On May 15, 1924, Jack Thomas Story entered the
world to Noah & Nelia Story in Boone, North Carolina. His older brother
succumbed to measles and pneumonia before Jack was born leaving him with only
one sister two years his senior. He attended Appalachian High School and began
working at Smithey's Store in Boone, N.C. While working at Smithey's, he met
Virginia Dare Vannoy whom he married on January 9, 1943.
Yielding to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit at age 25, he began looking
for a church and found Lake View Baptist Church pastored by J.O. Dunn, about
five miles from where he lived on Coble Farm in Lexington, N.C. A short time
later, at his home church in a revival being conducted by Pastor Bill Smith
of High Point, N.C., Jack was saved by the grace of God at the Thursday night
service.
In an effort to fulfill a desire to be used of
God, he conducted cottage prayer meetings and asked God to open doors for him
to preach. He left Lakeview Baptist Church and started attending Sheets Memorial
Baptist Church pastored by J. Townly Davis. An old bus from the church was given
to Bro. Jack and a cottage prayer meeting group called the Christian Crusaders
was born. Lighting was provided many times by gas lantern and music was a provided
by a pump organ played by blind Bro. Dixie Sharp. Many people were saved and
attendance often exceeded 100 people. A license to preach the gospel was granted
to Bro. Jack by Sheets Memorial Baptist Church in 1956 and an ordination followed
in 1957.
A new church was organized in Lexington, N.C.
in 1956 with 37 charter members. The new congregation, named Wayside Baptist
Tabernacle, called Bro. Jack to pastor. The church grew to over 500 in the next
10 years. In September, 1967, Prayer Baptist Church in Westland, Michigan called
Bro. Jack to pastor. The church had 130 people attending but grew to average
540 in attendance for the last five years of his pastorate ending in 1985.
He resigned Prayer Baptist to go on the road to help build churches and worked
with Pastor Stuart Connard at the Cross Baptist Church in Lexington, N.C. for
eight months. The attendance grew from about 25 to 125 -130 during his stay.
He then began pastoring Grace Baptist Church
in Belleville, MI in 1987. The church grew from less than 100 to approximately
450 in the next eight years.
After much prayer, Jerry and Elaine Whitaker asked Bro. Jack to help them start
a church in Chelsea, MI. This work began the last Sunday of February, 1996 with
9 people present. The new church (called Faith Baptist Church) met for seven
years at the Faith In Action Center in Chelsea. Faith Baptist Church has grown
to an average of approximately 170 people and moved into its present building
the last Sunday of February, 2003.