You’re Not There by Accident with Pastor Jim Wickham (Re-Air)

In this episode, you’ll also hear:

• How God called Pastor Jim to plant a church in a community that was very opposed to the idea — and how God opened those doors anyway
• How to keep going when you feel like giving up
• The unique process Pastor Jim went through to turn his thesis into a book
• Important questions for leaders to ask about communicating and connecting with all generations
• How to deal with “us vs them” mentalities
• Pastor Jim’s advice for those struggling with intense internal battles

Planting a Church

When Pastor Jim Wickham heard God calling him to leave the church he was already serving in and move out of state, he had no idea why or what God was calling him to do in the new city. But he obeyed anyway, and as he prayed for God’s continued guidance, a thought came to him: “Wherever Paul went, he planted a church.”

Then something strange happened. People from the community began to visit Pastor Jim and his wife, and without being prompted, many of them asked the same thing: “Are you going to plant a church?” One of those visitors offered the use of his renovated garage for a meeting place, and soon the congregation now known as Living Word Community Church was born. 

To others who feel a similar call to church planting, Pastor Jim says it’s important to first be assured that you are really being called directly by God, and then to be faithful to that calling — because there will be challenges.

For Pastor Jim and his new congregation, one of the biggest challenges was finding a space to move into once they outgrew the garage. Many in the local community were hostile to churches that weren’t Catholic and refused to rent a storefront to them or allow them to meet on school property. 

Although Pastor Jim could have pushed back with accusations of discrimination, he chose to be patient and trust God to open doors instead. 

“I’m here to plant a church that will exemplify the love of God,” he explains. “And those people, they're not resisting me. They're resisting someone else, and that's the one I represent. And I want to make sure that the way I represent Him [communicates] that, ‘Okay, that’s okay. The God I serve — and we serve — opens doors, and no one can stop that.’”

Ultimately, not only did God provide a building, but He led Pastor Jim’s congregation to rent that building from a man who had stepped away from the church at large and needed to find his way back.

Persevering Through Insecurity & Hardship

God’s provision for Pastor Jim’s life wasn’t limited to finding a building for his new church. He also opened doors for Pastor Jim to get much higher degrees of education than he would have done on his own. 

It all started with Pastor Jim finishing his bachelor’s degree on the side while pastoring vocationally. Then his university opened up a new program that allowed students to earn a master’s degree in just one year. This was an intense program, and Pastor Jim admits he sometimes wondered why he had decided to do it. But he earned the degree, and enjoyed the feeling of freedom and accomplishment at having finished higher education for good — or so he thought. 

A few years later, someone from the seminary reached out to ask if Pastor Jim had ever considered getting a doctorate as well. Pastor Jim believed there were many reasons he couldn’t — he hadn’t taken certain prerequisite courses, he thought he wouldn’t be accepted — but, again, God opened those doors and made it possible. 

Throughout his higher education journey, Pastor Jim says there were many times he thought about quitting. But now he sees that God was using the experience to help him grow and conquer his insecurities. 

“When I have my personal time with the Lord,” he recalls, “I hear another voice that affirms me and speaks life and says, ‘You can do this. Not because of you — you can do this because of Me.’”