison for bank fraud and tax evasion. Authorities say Davis stole up to $700,000 from the church during a three-year span...

“It means we can look at friends and family again and ask them to come see our church,” Herald, of Fort Thomas, said. “Now we have a leader. We are following God’s will. How awesome is that? It’s been tough, but just for today, we can feel God’s mercy.”

Some members left and formed two other churches, Christ Baptist in Cold Spring in 2004 and Potter’s House in Alexandria in 2005.

But this week, many members say they feel confident in the church.

“It means a whole new future for the church,” Rouse, of Alexandria, said. “Look within a five-mile radius of here. It is one of the fastest-developing areas of the state. It gives us a bigger outreach and more people to share the Gospel.”

Donations have increased and for the first time in 1½ years, the church in June came within $600 of breaking even, several church members and trustees said. Membership has once again risen past 400.

The new pastor sees potential for tremendous growth. Raines served for the past 10 years at Northside Baptist Church in Elizabethtown, during which time the church tripled its attendance. Raines said people told him that the church and surrounding community presented one of “the great spiritual opportunities in the state.”

“The demographics in the area, the number of people here, people willing to help, we feel this is where God is leading us,” Raines said.

Raines doesn’t anticipate the church’s past to create any extraordinary challenges to its future.

“Every church is a challenge,” Raines said.

A pulpit committee of church members went through resumes, consulted with Baptist associations and others to search for a replacement for Davis.

Raines just seemed to fit with the church, said Linda Alford, chairwoman of the pulpit committee.

Some church members were impressed to learn that Raines and his wife, Angie, came to the church seven months ago before even being approached and prayed for the church in the parking lot, Alford said.

The church can become even bigger, congregation members say. At one time, First Baptist served as a hub of activity for the community with outreach programs and organizing events, said Ron Davis no relation to Larry, a church member and trustee.

“We are excited to return to the driving force in the community that we once were,” Ron Davis said “We were growing. We spent 15 years growing at a 10 percent clip.”

The ordeal of the past two years will hopefully impact the future for the better, said Nancy Held, a member of the church for 12 years.

“There was a lesson to learn from God,” Held said. “I don’t know what that is, but all things happen for a reason.”

Read more of this article at Cincinnati.com...

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Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.

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