It all started with a retirement. 

Don Elliott was retiring after 31 years of ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Corinth. He knew he had more ministry in him, but did not know where that would be.

Elliott prayed about several opportunities - being a missionary, being an interim pastor somewhere, being an occasional preacher at churches - but the Lord made it clear that those were not going to work, especially when his wife was not on board. 

But the idea came one day in the fall of 2016 about starting a new church at Pickwick. 

Now, this idea struck Elliott as from the Lord because he and his family had not been Pickwick people, even though they had lived for 30 years 30 miles from the lake. Also, he did not know anyone who lived at Pickwick, so he had no personal contact with the church situation there. Also, no one came to him asking him to start a church at Pickwick, so it had the risk of failure as an outsider telling insiders that they needed another church. 

But all those factors only made Elliott believe that the Lord was in it. The idea was surprising, isolated, and risky... and his wife supported it! Those added up to something beyond human planning to something that God was stirring. 

Elliott took several other steps to confirm the direction of starting a new church at Pickwick. In the early months of 2017, he consulted with some friends in Corinth who had lake houses at Pickwick, and he started visiting businesses at Pickwick. And he asked on every visit one question: “What do you see to be the spiritual needs of Pickwick?” 

The answers to that question were all over the map, but not a single one of the answers was “Pickwick doesn’t need another church.” The answers were “we need a church that lake house people will go to,” and “Pickwick people are not spiritual people,” and “there is too much alcoholism and drug usage here,” and “the churches here don’t get along,” and “people come to Pickwick to get away from church,” and one even answered when they found out I was Presbyterian, “Pickwick does not have a Presbyterian church, so start one.” 

Everything seemed to be on “go” to start a new church, but how do you start a new church? Most new churches start with either a people or a place. 

Either a group of people will come together wanting to start a new church, or a place with the potential for a new church is identified. 

Well, Grace Chapel did not start with a group of people demanding a new church. It started with a place - Pickwick - that showed potential for a new church. 

So Elliott began to pray and search for a place (a building) within the place (Pickwick) to start a church. 

The idea of a place (a building) within the place (Pickwick) came from an article in the Daily Corinthian. The article was on the new owners of Freddy T’s who stated that they wanted Freddy T’s to be more of a family-friendly place. Elliott’s  first thought was, “Boy, do I have an idea for them.” 

He called to make an appointment with the owners but was put off a couple of times because he found out later, they thought he was a salesman. Finally, he got a meeting with Marsha Fisher and it was a pivotal appointment. 

Marsha was curious, so Elliott went directly to the issue, “Marsha, has Freddy T’s ever thought about hosting a church on Sunday mornings?” She found out that her appointment was with a salesman, but not like any salesman she had ever met. 

“You want what?” She had some digesting to do. 

“I am starting a new church at Pickwick and I was wanting to see if Freddy T’s would let us use your building for it,” Don answered. 

“You know, there are some people who would not come to your church if it was at Freddy T’s,” Marsha asserted. 

Elliott replied, “I’m not sure I want that kind of person to come to my church.” 

And there seemed to be a bond made right then. 

Marsha knew she could not make an immediate decision so she said, “I’ll get back to you.” 

Everyone knows what that means. It is the polite way to say NO. 

Well, she called Elliott that afternoon and said, “Yes, Freddy T’s will be glad to host your church on Sundays. And there will be no charge.” 

What? That afternoon!! No charge!! 

Elliott was awestruck, “Marsha, what happened?” 

Marsha confessed, “I have some friends on the coast who own restaurant bars like Freddy T’s, and I asked them what they thought about hosting a church on Sundays. They all responded that they hosted churches in their buildings on Sunday. They said to do it. It will enhance your business.” 

So that is how Grace Chapel became “a church in a bar.”