WS Chronicle

It’s been a long time coming for Rev. Jerell “JD” Charlot and Life Tabernacle. The church held their inaugural service on Dec. 15 and being the senior pastor, Rev. Charlot couldn’t have been happier to bring his message to the city.

Charlot stated he and a few others were at the church all day Saturday making the final preparations for Sunday service. He wanted everything to be at its best before the congregation walked into the sanctuary.

“My thoughts were, ‘Lord your will, nothing more, nothing less, but your will,’” said Charlot.  

His message that Sunday was entitled “The Lord will make it happen.” Through that message he wanted the congregation to know that even though the church may be small in membership, they don’t have to worry about the future of the church, because it’s in the hands of God.

Charlot was pleased with the Sunday morning service, but was overjoyed by what transpired for the Sunday evening service. Bishop George E. Dobbin of Christ Temple of the Apostolic Faith in Garner, N.C., delivered the sermon that evening.  

“His (Dobbin) topic was ‘Don’t quit’ and he brought a van and carload full of people, and we had guests from around the city,” Charlot continued. “Sunday morning, we had about 10 people there, but on Sunday night we had pastors from Charlotte, Reidsville, Durham and Raleigh.

“It confirmed that I was in the will of God. What further confirmed this is that my mother relocated from Houston, Texas, and she joined the church that night, so she is now a member of the church.”

Along with Charlot’s mother joining the church, six other individuals joined on Sunday as well.  

For their second service on Dec. 22, Charlot said there was a “very strong spirit of praise” during that Sunday morning service. His message, “There shall be a performance,” centered on the interaction between Mary and Elizabeth.

“Even though it was not a large group of people, our members were there, and they were blessed,” he said.  

For the evening service on the second Sunday, Charlot was pleased to see some of the same visiting faces he saw the week prior during their inaugural Sunday evening service.  

“The Sunday night service is gaining a lot of momentum, the word is out about the church, definitely the word is out,” he went on to say.

As the calendar flips to the new year, Charlot says he has a few goals for the church.  

“In the year 2020, we definitely want to increase our regular Sunday attendance at both services,” he said. “Our plan of action for that is to canvas the community and we have already made a partnership with the Trinity Glen nursing home.

“Another project we have in place is our afterschool program that we are working tediously to offer in the spring semester of the school year, and we have the facility to hold up to 50 kids. That will not only bring in revenue for our ministry, but it would also be a community outreach as well.”

Charlot said Life Tabernacle has connected with former Winston-Salem State University students, but they are in need of a van to bring the students to the church, so that is yet another project on the agenda for the church.

The biggest highlight for Charlot thus far happened before he even held the first service on Dec. 15. The Wednesday prior to their first service, the church baptized three individuals, which Charlot said warmed his heart.