Meet Your Church Planters: Frank Dickerson

The Palladium Church in Rock Hill, SC

            Frank Dickerson is the lead Pastor of The Palladium Church in Rock Hill, SC. The church was just recently launched in June of 2010, and is averaging a few dozen people in weekly attendance.

             Frank is a young African-American pastor under 30, with a wife and one child. Their young family experienced God’s pull on their hearts toward ministry and developed a burden for the people in their hometown of Rock Hill. The struggles that they have faced in planting a church have morphed over time. At first, the biggest struggle was having adequate finances to fund the ministry. Next, the main difficulty transitioned to finding a location for the church to meet. God has provided and grown them through this process, and now their most pressing difficulty is just to continue to persevere and trust in God.

             As all pastors learn over time, Frank has been challenged with how ministry affects home and family life. He is elated by seeing the internal growth in his own family despite the challenges of leading a church. He has seen growth especially in his marriage, as they have fought to fall more in love with one another instead of letting difficulty push them apart. Frank is learning that ministry stress does not have to wreak havoc on marriages and families, and that God’s priority for pastors is to take care of their families first and their ministries second. It is wonderful to see a young couple in ministry fighting for the health of their family and desiring God to use their marriage as a picture of the gospel.

 Frank also has learned that it takes more than being a gifted preacher and having funds to start a church—that God’s hand must be on it and that everything has to come together at the right time to launch a successful ministry. God has been faithful in providing for their church financially, and teaching them how to depend on Him spiritually. God is growing Frank personally in patience, temperance, meekness and self-control. They are patiently waiting to see people saved and brought into their church, but they are also celebrating the first person who came to know Jesus through their church just a few months ago!

             The Palladium Church at Rock Hill is just getting started on their journey, and we hope and pray for many more years of fruitful ministry.