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THE VERY BEGINNING
It was the summer of 1973, and Lou Anne O'Brien was going to enter Clemson
University as a Freshman in a few short months. Lou Anne, living in Florida,
decided to attend a Christian conference sponsored by Great Commission in
Tennessee with a friend. The conference was powerful, and God worked mightily
in many hearts. Lou Anne decided that she wanted to be involved in fulfilling
the great commission herself, and she wanted to join one of many evangelistic
teams sent out after the conference. But there was a problem: she had promised
her parents to go to Clemson! In tears, she asked Herschel Martindale, one of
the conference leaders, what she should do. Herschel told her to go home and
love her parents, and he would take a team and come to Clemson briefly in
the fall to help Lou Anne get settled into school.
With a team of 5 young people, Herschel made good his promise and drove to
Clemson at the beginning of the fall semester. The team had prayed for 3 things:
(1) that God would help them to meet Christians to fellowship with Lou Anne, (2)
that God would give them some unbelievers for Lou Anne to witness to, and (3)
that God would lead them to someone who would help Lou Anne to grow spiritually
after they left. Lou Anne was overjoyed to see them and said she missed all
their singing so much, so they all went out on the lawn in front of her dorm and
began singing. About 30 other college students (strangers) came out on the lawn
to sing along in an awesome spontaneous time of fellowship. The next day, the
team talked to students all over campus about the gospel. 15 said they would
be glad for Lou Anne to later visit them and share the gospel with them. Three
guys on bicycles visited them, and one, named Steve Nelson, seemed to Herschel
to be really strong in the Lord. Herschel felt strongly led to ask Steve if he
could look out for and help Lou Anne spiritually. Steve said he had never heard
of such a thing, but said he would take it as from the Lord and try to do it. So
God answered all 3 prayers in two days!
During that year, Herschel came with others to visit Lou Anne and other Christian
friends she had made. On one of the visits, they made it into a mini-conference
and taught around the clock for several days. As they talked about practicing
what they had heard about character qualities and fulfilling the great
commission, Herschel asked the Clemson people if they would consider forming a church fellowship
committed to really doing these things. After some discussion about such a
seemingly crazy undertaking (after all, none of these were pastors or professionally
trained), they decided to do it, and what is now Clemson Community Church was
born.
In the years since, the church has sent out dozens of people into full-time
ministry, birthed several new churches, and literally hundreds of young people
have been led to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't it amazing
what God can do through the willing heart of a single young person?
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The Great Commission
"Jesus said, 'All authority in heaven and
on earth have been given to Me. Therefore go
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. And surely
I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
- Matt. 28:18-20.
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