By John Hampton
What if I told you that there is a growing church located in a declining town in rural Kentucky? What if I told you that this church is over 193 years old? What if I told you that the colorful and legendary Restoration Movement leader, “Raccoon” John Smith, started the church, and his cabin is still on the property? What if I told you that this same church recently paid off a 3 million dollar building renovation project and baptized more people in the last three months than they have in the past two years? And what if I told you that this church has leaders from both the Republican and Democratic political parties among its church leadership, and most people in the church wouldn’t know which leader is in what party?
Allow me to introduce you to my friends at First Christian Church in Monticello, KY. Monticello is the county seat of Wayne County, Kentucky, in the south-central part of the Bluegrass state. Close by is beautiful Lake Cumberland, a Kentucky recreational hotspot, and two scenic Kentucky state parks, General Burnside and Dale Hollow.
According to 2022 demographics information from City-data.com, Monticello, KY, has a population of 5,755, representing a 3.8% decrease since 2000. However, First Christian Church of Monticello has grown by over 300% in the past 13 years. The church recently completed a building expansion/renovation that added over 11,000 square feet, mainly for children and students ministries, an indoor play area that would rival anything at Chick-fil-A or McDonald’s, and the 250-seat worship center was renovated. That project cost over 3 million dollars and was paid off 14 years early, saving over $750,000 in interest.
Joe Tipton has been the Lead Minister at FCC Monticello since August 2011. A native of Kentucky, Joe was a student pastor in the Lexington area for several years before accepting his first preaching and lead role at Monticello.
“When I arrived here, I found a historic church filled with people who wanted to create a better future, but like many churches across Kentucky, they were locked into a certain way of doing ministry that they knew they needed to change,” Tipton states. “Thankfully, the Elders were willing to take a chance on a 27-year-old minister and then work with me in changing the culture around here.”
Reflecting over the past 13 years, Tipton noted some of the breakthroughs that have positioned the church to grow when most congregations in the area are in sharp decline, such as:
- Worship transition from ultra-traditional to modern contemporary
- Transitioning from a traditional “board-run church” to an “Elder Governance Model”
- A significant emphasis on children’s and family ministry, growing from 6-8 kids on a Sunday to now more than 100 (birth through fifth grade)
- Adding key staff at strategic intervals – going from a “one-man show” to a team approach with a gifted group of leaders
- Facility transformation – renovations and new constructions, such as moving the walls and expanding the nursery four times in 13 years
Tipton says, “Looking back, I don’t think there’s any one thing that we did that really helped us turn the corner, but we were very intentional about always asking ‘what’s next?’ Over the years, we’ve tried to be faithful to do whatever that next thing is, and as a result, a lot of good things have happened.”
I started mentoring Joe in an unofficial capacity several years ago. Joe would reach out from time to time and ask me questions related to preaching and leadership. I did my best to answer Joe’s inquiries but quickly discerned that Joe already had a good handle on what needed to be done. In Kentucky terminology, Joe is not a racehorse or a showhorse. He doesn’t come across as flashy, gimmicky, or slick. He’s not someone with a big ego who needs you to notice him. But Joe is a steady workhorse who puts his hand to the plow and drives the church forward, year after year, with quiet confidence, a loving pastoral heart, and consistently sound biblical preaching and teaching.
Joe met his wife, Jamie, at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, where both obtained their undergraduate degrees. Joe later got his Master of Ministry degree from Cincinnati Christian Seminary in 2008. Joe, Jamie, and their three boys, Canon and twin sons, Andrew and Jack, are beloved members of the Monticello community. Jamie teaches Special Education at Monticello Elementary School. Joe’s boys play a variety of sports in various leagues, with Joe often serving as the coach for many of them. Joe is also the chaplain to the Wayne County varsity boys and girls basketball teams and the varsity football team.
Because of Joe’s strong community connections, I started respectfully referring to him as “the Mayor of Monticello.” As I have gotten to know Joe over the years, I have learned that he not only pastors his church but also his entire community.
Only one other full-time staff member serves on the FCC staff, but one of the leadership secrets of Joe’s success is his decision to employ other respected community leaders in part-time roles. The student minister is also the head coach of the Wayne County varsity girls’ basketball team and a teacher in the school system. The worship leader is the loan officer and assistant VP of the local bank. One of the associate ministers is a pharmaceutical representative widely known throughout the area. The children’s ministry director is a well-connected homeschool mom who has helped the church reach more children than any other local church in the area.
These folks were once engaged members of the FCC flock before Joe invited them to shepherd the flock alongside him. The combined relational connections between Joe and this group of community leaders are broad and deep. Many folks have visited and become part of FCC over the years because of these leaders’ roots in the area.
However, perhaps this rich relational capital is best exemplified by the FCC Elder team. There are currently eight Elders at FCC, one of whom is Joe. Among the other seven are three local attorneys, two doctors from the county hospital, one retired physical therapist, and a hospital administrator.
I have had the privilege of meeting with this high-capacity group of Elders on several occasions. Earlier this year, our Christian Church Leadership Network team worked with Joe and his Elder team to conduct a church health assessment. I was not surprised in the least when the results came back. FCC, Monticello, scored as one of the healthiest congregations I have worked with, and the unity of the Elders is a foundational reason.
Some time ago, Joe told me that among his Elders are those active in the local Republican and Democratic parties. I was astounded and intrigued. In today’s nasty, polarized, partisan political climate, having people on both sides of the aisle work together for something bigger than their political allegiances, substantial as they may be, is one of the most encouraging and hopeful things I have experienced among a church leadership anywhere.
And here’s the shocking reality: I couldn’t tell you which Elder is from which party! In fact, Joe says that 80% of the congregation wouldn’t know either because, in the church, that’s not what they’re known for. Can you imagine? This, among many other healthy practices, is why I have told Joe that there needs to be a church like FCC Monticello in every county seat in Kentucky … or, for that matter, every county seat in the whole nation!
In September of 2024, Joe decided to do an All-In Baptism Day. I designed a comprehensive kit to help leaders prepare and execute days like this, which Joe used as a resource to facilitate this event. He texted me after the first service and reported five people were baptized. Then he texted that five more were baptized at the second morning service. Then, later that week, he told me six more people were baptized. Then, he told me that several more were baptized the following Sunday. These baptism reports continued over the next three weeks. In the past three months, 53 people were baptized into Christ at FCC Monticello. More people were baptized in that short period than in the previous two years combined!
Oh, by the way, you may recall that during that period, our country held one of the most costly and hotly contested elections in its history that wrecked friendships, divided families, and strained relationships in churches.
Unity preaches. Jesus promised it would. And nothing preaches unity like baptism into Christ, where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male or female, Democrat or Republican, but all are one in Jesus Christ.
In 1830, “Raccoon” John Smith, an unorthodox preacher on the untamed American frontier, tried to plant a church in Monticello, KY. His efforts eventually failed, and he moved away. An anonymous citizen wrote him a letter and invited him back to try again. In October 1831, Raccoon John returned to Wayne County, built a cabin still standing on the church property now registered as a Kentucky historic site, and planted a church that still reaches people for Christ. Somewhere in that “great cloud of witnesses,” I imagine a rugged forefather of the Restoration Movement is smiling as the resilient church he planted nearly two centuries ago is still preaching Christ, practicing unity, and restoring spiritual health in a rural community badly in need of hope. May more churches like FCC Monticello increase in the next two hundred years or until the Kingdom up there fully comes down here!
John Hampton is Pastor Emeritus of Journey Christian Church in Apopka, FL, and the Assistant Director of the Compelling Preaching Initiative for the Christian Church Leadership Network.
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