Corey Waters (04) was nominated by David Watford (04). David said, “I love hearing about the different ministries our graduates are serving in. While I think it is important to know about those who are pastors or church-planters, I love to get the word out about the different facets of ministry work, such as a chaplain (or counseling or children’s pastor). I spoke to Corey recently and he has a great story!”

"Little Did I Know"

When I first accepted Christ as my Savior I had no idea what He would do in my life. I heard the gospel and realized that not only was I a sinner, but I was a person who was living with hurts that only God could heal. I gave my life to Him on July 30, 1995, and I have never looked back! Shortly after, God gave me a verse that would become my life verse. My anthem, if you will, is I Corinthians 2:5: “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” I had no clue that my life would be a constant walk of faith.

When God called me into ministry, my wife and I were barren. The doctors told her she could not have children. I remember it as if it were yesterday ─ the tears and grief over a child we never knew. God brought my mind back to I Corinthians 2:5 and I told Kasie, “I believe God will give us a baby.” A year and a half later, Noah was born in Jacksonville. Men had said no, but my God had said yes!

When my wife and I left Trinity in 2004, we were filled with fear, hopes and dreams. We packed up our 4-year-old son, and I accepted a position on a church staff as the Outreach Pastor before we started our own church. Needless to say, actual ministry is much different than classroom ministry. Being young in the ministry, we had to learn a lot of lessons. One thing I learned from this time period is patience ─ do not answer a matter too quickly, allow the Holy Spirit to guide you with wisdom. With much prayer and preparation, I left that position to start Open Arms Baptist Church. Some people wondered how an inter-racial couple would raise support to start a church. Let’s face it, it is hard when both people look the same, let alone when one is blessed with a beautiful bronze skin and the other is pigment challenged. Nevertheless, God said, “Trust me, “ and we did. He gave us full support for a year, and half of that for the next few years. Open Arms was our baby, and we poured our hearts and lives into that ministry. We saw many people come to Christ, we saw marriages healed, and wayward Christians brought back to the Lord. Lives were being changed and restored, and we loved every minute of it. When men said “no”, God said “yes.” We saw God honor our faith and do things we could not imagine! During that time, I started teaching fifth and sixth grade at a local Christian school. Money was tight, and I was looking for a part time job. I was offered this position and thought, “Are you crazy? I cannot pay my bills on this little salary.” I walked into my office and sat down to pray. My Bible was open to Romans, chapter 8, and I noticed a verse I had highlighted years earlier. It was verse 8, “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” I realized my thinking was in the flesh and not the spirit. I accepted the job. Little did I know what God was about to do in my life.

During this time period, my wife and I struggled with having more children and finally, God put adoption on our hearts. God gave us Cameron in October of 2007 and Faith and Nick in August of 2008. What a challenge! We went from one child to four in less than a year. I am so glad He gives us strength when we are weak, or we never would have made it through those first few years.

Open Arms was growing and so was my ministry in Christian education. I was being used by God to impact His kingdom. Yet, at the end of the day, I saw my relationships drifting away. My wife and I were drifting, my kids and I were drifting, and my God and I were drifting. I realized the church had started out being all about God and His work and had turned into being all about me and my work. I was at a crossroad. I had to make a decision! The decision I made was not easy, and it was not without much prayer. I decided to resign from my church. Unfortunately, the church did not survive and we closed our doors. This caught much ridicule and opinions. Once again, I Corinthians 2:5 came to me. Open Arms had been my life and when her doors shut for good, it was like a piece of me had died. A.W. Tozer said, “God cannot use a man greatly until He hurts him deeply.” Well, the pain I felt from closing our church is something I would not wish on anyone. However, through the pain God brought restoration. He honored my desire to repair the broken relationships in my life. Today God has given us an even stronger marriage, my kids know their daddy, and he knows them. My relationship with my God is sweeter than ever. While no one likes pain, God tends to use it to draw our hearts to Him!

After Open Arms closed, I became the principal of Fairwinds Christian School in Bear, Delaware, a move that would bring a spiritual healing I never expected. There, I learned the power of being who God made me to be and saw God do amazing things in the lives of my students. We saw several children every month come to Christ or rededicate their lives to Him. God took me from my little congregation of 30 to be a shepherd over 180 children, parents and staff. I was amazed to say the least. He was not done with me!

In 2011, God began to tug on my heart about another move, a big one to Houston, Texas. After much prayer and fighting with God about security and the economy, I decided it was His will for me to trust Him completely. By now Noah was eleven and developing his own faith. One day he said to me, “Dad, I think God just wants us to trust Him.” I asked him if he trusted me to make the right decision. He said, “Dad, you always try to walk by faith. I will trust you no matter what.” I cannot tell you what that did for this dad’s heart. A few years ago, my relationship with him was strained, and now he will trust me no matter what. I, in turn, said the same thing to God. I will trust you no matter what! I gave my notice and told my pastor I was not returning for the 2011/2012 school year. This was March. People heard and could not understand how I could leave my job without having one, and not have a place to live was crazy. I heard from well-meaning people that “You have a great ministry. Why leave?” Or “How will you support your family?” I said that I was going to trust God because this was His big idea! To this I was told, “God doesn’t work like that.” They obviously never read Genesis chapter 12!

I Corinthians 2:5 brought me much comfort once again. My faith was in Him and not in men. Once again, God was true to His word. I not only got a job, I got the perfect ministry opportunity for me. It mixes my love for preaching and shepherding a flock with my love for Christian education. I am the Campus Minister for Cornerstone Christian Academy in Sugar Land, Texas. How did I get here? Simply by trusting my God, and stepping out in faith, even when it didn’t seem to make sense. God increased my sphere of influence in ways I could never have imagined. Jeremiah 33:3 promises that if you call out to Him, He will answer you, and show you great and mighty things that you have never known!

He moved me from a small congregation of 30 people to minister to over 180 children and adults. From there, He has given me the opportunity to minister to over 400 children, parents and staff. What if I had never taken that first step of faith that led to another and another? I may have missed God’s best for my life. We can have our plans, but if we are not willing to bend our will to His, we may never discover all we can be in Christ!

Corey Waters
Campus Minister
Cornerstone Christian Academy
www.corey-somethingtochewon.blogspot.com