Pastor Craig Altman, Pastor Greg Powe, Pastor Stephen Rummage
Overflow had the honor of sharing a meal with three pastors, and their lovely wives, who all lead large congregations in the Tampa Bay area – Pastor Craig Altman of Grace Family Church, Pastor Stephen Rummage of Bell Shoals Baptist Church, and Pastor Greg Powe of Revealing Truth Ministries. We met at Michael’s Grill in Tampa and enjoyed an evening of great food and fellowship. These intriguing men of God, with distinctly different preaching styles, candidly shared stories about their personal call from God, the importance of youth in the Church, and how believers can step out of their comfort zones to reach the lost for Christ. One thing they all have in common, besides a passionate love for Jesus Christ, is the desire for unity among believers in the Bay area.
Called to Ministry
All three pastors had a unique journey into ministry that revealed God’s hand in each of their lives. The commonality between them: FAITH in God.
Pastor Craig of Grace Family explained that when he met his wife Debbie he was not a Christian. Debbie brought him to church with her, but he tried to seduce her away. It didn’t work. Instead, God flooded Pastor Craig’s heart with love and he soon gave his life to Jesus Christ at the age of 19. “I really began to sense that there was something that other people needed to have, so I began a street ministry about a year later,” Pastor Craig shared.
He spent his time working on the streets of Tampa trying to reach his friends for Christ. A few years later, Pastor Craig’s mentor offered him a position in the Temple Terrace area as a youth pastor although he had no formal training. He held that position for 12 years, and he said, “One day, I just sensed God say, ‘I want you to start a church.’” Pastor Craig explained that a year after he heard from God he still felt a “burning on the inside.” He and his wife knew they were called to start a church, but they were concerned that no one would come. They took a huge leap of faith and 16 years ago started Grace Family Church in a Jazzercise studio that they subleased. Today their church is home to 5,000 people and it continues to grow.
Pastor Stephen of Bell Shoals shared that he was thankful to have been raised in church. He accepted Christ as his Savior at a very young age. However, at the age of 17 he remembers not really following Christ the way he should and explained, “The Holy Spirit of God gripped my heart and I became really concerned about whether I was saved.” Something at church stirred him up and he went to see his pastor. “That day I prayed and really surrendered my life to Christ in a different way…. I moved into having an adult relationship with Christ based on having a total commitment to Him,” Pastor Stephen said.
From that day on, he purposed to follow where the Lord led him. Pastor Stephen and his childhood sweetheart Michele led a young singles ministry at their church and after college he began working for an advertising agency. During this time he diligently studied the Word and listened for God’s direction. While on a church retreat, Pastor Stephen said, “God showed me so clearly that He was calling me to ministry.” He enrolled in seminary school in Raleigh and began pastoring a church there at the age of 23. Then he pastored in New Orleans before he was led to become a professor at a seminary school. He held that position for eight years and God moved him back into full-time pastoral ministry in North Carolina. Eighteen months ago, Pastor Stephen and his wife Michele were divinely called to Brandon to lead Bell Shoals Baptist Church, a 6,600 member congregation.
Pastor Greg of Revealing Truth openly shared that before he received Christ he had issues with alcohol and troubles in his marriage. During this time, his wife Deborah took a job and moved to Atlanta on her own. After being apart from her for three months, he went to Atlanta to reconcile their marriage, but things still didn’t seem to be working out. Then one day, he heard the voice of the enemy and the voice of the Lord. The enemy tried to keep Pastor Greg in a life of destruction, but God said to him, “I’ve been here for you all along, and I want you to commit to Me.”
“I decided to follow God’s voice and I started going to a Bible study,” said Pastor Greg. Then the Lord sent a young man on fire for God across his path. Creflo Dollar was teaching faith classes in the basement of the church and as Pastor Greg explained it, “He was the one that challenged me to get born again. He said, ‘Either the Bible is the truth or it’s the biggest lie ever told, but you’ll never know until you study it for yourself. If you will do what this Word says for 90 days, and it doesn’t change your life, I’ll quit preaching.’” Pastor Dollar started a church and Pastor Greg and Deborah were led to serve under him for five years before God brought them to Tampa in 1990.
Revealing Truth Ministries was born as a radio broadcast with Pastor Greg teaching the Word of God and playing tapes of his teachings from Atlanta. A few years later Pastor Greg explained that God led them to find a building; “It was on 56th Street and that’s where we started with my wife and four kids around the table that someone [had] left there.” Today Revealing Truth Ministries has four campuses with the fifth underway and a combined congregation of about 5,500 people.
Diversity in God’s Kingdom
God creates each and every one of His children for a specific purpose. This was brought to light even more so upon meeting these special men. God called each of them to lead large congregations with a different style and focus. As they talked, it was apparent that they admired one another for their vast differences, but also acknowledged that we, as believers, are one in the Body of Christ.
Pastor Greg explained their ministry was born out of Jeremiah 33:6, “Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth” (NKJV). “I believe God called our ministry Revealing Truth to expose deception and uncover lies so that people can live the life the Bible teaches,” said Pastor Greg. He also shared that his calling is to teach the Word of God with simplicity, to instill hope in the lost and hurting, and to proclaim that “no matter what Satan has done to destroy your life, with Jesus Christ you will live a better life.” He encourages continual study of the Bible and stresses the importance of reading in the Word together as a congregation.
