Pastor and congregation of New Beginnings Church of Russellville ‘blessed and thankful’ for new building

It’s been less than two years since Pastor Zach Isom and a small group of believers took the leap of faith to plant New Beginnings Church of Russellville.

With the Lord’s blessing, that seed continues to grow, and the congregation held its first service in its new building Sunday, June 14th.

Affiliated with the Church of God of Prophecy, New Beginnings Church began in a rented room in the Russellville Recreation Center. A few months later, services were moved to the WMTY-TV building on Highway 24 West.

Last summer, New Beginnings relocated to the Franklin Shopping Center on Highway 43.

As the church grew, it became increasingly apparent there was a need for a larger building. After looking at several options around Russellville, the congregation decided to lease the former Spectrum office building at 502 St. Clair Street SE.

“We’re definitely thankful for our time in the Franklin Shopping Center but the growing feeling was it would be nice to have our own building,” Isom said. “We’ve now gone from 1,200 square feet to 3,400 square feet. This will open a lot of doors ministry-wise.

“Our children’s worship will now have its own worship area with a classroom connected to it. And we’ll have another area designated as a nursery. There’s definitely plenty of space,” Isom added.

The first service at New Beginnings’ new location was a time to rejoice and be thankful, not only for the larger building but also because the church welcomed a new member and two transfers from another church.

New Beginnings Church of Russellville truly is a family affair. Isom’s wife Ashanti, along with Katelyn Frazier, serve as Children’s Leaders.

At present, the church will continue to meet only for its 11 a.m., Sunday services, with a time of worship followed by dismissal of the children to their classroom as preaching begins.

As far as Wednesday services or Sunday School being added, Isom knows those plans will not be decided by him.

“Right now, it’s just the Sunday morning service, and we’ll see where the Lord leads us from there,” Isom said. “We feel blessed and the Lord has definitely been good to us.

“I told the church recently how we hear every day about all the negative things happening in our world. So much negative gets broadcast on the news as well as posted on social media. Sometimes, we need a reminder that God’s still working in today’s times, blessing His people. We persevere, trust in Him and keep believing. We’ve seen His hand at work every step of the way in the two years we’ve had the church,” he added.

A couple months ago, New Beginnings planted a daughter church in Phil Campbell, and associate pastor Melissa Roberts was appointed as lead pastor at New Beginnings Church of Phil Campbell. The church launched on March 8th with its first full service.

“She started praying about it and put together a launch team specifically for Phil Campbell. Now they’re having services at a church there that had closed its doors. The Lord worked some things out and we were able to lease the building,” Isom said.

And when Isom says ‘we,’ he means the collective body of New Beginnings, every step of the way.

“This is definitely a group effort. We prayerfully make decisions. I call a business conference when the time is needed and we rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us to make the right choice for the church,” Isom said. “We don’t want to be reckless. We have a really solid team at New Beginnings. The people who came along and got involved have each been a blessing. Planting is a true test of faith.

“The Lord put some special people in our church and we’re able to rely on each other and it’s a blessing to see it unfold. We’re all just thankful to be part of the journey,” Isom added.