WS Chronicle

A new ministry is set to hit the town of Winston-Salem. Life Tabernacle, 4175 Moat Dr., will hold their inaugural service on Dec. 15.

Jerell “JD” Charlot, senior pastor of Life Tabernacle, is a Houston, Texas native, but came to North Carolina by divine instructions from God to bring a message of hope and spiritual revitalization, he said.

“We chose Winston-Salem because we saw that there were needs specifically to impact the homeless population, ministering to college students, and also to at-risk grade school students,” said Charlot.

Charlot and his family have been in the city since October. He said they have been welcomed with open arms by the community at large. They have met the likes of Anita “Boss Lady” Dean Arnette and others who have been very welcoming, Charlot said.

“We did an interview with her (Arnette) and she has been wonderful in assisting us in getting established,” Charlot said. “The community of people that we have met have lovingly embraced us and they have cited they feel a difference when it comes to us, particularly with integrity and being trustworthy.”

Life Tabernacle is an Apostolic/Pentecostal church, although the church is independent of any organization.

Outreach is one of the ministries that is close to the heart of Charlot. His goal is to build relationships with local universities to positively impact the lives of the young people on their campuses.

“We are working on something now to get to Winston-Salem State University to be a hub for spiritual development for college students,” he continued.  

Being that he is a younger pastor, Charlot feels that when he impacts the younger generation, he is impacting himself, along with his wife. His goal is to have an open dialogue with the young people so they feel comfortable asking questions that he hopefully has the answers to.

“The young people don’t have a problem with our worship style or preaching; they have a problem when you can’t be open, honest and direct with them,” Charlot said about the younger generation’s issue with the church.  

Charlot has been preaching since the age of five, so ministering has been in his life for nearly three decades. He says he has a style similar to the “older guard,” but feels he can touch people from all ages.

“I am able to touch all generations and a lot of people call me an old man in a young man’s body,” he said. “I can touch the millennials with information, and I can touch the seniors with heritage.”

Charlot says he does not have any expectations about how many will come out for the first service.  

“Our main purpose is to point you back to Jesus and after we point you to Jesus, the theme of our church is to build the people who shape the world,” Charlot said. 

Upbeat, contemporary, mixed with traditional classical Pentecostal-style worship, is what Charlot said you can expect at Life Tabernacle. He says their services are not long, but they stress family and time with the Lord.