A Woman Pastor Story of Church Planting

Kimberly Campbell

Fountain of Life Church
Clarksville, Tennessee

By Abigail Gunasegaran
When Kimberly Campbell was a little girl, she would sing and preach to her teddy bears. Little did she know that God would call her to be a church planter one day.
When God called Kimberly, she had just started a small Bible study of seven people. During that time, someone approached her with an opportunity to plant a church, but it took her much prayer along with heartfelt advice from Tennessee Church Planting Director Terry Bailey before she truly realized her calling. Recognizing a need for a church in the area, Kimberly went on to plant Fountain of Life Church in Clarkesville, Tennessee.

As a single female pastor and church planter, Kimberly admits that she faces plenty of challenges."I just feel like sometimes I have to push a bit harder to get through obstacles. It's easier when you have a partner."
Despite the struggles, her circumstances have worked in her favor to create a unique reputation for her. "I used it to my advantage because I don't want to be in the box anyway," says Kimberly.

For awhile even after Fountain of Life Church was launched in 2007, Kimberly worked as a home therapist specializing in working with families and at-risk juveniles. As a result, she was on-call 24 hours a day for 5-6 days a week in addition to bearing her pastoral responsibilities. Still, through all of her experiences, Kimberly is thankful for where God has brought her in life. "I love that I get to be bigger than what I intended to be."

As a single female pastor and church planter, Kimberly admits that she faces plenty of challenges. "I just feel like sometimes I have to push a bit harder to get through obstacles."

Fountain of Life Church began with a congregation of 30 people at a women's club in an 1800's house. The church continued to meet there weekly for 1 1/2 years before acquiring their own rental building in November 2009 to accommodate their growth. Currently, around 75-80 people attend Fountain of Life Church, and the congregation is composed largely of new converts as well as people from a wide variety of denominational backgrounds. "We do our best to meet every need," says Kimberly.

Outside of the church's discipleship program, Kimberly personally disciples people until they are strong enough to be placed under someone else. Right now, an age-factor discipleship program is in the process of being developed.

Within the church, Kimberly emphasizes the importance of modeling Christ's love by being a blessing to the community. The church has been able to impact the community through their charitable donations of food and care baskets to local organizations such as Centerstone and the Pregnancy Center. In May 2010, they reached out to the people who were affected by a local flood. This year their goal is to serve food to the community at Christmas. "Our whole desire is to build the kingdom of God."
Used with the permission of the Church Multiplication Network. http://ag.org/wim/1202/1202_kim_campbell_story.cfm