The “TnT” in TnT Bible Ministries stands for “Truth not Theory.”
As pastor Greg Ferrell explains it, there’s no room within that philosophy for a denomination. TnT Bible Ministries is a free-standing church, located at 213 Foreside Road.
“When people ask me about what religion we are, I just say I’m a follower of Christ,” Pastor Ferrell said. “We’re all the body of Christ. It’s sad that we do have all the denominations. Christ never came up with any denominations.”
TnT Bible Ministries is faring just fine with that open outlook. The worship room has seating for 250 people, and upwards of 175 attend Sunday services, Ferrell said.
“Everyone is welcome,” he said. “But the word of God is taught. Don’t hate. Jesus hung out with sinners.”
Ferrell became TnT Bible pastor last May, replacing Terry Dutton. Ferrell’s wife, the former Amy Rogers of Harpswell, serves as administrative assistant. She has the church prettily decorated for Christmas.
Once they retired from the Air Force, the Ferrells moved to Harpswell in 2002, and renovated her family home in Harpswell. Amy Ferrell’s father, Pete, was a lobsterman. Greg Ferrell hails from Alabama.
“I swore I would never live north of the Mason-Dixon line,” he said, “then I met her in Massachusetts. I like the four seasons. Then I came to Maine with her. I said, ‘this is where I want to live some day.’ The folks here are so hospitable.”
The Ferrells discovered TnT Bible in 2000.
“We visited several churches and felt the Lord drew us to this church,” he said. “We felt the love the folks here have for each other. They’re not there to judge you or look down at you.”
TnT began as a home Bible study in January 1995. They started with six or eight people meeting in Pastor Terry Dutton’s living room every Tuesday evening. By August of that year, they began looking for a place to hold services on Sundays. They found a place to rent by late September.
Following renovations to the old Feldspar Mill Building, TnT held its first public service on the first Sunday of December. They stayed there until they outgrew the building, and purchased the present facility at 213 Foreside Road.
After renovating the church in spring 1999, they have been meeting there on Sundays and Tuesdays ever since.
The altar platform has plenty of room for the praise and worship team to play its guitars, drums and other instruments.
“We have a very, very gifted praise-and-worship team,” Ferrell said. “It gets you ready to worship the Lord.”
The TnT vision: Love God, love people, love and teach God’s word.
“It’s like a stool,” Ferrell explained. “You take one of the legs off and the whole stool topples.”
Though the church is led by a board of directors, there is no human heirarchy beyond that.
“Tradition is good,” Ferrell said, “but there’s a lot of legalism that has no place in the church. With a non-denominational church, you’re going to get people from different backgrounds. I look at Jesus Christ as our CEO.”
Sunday worship is at 10:30 a.m., with nursery and children’s church available. The youth group meets directly following worship. Bible study and prayer is at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
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