Graden Kirksey Marks 15 Years Sharing the Good News (View video here)

August 28, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

For 15 years Graden Kirksey has shared the good news as a minister of the gospel and the church where he is pastor today, Refuge will soon be celebrating its first year.

Kirksey is the focus of this week’s “Preacher Feature” on WJLE.

IMG_9301 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

Becoming a minister was not something Kirksey ever imagined. While he had become a Christian at a young age, Kirksey said he had strayed from his faith for a time but then re-dedicated his life to the Lord while in college.

“Right before I turned 21 the Lord changed my life. I was in a mess and doing a lot of things I knew I shouldn’t be doing . One night while I was out with some folks I knew I probably shouldn’t have been with God convicted me. I went home to my apartment, struggled with it and really tried to justify my life with my Bible. I spent time digging through it and God completely changed my life that night. I had been saved when I was a kid but wandered far away but ever since that night nothing was the same. When I decided to turn my life over to the Lord I jumped in with both feet. I started spending a lot of time studying my Bible and really investing in church not ever thinking I would be in the ministry but Brother J.D. Pedigo at the Smithville Church of God gave me an opportunity to teach there. I will forever be indebted to him. He saw something in me that I hadn’t seen in myself. He gave me opportunities and blessed me and continues to be a great friend and mentor to me,” said Kirksey.

Graden’s life took another turn in 2004 when for the first time he was asked to preach a message during a local interdenominational youth rally.

“I was talking to Brother Gary Johnson who was attending Allen’s Chapel then and during the conversation he said my name had been brought up to possibly preach that youth rally. I had never preached a message before in my life. I shared with Gary that I didn’t know if I would be the best choice with all the good ministers in town but he said I had been placed on their heart and they felt good about it. I said I was willing and God took care of the rest. That was my very first message in 2004. I later went to the Church of God theological seminary at the time and became ordained in 2009,” Kirksey continued.

In recent years, Kirksey has continued to pursue his ministry and shares how his path led him to the Refuge Church

“We had spent two or three years in a nomadic church experience looking for roots. God had moved us from where we were but we were wandering for a while though we met a lot of great people and visited a lot of good churches. God then presented an opportunity. We were looking to start something new in Smithville. We put the word out that we were looking for a building. We thought if we had a building we could get the ball rolling. Pastor Jimbo Eddins and his wife then contacted us. They had started a church here called The Gathering and had done a great work here but they felt like God was closing that chapter in their ministry life and moving them in another direction. They felt like we might be the right people to fill that position. We met with the church and went from there but we couldn’t be doing what we are doing now without them. Looking back and thinking how we got here, we couldn’t have written the story. God just put all the pieces in line and it all fell together. September 30, 2018 was the very first Sunday we all met together as Refuge Church. We met at city hall for a couple of months and then the Sunday before Thanksgiving, 2018 we wound up in the building where we are meeting now on the square. God provided that entirely. That building had set empty for a long time. The man who owns it is a super nice guy and when we contacted him he knew we were the right people and he was excited about having a church there and it has been perfect for us. We have built three youth rooms and we have a nursery, children’s church, and a stage area. It has just all worked out perfectly and God has brought us right where we are supposed to be and we have been super blessed to be part of it,” said Kirksey.

As a non denominational church, Kirksey said Refuge is made up of people with diverse backgrounds. “My wife grew up at Mount Herman Missionary Baptist Church. I grew up in Buckner’s Chapel Methodist Church. Both of us later wound up at the Smithville Church of God. A lot of our folks come from Methodist, Baptist, Church of God, and Assembly of God type backgrounds so we have a lot of those influences even though we are a non denominational church. We’re still trying to put together a doctrinal statement for our foundation but those are where our roots are and I like the diversity. A lot of folks who are here with us have been hurt in previous churches or from the world and we are doing our level best to find a place where everybody can come, be a part of something, and worship God together to celebrate the things we have in common and learn from one another on things we may disagree on. We tell them we hope to provide a place where you belong and are loved,” said Kirksey.

The Refuge Church meets for prayer at 10 a.m. and worship at 11 a.m. on Sundays along with a 6 p.m. Bible Study on Wednesdays for adults and youth. A meal is served on Wednesdays at 5:30  p.m. as well as a light breakfast on Sunday mornings.

Sunday attendance is around 100 each week including about 70 adults and 30 kids.

If you don’t have a church home, Kirksey invites you and your family to attend the Refuge Church located on the Smithville Public Square.

Kirksey and his wife Sabrina have two children, 10 year old Silas and 9 year old Ella.

August 27, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce headquarters is moving from the second floor of the courthouse to an office at the County Complex.

During Monday night’s meeting, the county commission voted to relocate the Chamber as part of a move to rearrange some offices in the courthouse to create more space for office holders.

“There is a room currently available across from the Motlow rooms at the county complex where we can move the Chamber of Commerce to. Chamber Director Suzanne Williams is packed and ready with the help of the sheriff’s department (using supervised inmates) to make this move happen this week,” said County Mayor Tim Stribling.

The move has already begun for Williams and her new office location is expected to be open next week. In the meantime, anyone calling the Chamber office may leave a message.

The Chamber move is the first step in the courthouse office reassignment process.

Under the plan which still may take weeks or months to complete, the Circuit Court Clerk’s office, currently on the third floor of the courthouse, will soon move to the second floor where the Chamber of Commerce Office has been located.

Meanwhile the Recovery Court Office, currently on the second floor, will relocate to the Circuit Court Clerk’s office on the third floor.

The Clerk and Master’s Office on the third floor will remain where it is but more storage space will be made available. The plan calls for all of the Circuit Court Clerk archives and documents in the courthouse to be moved to a room in the middle portion of the second floor while most of the storage space now used by the Circuit Court Clerk on the third floor will be turned over to the Clerk and Master for the same purpose.

The Circuit Court Clerk’s personal office across the hall from the main office where her deputy clerks work will become an office for public use related to court activities.

The County Mayor’s Office will remain where it is located on the second floor of the courthouse. The Tennessee Highway Patrol also has an office there.

The offices of the DeKalb County Election Commission, the Veterans service officer, and the judicial commissioners will remain in their present locations on the first floor.

August 27, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Clearing operations are expected to begin next week by the contractor in preparation for the Highway 56 widening project.

A message board has been placed on South Congress Boulevard in Smithville stating “TN 56 Construction is starting September 3”.

“The contractor’s schedule is showing them starting their clearing operations on the south end (of the project) near Meridian Drive, with utility relocations following,” said Jennifer Flynn, TDOT Region 2 Community Relations Officer.

TDOT opened bids in June and Jones Brothers Contractors, LLC was the low bidder on the construction project at $43,691,948 which will be done in two phases from south of state highway 288 near Magness Road to East Bryant Street in Smithville and from south of the Warren-DeKalb County line to near Magness Road in DeKalb County. A proposed third segment from near State Route 287 in Warren County to near the DeKalb County Line is not yet ready for bid letting.

The state plans to build largely two lanes of a proposed four lane project and maintain traffic on the existing Highway 56 (alignment) while construction is being done on the new portion.

The estimated completion date for the two phases is May 31, 2022.

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