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A Time To Celebrate

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 6, 2007

Updated: 10/04/2007 11:33 pm

BRANDON - It was one of those divisive moments that can tear apart lifelong friendships and create profound rifts in families.

The members of Kings Avenue Baptist Church had managed to raise $125,000 in 1990, enough to build the framework and fund some basics for a new 30,432-square-foot multipurpose center on the church property at 2602 S. Kings Ave., Brandon.

However, they needed $200,000 more to complete the building.

'We were in the process of voting on whether to borrow the rest of the money,' said the church's pastor, the Rev. Chuck Richard. 'A third of the members didn't want to borrow the money, and the vote would have torn the congregation apart. There would have been a lot of hard feelings.'

That's when God stepped in, Richard said.

He and some of the church deacons slipped away to Piccadilly Cafeteria on State Road 60 in Brandon to get away from the tense atmosphere at the church and have a bite to eat. At a nearby table, a group of Brandon homebuilders, known for their Christian philanthropy, overheard them discussing their dilemma.

'They approached us and offered to loan us the entire $200,000 interest-free,' Richard said. 'What began as a disaster turned out to be a glorious day.'

Jan Hellier, who served as secretary of the church for 17 years, was working in the office when Richard and the deacons returned from their lunch.

'I remember that day as if it were yesterday,' she said. 'They went out to get away and came back with smiles on their faces. I still get tears in my eyes when I think about it.'

The Cheever Building was completed, but it took the congregation at Kings Avenue Baptist Church 16 years to repay the loan. Richard said he was determined to pay every penny back so the group of businessmen could pass the good luck on to another worthy cause.

'We finally finished paying it off a year ago,' he said. 'But that was one loan we paid gladly.'

It's that commitment to his church and to the people who make up the church that sets Richard apart, Hellier said.

In a time when pastors are fortunate to remain at a church for five years, Richard is preparing to celebrate his 25th anniversary at Kings Avenue Baptist Church.

The church will mark the occasion with a service starting at 10:45 Oct. 14, featuring guest speakers, music, blessings and a social after the service. All those who know Richard are invited to attend.

Richard, a Florida native, said he never set out to spend his adulthood in Brandon. He grew up in Orlando and attended the University of Miami on a football scholarship.

'My dad promised he'd buy me a Corvette if I got a scholarship, but my mom was pregnant at the time so I didn't get my car,' he recalled.

Instead, he bought a Corvette on his own in 1973, when he joined the Army ROTC as a second lieutenant and the Army gave him a salary he didn't need. That was also the same year he met his wife, Sharr-an.

'And I still have them both,' he said. Sharr-an Richard works beside her husband, mostly in children's ministries. The car has been credited with getting them both to the church on time.

After graduating from the University of Miami, Richard wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life.

'I knew I wanted to do something to help people,' he said. 'I thought about being a doctor, but I don't like the sight of blood. Then I thought about coaching, but football is only temporary. Finally, I thought about helping people get to heaven, which is eternal.'

Raised in the Baptist faith, Richard headed to the Dallas Theological Seminary, then worked for five years as an associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Lutz before going to Kings Avenue Baptist in October 1982, the day the church's chapel was dedicated.

'I was a brand-new preacher in a brand-new building,' he said. 'It was pretty exciting.'

The church had 82 members at the time.

'But we grew quickly in the first five or six years,' Richard said. The church has 800 members, with 300 to 350 attending regular Sunday worship services.

The church quickly outgrew its 5-acre property and was 'borrowing' an empty lot to its south to stage an annual Walk Through Bethlehem, a theatrical re-creation of the birth of Jesus. Then church leaders discovered the lot was being sold. The congregation scrambled to come up with money to purchase the adjoining property so they could continue what Richard calls the church's 'Christmas gift to the community.'

'That's been one of the most special things we've done,' he said, noting that the event celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. 'The entire church gets involved on some level.'

An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 people attend Walk Through Bethlehem each year.

'For many residents, it's become a holiday tradition,' he said.

Richard's love of children is evident in the photos of him with newborns in the congregation on bulletin boards around the church office.

The importance of children also is evident in the emphasis he places on the school he founded at the church 18 years ago, where he's able to offer students a Christian education in classes at costs lower than most other schools in the area.

The multipurpose building includes a gymnatorium - a combination gymnasium and cafeteria, which can be converted for basketball games, lunchroom meals, Bible studies, Friday night youth activities, Thanksgiving banquets and church services.

'We definitely got our money's worth,' Richard said. 'It's used seven days a week.'

He said it isn't just the church and the people that tie him to Brandon, it's the community, the place where he raised his three children - Cassie, 29, Chaz, 26, and Chelsee, 21.

'Family is important to me,' he said. 'I didn't want to be moving my children around every five years. Brandon is a community with a strong Christian influence, strong family values, the best schools in Hillsborough County and great athletic and cultural opportunities. I don't know if I'd be able to find those things anywhere else.

'My desire is to be where God can use me the most, and he's allowed me to stay here,' Richard said. 'My gift is caring for my flock, and my goal is to reach as many people in my ministry each day as I can.'

KINGS AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH
ADDRESS: 2602 S. Kings Ave.

PHONE: (813) 685-3095

PASTOR: Chuck Richard

SERVICES: Traditional worship at 8:15 a.m. Sunday, contemporary worship at 10:45 a.m. Sunday, evening service at 6 Sunday; prayer meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesdays

INFORMATION: www.kings avenue.org

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524 or dlwhite@tampatrib.com.

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