Pastor Stephen shared what God had laid on his heart, “The emphasis for my ministry is the exposition of the Word of God, expository preaching of God’s Word, a ministry that is focused on prayer, a ministry that is outwardly focused on soul winning so that we are seeking to reach the lost with the Gospel … and continually opening the Word of God to our lives so it can transform us.” He also went on to state that God gave him a five-fold vision for his church that includes an emphasis on missions (near and abroad), engagement (to show the love of Christ in Tampa), attraction (bring people into the church), development (train leaders for God’s work), and excellence (do everything with a heart of excellence).
To Pastor Craig, first impressions are vital, especially when you want the non-believer to come back next week so you can win them for Jesus Christ. He has a unique outlook on church because he looks at the whole experience through the eyes of an unchurched person. He reflects on his childhood and remembers that when he did go to church he was bored. He has made it his mission to ensure the services are interesting and relevant to his congregants. Pastor Craig explained that his style is a little edgy, very practical, and simple so “people can grasp hold of God’s truth.” He added, “You can hear it and go use it in your life on Monday.” Pastor Craig promotes small groups to stay connected throughout the week and believes in training up the saints for the work of the ministry (see Ephesians 4:12). He said, “People of God are the ministers of God, too.”
Pastor Craig eagerly went on to describe the importance of youth in the church and said, “We have a big emphasis on making sure the children and the youth areas are incredible…. I believe Jesus said be fishers of men, and little fish draw big fish.” Pastor Greg added that he was inspired by the McDonald’s play centers and built similar areas at his church for the children. If the children are enjoying church and learning about the love of Jesus in the youth centers, it allows the parents to go into the sanctuary and be fed the Word of God. This builds stronger families. Pastor Stephen said that the most used building on their church campus is by far the youth gymnasium. It seemed as though they all agreed on the importance of focusing on the children and youth, and as Pastor Greg pointed out, the world is fighting for their attention, so the church needs to be equipped to capture the youth for Christ.
Outward Missions
Pastor Greg believes in bringing the message of God’s hope outside of the church to the mission fields, prisons, and impoverished neighborhoods. His ministry also reaches out into the home through books and a television ministry. Fifteen years ago, God gave Pastor Greg a vision for the Body of Christ and the plans are underway. Revealing Truth Ministries is going to build a “Truth Dome” in Tampa. This will be a convention center, or as Pastor Greg called it a “harvesting center,” to be used by believers for meetings, concerts, and gatherings. Pastor Greg explained that the Truth Dome is not just for his church; it is for all the Body of Christ. God said to him, “There will come a time in America where Christianity will not be tolerated. The moral standards in our country will decline to the point where we will not have access to public facilities to preach the Gospel.” Pastor Greg believes that the Body of Christ will come together and help them fulfill the vision of the Truth Dome.
Bell Shoals partners with 33 other churches in the Bay area in a wonderful outreach called Feed the Bay. Pastor Stephen said, “We can join together to make a difference.” On October 24, congregants of local churches went shopping to purchase food for the hungry. “We’ve been able to come together across denominational lines and all across our community for the purpose of showing the love of Christ in a practical way to people,” explained Pastor Stephen. This outreach has not only impacted the local food pantries and ministries that feed the hungry, but has also united pastors and church members from all over Tampa Bay in prayer. Believers coming together as one is a powerful force.
Pastor Craig and Grace Family Church strongly believe in supporting ministries and churches in the area that already have outreaches established throughout the community. They call this the Second Saturday Group because they take a team out into the community and serve a local ministry the second Saturday of every month. God has also given Pastor Craig a vision for Tampa that was inspired by the story of the Good Samaritan – he calls it the “Dream Center.” The vision is to reach out to a particular area of the city populated by less fortunate people. The center will be a place for all kinds of activities from basketball leagues to tutoring and a meeting place for women’s groups. Their hope is that this center can be a place where several ministries and churches can come together and offer their gifts and talents to the community. Plans are currently in the process to make this vision a reality.
These pastors strongly believe in going beyond the four walls of the church to touch the community for Jesus Christ. Each pastor, with a unique calling from God, is stepping out in faith for the same purpose – bringing the lost to Jesus Christ.
Blessings
The pastors were asked to pray about a blessing they would like to speak over Tampa Bay and below is what they shared.
Pastor Craig: “May God bless Tampa Bay with the knowledge of how wide and deep His love is and that His amazing grace would be experienced by all.”
Pastor Stephen: “My prayer is that every person in Tampa Bay would know Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of His blood, the power of His resurrection, the fullness of His joy, the power of His Spirit, the hope of His coming, the transformation of His grace, and the wonder of His love.”
Pastor Greg: “It is my prayer that the will of God be accomplished throughout the Tampa Bay area. Much like Houston was in the ‘70’s and the city of Atlanta in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, Tampa and Central Florida will be the next great boom area in America. I believe that the outpouring of the blessings of God upon the people will create growth in industry and prosperity throughout this area. It is therefore my desire that the blessings of God and the unity of churches will create a spiritual flow of the blessings upon the people that will finance the end time harvest of souls.”
Praise the Lord for these mighty men of God that He has sent to spread the Good News throughout the Tampa Bay area. Glory!
