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Thomas LeGrande Dupree is a South Carolina native and a Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam. Married to Wanda Ward for 32 years, he has four sons, two of whom are married, and two grandchildren.
Pastor Dupree, a graduate of
Charleston Southern University with a Bachelor's Degree in Religion,
was ordained by the Southern Baptist denomination and has ministered
for 27 years as a gifted teacher of the Word. He has been a church
planter, itinerant preacher and pastor of established churches. He
has been in interdenominational ministry since 1975, having been the
pastor of Gateway Community Church for the past four years.
On a number of occasions I've heard people say: "I don't have to go to church to be a Christian." And of course this is true. No one who knows his Bible even suggests that a person becomes a Christian by attending church; or by participating in its activities.
It would be foolish to invite a person to church with the expectation that this is going to make him a child of God. A person becomes a Christian by entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Such a relationship however is far more likely to be entered into if one attends church where Scripture is taught than if he doesn't.
He's also more likely to grow and mature in his Christian life if he attends church than if he doesn't. Church services are designed to exalt Christ and to strengthen our faith.
One doesn't have to attend school in order to be educated. Few achieve a significant education however apart from the teaching that is given by an educational institution. Churches are to Christianity what schools are to literacy.
The church also provides loving fellowship. It binds people together in a spiritual family where there is a genuine caring for one another.
The most valuable contribution a parent can give his child is a genuine faith in God. What greater help could a child be given than to know that the Creator of the universe knows him personally, loves him, understands his anxieties and fears, and is ready to minister to his deepest needs.
The church is a place for individuals to develop lasting relationships and Christian maturity. Its activities are designed to bring richness to the entire family. The blessings it can bring are immeasurable.
If you have no regular church
home--no spiritual family you can call your own--we invite you to
become a part of ours.