Christ the Redeemer finds new home at First Baptist's old site
BY GLORIA JENNINGS STAFF WRITER

Christ the Redeemer Church in Rusk opened with services Sunday. The new church is located at the corner of Fourth and Barron Streets. The Rev. Dr. Debra McCormick is the pastor of the congregation. Her husband, the Rev. Kevin McCormick serves as associate pastor. Their twin daughters are Briana and Brooke.

We can all agree that the Lord works in mysterious ways. The bringing of a new church, Christ the Redeemer, and parsonage family to Rusk is certainly no exception to that fact. First services at the new church were held at 10 a.m. Sunday.

The purchase of the former home of First Baptist Church by a California family all came about through the workings of the Lord, The Rev. Dr. Debra McCormick and her husband, the Rev. Kevin McCormick, said. She serves as pastor of the new church and he is associate pastor.

The McCormicks and their twin daughters, Brooke and Briana, are here because of their hearing from God.

"The Lord kept putting Texas in my heart and I had a desire to just be here," Dr. McCormick said. "I kept telling my husband, 'we should move to Texas,' but he did not seem interested. He did not want to leave. He liked our house and our church. He was committed to spend the rest of his life there," Mrs. McCormick said.

"She started talking about Texas and I decided I would prove her wrong. So, I went to the internet and typed in land for sale in Tyler. Property in Ben Wheeler came up and there was a ranch for sale in Rusk. We decided that we would go to the place that had a church for sale. I was amazed when I found it on JoEd's (Anderson) website," Mr. McCormick said.

"We woke my parents up and they got excited too," Mrs. McCormick said.

The family purchased the property owned by First Baptist Church at the corner of Fourth and Barron Streets. The old parsonage sits beside the church and was included in the sale.

The couple has purchased a home near Gallatin, where they plan to live.

They have moved here from Perris in Riverside County, Calif. They lived in the Moreno Valley, where Mrs. McCormick grew up. The community had a population of 6,000 when she was a youth, but has grown to 300,000 persons. Their church and school shared space with Faith Baptist, a Southern Baptist church. The Baptist Church will continue to operate the Christian school and the school principal will remain in California and work at the school there. Several other members of the school staff will remain with the school.

In addition to having church services, they will open a Christian school in the fall. During the first year of operation classes will be offered for K-4 through third grade. Later classes will be offered for K-4 through 12th grade.

Mrs. McCormick has a Bachelor of Social Work from Loma Linda University at Loma Linda, Calif. and a Master of Social Work from Walla Walla University in College Place, Wash. She has a PhD in Christian education from the School of Biblical Theology in San Jacinto, Calif.

"I worked as a clinical thera- pist for 14 years and taught infants through graduate studies at Mount San Jacinto Junior College. I was also a guest lecturer at California Baptist University," she said.

For the last few years she worked in mental health she trained parents from high risk families in child discipline. She has supervised interns and goes on mission trips every year.

She is ordained by the Pentecostal Assemblies of God.

Mr. McCormick is an evangelist in the ministry, she said. He is also a Microsoft certified trainer and worked teaching people how to build networks. He has been involved in the computer field since 1994.

Students in grades 3-12 will have their studies integrated into the computers.

Mrs. McCormick's mother, Bobbie Jean Mosley, is a Texas native from Childress County and her father, Orval Mosley, a retired minister, is from Oklahoma.

"My mother said this is a prettier part of Texas than the area in West Texas where she grew up," Mrs. McCormick said.

The school administrator has been to Rusk and purchased a home. That family will move here this summer.

"I have a friend who has moved to Dallas and is looking to move to the Rusk area," she said.

Mrs. McCormick's parents also will move here.