Rutherford Weekly

We salute the doctors and healthcare teams whose tireless dedication to our communities have saved countless lives and provided much-needed comfort in this time of dire need. from your friends at from your friends at ISSUE NO. 4 • January 28, ISSUE NO. 4 • January 28, 2021 • 2021 • RutherfordWeekly.com • 828-248-1408 RutherfordWeekly.com • 828-248-1408 Our 29 th Year IN GOD WE TRUST! IN GOD WE TRUST! NO CREDIT, POOR CREDIT LET US DECIDE! LET US DECIDE! WE FINANCE www.mooresautos.com www.mooresautos.com 345 South Broadway, Forest City 828-245-8067 M O O RE ' S AUTO S ALES ©Community First Media Community First Media IT'S IT'S FREE! FREE! Dr. Bobby Gantt will be the fi rst to say he's not retiring from preaching, or Jesus, or God, the church or from servanthood. On Sunday, Jan. 31, however, Bobby is leaving Florence Baptist Church in Forest City where he has pastored for 36 years. At age 66, Bobby is retiring from the pastorate to begin a new chapter of his life. He and wife, Ronda and their daughter, Alison, will publicly bid goodbye to the church and the community during a drive- thru from 2 to 4 p.m. outside the church's Life Enrichment Center on Sunday. In these days of the coronavirus a public reception is not possible, but Bobby and his entire family will attend the 10:30 a.m. Sunday worship service where he will be celebrated. Social distancing and mask wearing is requested. "It's time... it's time for fresh new ideas," Bobby said recently looking across his offi ce that has partially been emptied of hundreds of volumes of books. He inherited two libraries from other pastors and added his own books to the collection. He has given many of the books to family members, including his sons-in-law ordained ministers Lance Rogerson and Brandon Hurley, to church staff and other friends. Call to the ministry Call to the ministry On the fi rst Sunday of February in 1985 the Gantts began their ministry at Florence. The family included 2-year-old Ashley and soon afterwards Amber and later Alison. Bobby grew up in Cleveland County where he was a star basketball player at Burns High School. He had a fl eeting dream to play college basketball, but when he realized that was not going to happen, he turned his thoughts toward coaching. Those were Bobby's plans. The Lord had another plan. The Lord called him to the ministry while he was a member at Elizabeth Baptist Church in Shelby. His boyhood pastor, Rev. Fred Mauney, helped Bobby recognize his call. As a senior in high school, Mauney took Bobby under his wings and began to question him on three thoughts: Do you enjoy working with people? Do you enjoy studying your Bible? Do you enjoy speaking in front of people? Bobby answered each question with a "yes," and believed they were true indicators God was calling him to preach. As opportunities allowed, Mauney asked Bobby to speak at Elizabeth, and it was during that time Bobby surrendered to the call to preach. After high school and graduating from Gardner-Webb College, where he met his wife, Ronda, he furthered his education at Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He would receive a Master's in Divinity and later his Doctorate. Bobby pastored two other churches before coming to Forest City. He was pastor at First Baptist Church, Grover (NC) fi ve years and served as pastor at Lockport Baptist Church in Lockport, Kentucky, while attending the seminary. It was the best of times It was the best of times While at Florence, Bobby helped lead the church through three major building programs encouraging the members to make personal commitments to capital campaigns to raise the money for a new sanctuary, a Life Enrichment Center (LEC) and a Christian Growth Center (CGC). The church had no money to build a new sanctuary at that time but members committed to give above their tithes and offerings for the sanctuary and subsequently the other buildings. The former education building was also renovated. Buildings were constructed by faith and the goodness of God's church. Bobby said he will never forget walking in each of the three buildings for the fi rst time as they were completed. The sanctuary was completed in 1991, the LEC in 1998 and the CGC in 2008. The new facilities provided places for worship for adults, youth and children as well as study and fellowship for members and visitors of all ages. As the church was blessed, Bobby said a decision was made in 2000 that for the past 20 years has touched churches across the nation and the world. At that time in 2000 Florence Church began tithing 10 percent of every building fund receipt toward building and assisting churches across Rutherford County, North Carolina, the United States and countries around the world. "God has been so good to us and it's the neatest thing I've ever seen," Bobby said of the church tithe from the building fund. From those tithes Bobby said Florence has installed air conditioners, heating systems, taken care of a termite situations and helped repair fi re damage in the county and region. Building has occurred in places like Brazil, the Ukraine, Canada, Senegal, Thailand, Slovakia, South Africa, Costa Rica, Liberia and Haiti with tithes from Florence Church's own building programs. As a community leader, Bobby will always be proud of Florence's participation in the American Cancer Society. The church's partnership in Relay for Life meant fun, fellowship, games and good food as dozens of church families and friends gathered at each event. The cause hit close to home for many at Florence, including the Gantt's daughter Alison. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1995 when she was 6 years old. Alison's illness took Bobby out of the pulpit for at least six weeks in the early days during her hospitalization and treatments. "I will never forget how the church rallied around us and prayed for us," he said. Leaving Florence Church is going to be especially diffi cult for Alison, Bobby believes. "It's the only church she's ever known," he said. "She's having a hard time." Bobby refl ected on the dark days after 9/11 when people came together across the country after the terrorist attacks on America. The sanctuary at Florence was open each day so people could come by and pray. "We were unifi ed. We were together," he said. In these changing times In these changing times Although pastoring a church has many duties, probably the most fulfi lling for Bobby was being in the pulpit to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. "There are so many time demands on a pastor you do not always have the time you'd like to spend on every sermon" he said. During his days at the seminary Bobby thought he'd probably spend 18 to 20 hours per week on a sermon, but pastoring his church often took more hours than he could have ever imagined. Some of his best sermons came with just a few hours of preparation, he said. God intervened especially during those times. Bobby always wanted to be present with church members during their times of trouble, crisis and sickness. Continued on page 3. Continued on page 3. Article by Jean Gordon. Photos contributed. After 36 years at Florence Baptist, Dr. Bobby Gantt retires Sunday Good-byes will be said during an afternoon drive-thru Preaching Bobby and Ronda with daughters, sons-in-law and grandsons.

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