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From ‘Hillbilly Palace’ to a growing church in Hazard

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Chris Fugate // Photo by Jonathan Palmer, special to The Courier-Journal

On a rainy Wednesday evening, dozens of cars pulled up into the rutted parking lot of the Gospel Light Baptist Church on a hillside in the city of Hazard.

A half-dozen youths were defying the wet weather by shooting hoops on the outdoor basketball court under halogen streetlights before heading into their youth-group meeting.

Inside, Pastor Chris Fugate and more than 100 worshipers were getting ready for their Wednesday evening service. The church has grown steadily since it was launched just over a year ago, reporting more than 150 baptisms and 250 conversions.

Among the converts, one could say, is the building itself in this Eastern Kentucky city.

It used to be called TJ’s: The Hillbilly Palace Country and “Rockin” Bar.

And it lived up to its name, said member Keith Napier, who works in local law enforcement. “I answered many a call out here” to quell fights and other trouble, he said.

After the bar closed, the church acquired use of the building in late 2011. Members gave the building such a complete makeover that its former use is barely recognizable now, with off-white walls, a conventional pulpit and baptistry up front between the American and Christian flags, and a sound booth in back.

It was a complete contrast from its previous dark, dingy appearance, members recalled.

“The walls were black, the ceiling was black, the lights were black,” recalled Tanaya Stidham.

“There was no electric,” added Fugate. “It stunk. There was a bar on this end. There was a damp floor, piles of hair on the floor where people were fighting.”

The church conducted a complete overhaul of the building.

Fugate, a minister’s son and a state trooper with a large build and a firm handshake, said he felt called to ministry a few years ago and launched the congregation with the aid of prayer partners and others.

Gospel Light is a self-described “independent, fundamental” church that uses the traditional gospel hymns and the King James Bible.

But it is less traditional in other areas. Worshipers wore casual, come-as-you-are attire; Fugate was virtually the only one in a business-like coat and tie.

And the church makes relentless efforts at converting others.

“Don’t forget to go out souling on Saturday,” Fugate reminded the congregation.

That means knocking on doors, telling people about the Christian faith and handing out tracts such as one that asks, “Are you 100% sure YOU are going to HEAVEN?”

Members also transport visitors to the church, with three vans going out to different hollers in the Hazard area. One such passenger, a teenager and first-time visitor, made a profession of faith Wednesday night.

Fugate said he plans to retire from the state police at the end of February. He said his job has put him in touch with people suffering devastating losses, such as a mother who lost her adult son to a drug overdose, that convinces him of the need for church outreach.

He said he doesn’t want Gospel Light to be “be just a normal” church with a passive invitation for “whoever wants to come.”

“I want to spend the rest of my life knocking on doors, going up and down hollers, loving people, trying to get them saved,” he said.

Among those who joined is Chris Joseph, who was hired to help hang the church’s drop ceiling and ended up making a profession of faith.

He said he had gone “down a bad row” with addictions in the past, but he said he’s been sober for five years now, and he and his wife and children also converted.

“People here make you feel at home,” he said. “I’ve been in a lot of churches that never made me feel welcome.”

The Wednesday night service took place under a cloud, with the city in mourning over a murder that claimed three members of one family the previous night outside Hazard Community and Technical College.

“Both families need our prayers,” Fugate said, referring to relatives of the victim and the suspect in the apparent domestic-violence incident.

The tragedy, he said, was a reminder that “we as a church have got a lot of work to do.”


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