Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Grant.
Hi Kevin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was raised in Memphis. I love this city, its BBQ culture, and the people here. I never wanted to leave. As a church pastor who teaches verse-by-verse through different books of the Bible, I was hoping to find a place to pastor and preach in Memphis. My wife and I wanted to find an open door for ministry in Memphis and we prayed daily for this. But after almost a year of looking for a Bible-preaching church in need of a pastor, I eventually had to extend my job search to other states.
We found a church where I could pastor in Oklahoma. We were embraced by gracious and faithful people there. During our 14 years of living there, my wife (Jennifer) and I were blessed with five children. Our lives were so full.
After the birth of our fifth child, we were stunned when Jennifer was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. She had always been a healthy eater and stayed fit and active with our five kids. But that cancer diagnosis rocked our world. We were a team fighting her cancer together and leaning on family and friends to support us along the slow and often fearful journey to restoration.
In 2021, however, the cancer began to spread with devastating force. After 3 years and 8 months of rigorous treatment and even extensive alternative treatments, Jennifer died after just 10 days in hospice care. It was 2 weeks before what would have been our 13th anniversary.
I was in shock. How was I going to raise 5 young children alone? I felt emotionally detached for weeks. My mind was unable to comprehend what had happened to our family. I’m so thankful for my pastoral counselor who became a close friend during my months of emotional healing over the course of that first year of loss.
My 5 children and I entered that first holiday season with heavy hearts and everything around us brought sweet and yet painful memories of Jennifer into our minds. We cried a lot, especially during that first year.
Thanksgiving was just a couple of weeks away in 2021 when I got a call from an unknown number in Memphis. I answered the call. It was a pastor from a church called Open Door Bible Church. This man had been pastoring at that church since 1981 and was looking to retire in the next year or so. He learned about my situation from a mutual friend in Memphis and wanted to know if I’d like to move back to be closer to family while pastoring a Bible church. It was only later that it occurred to me that this invitation was the open door in Memphis for which Jennifer and I had prayed for so many years. After a couple of preaching visits, we accepted the call to move back to Memphis and I began the position of preaching pastor at the beginning of 2023.
In November of 2023, another church in Memphis called me at my office and asked if our church would prayerfully consider the idea of merging with them. After multiple positive meetings and discussions, both churches voted overwhelmingly to go forward with the merger. In the late summer of 2024, we voted to name the new gathering Memphis Bible Church. This entire blending of two like-minded, Bible-teaching churches has gone amazingly well.
We are now one church with one charter committed to faithfully teaching and preaching the Bible and taking care of the people who are part of our flock. We meet for services every Sunday at 9:30am for Sunday school and 10:45am for our main preaching service. Our location is at 262 North Perkins in East Memphis.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The main obstacles I’ve had to overcome are about how to parent my 5 kids as a widower while also beginning this new pastorate. I was up-front with the church leaders about my limitations as a single parent and I let them know that I had to prioritize my young children in spite of the ongoing demands of daily ministry. They agreed and have made every effort to help me put my children first while they have supported my role as the pastor of the church. It continues to be a team effort and it’s been great so far.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
There are many good churches in Memphis and I have become friends with a growing number of fellow pastors who are dedicated to helping their members thrive and ministering to the community in which we all live and work. Pastoring a church is not easy. Being faithful to Scripture takes courage and commitment. But the results of faithfulness are life-changing and full of abundant joy in the long run.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://memphisbiblechurch.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AMBHerDwF/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@biblicalperspectives7777?si=i24jWKXH6praThrI
