Warrior for God
Patrick Grant Found a Life of Purpose When He Quit Trying To Be His Own Boss
By Allen Allnoch
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If you’ve been around Christ Community Church for any amount of time, you’ve probably seen Patrick Grant. Perhaps you’ve heard his deep voice echoing around the lobby. If you’re in Celebrate Recovery, you’ve no doubt seen him on stage, leading worship or giving his testimony. And you certainly can’t miss his infectious smile when he’s greeting you at the front doors on Sunday morning.
In short, Patrick Grant is a fixture at CCC. It hasn’t always been that way, though. There was a time when his energies were directed to more destructive practices – things like using and selling drugs. “I look at it like this,” Patrick explains. “If I could work as hard as I did in the enemy’s camp, then I can work twice as hard in God’s camp. I know where my strength comes from. I know who loves me. I know that what I do now is for an eternal purpose. I work for God’s kingdom.” |
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Patrick, 55, is the youngest of four children, born and raised in the Columbus area. From his childhood as a self-proclaimed “Mama’s boy” (“My dad was around, but our conversations were brief,” he says) to his born-again identity as a warrior for Jesus Christ, Patrick’s life story has more twists and turns than the Chattahoochee River. But through it all, the fingerprints of God are evident.
Wanting, Wandering and Wondering
Growing up, Patrick sought meaning and purpose primarily through sports. He wanted to play college football, but grew discouraged when coaches tried to recruit him for basketball and track instead. “Track wasn’t exciting to me,” he says. “I wanted something that was going to bring me fame. I wanted to be in the spotlight.”
Ultimately he abandoned both college and sports, and joined the Army instead. By his late 20s he was back in the civilian world, working in a warehouse, twice-divorced and still trying to find his way. He had resigned himself to never marrying again, but then he met a woman, Rhonda, who captured his attention in a way no one else had before. They married and, though they had yet to realize a personal relationship with God, they attended a local church, albeit a somewhat unhealthy one.
“I knew it was Sunday and you were supposed to dress up and go to church,” Patrick says. “I was just putting a mask on. After the worship time, I would go to sleep. They were always asking for money, so I thought we could buy our way to heaven. It was all about money, and at the time, I had a lot of it. Illegally, but I had a lot of it.”
By this time, Patrick had earned a cosmetology license and was working for one of his sisters, who owned a salon. He also had begun selling drugs, and using them as well, particularly to battle a worsening case of gout. Eventually he became unable to work and could not walk without a cane or a walker. He did, however, decide to stop selling drugs one day – and the very next day, his partner got busted. “That was a reassurance that I needed to stop,” he recalls. “God made that decision for me. He’d been there watching out for me even before I even recognized it.”
The Lord intervened in Patrick’s life again in 2007 when his son, Patrick II, came up one point short on his graduation test at Carver High School. Carver’s then-head football coach, Dell McGee, learned that Patrick II could graduate by taking a summer course from another school in the area – a private Christian school. When the study materials arrived, the elder Grant took an interest and starting reading them.
“It was Noah’s Ark that got me,” Patrick says. “I was fascinated by how all these animals came to get on the boat. I was like, ‘Man, what in the world could have made them do that?’ And God said, ‘I did.’ And I thought, ‘I need to get to know this guy.’ I started getting on my son and saying, ‘Hey, you need to learn this stuff. You need to know who gave you all these talents.’ And God said to me, ‘You need to know, too.’ I didn’t know it then, but that’s when the transformation started. He was starting to open my eyes.”
Godly Love in Action
The next step in that eye-opening process came when an old friend showed up at Patrick’s house. Derrick Shields had been transitioning from a real estate career into a pastoral role at Christ Community Church. He wanted Patrick to hear his first sermon.
“I knew Patrick had been having some problems and I had been thinking about him a lot and feeling like I needed to reach out to him,” says Shields. He recalls Patrick having reservations about attending a church that was, at the time, predominantly white: “I was actually surprised that he accepted my invitation.”
Wanting, Wandering and Wondering
Growing up, Patrick sought meaning and purpose primarily through sports. He wanted to play college football, but grew discouraged when coaches tried to recruit him for basketball and track instead. “Track wasn’t exciting to me,” he says. “I wanted something that was going to bring me fame. I wanted to be in the spotlight.”
Ultimately he abandoned both college and sports, and joined the Army instead. By his late 20s he was back in the civilian world, working in a warehouse, twice-divorced and still trying to find his way. He had resigned himself to never marrying again, but then he met a woman, Rhonda, who captured his attention in a way no one else had before. They married and, though they had yet to realize a personal relationship with God, they attended a local church, albeit a somewhat unhealthy one.
“I knew it was Sunday and you were supposed to dress up and go to church,” Patrick says. “I was just putting a mask on. After the worship time, I would go to sleep. They were always asking for money, so I thought we could buy our way to heaven. It was all about money, and at the time, I had a lot of it. Illegally, but I had a lot of it.”
By this time, Patrick had earned a cosmetology license and was working for one of his sisters, who owned a salon. He also had begun selling drugs, and using them as well, particularly to battle a worsening case of gout. Eventually he became unable to work and could not walk without a cane or a walker. He did, however, decide to stop selling drugs one day – and the very next day, his partner got busted. “That was a reassurance that I needed to stop,” he recalls. “God made that decision for me. He’d been there watching out for me even before I even recognized it.”
The Lord intervened in Patrick’s life again in 2007 when his son, Patrick II, came up one point short on his graduation test at Carver High School. Carver’s then-head football coach, Dell McGee, learned that Patrick II could graduate by taking a summer course from another school in the area – a private Christian school. When the study materials arrived, the elder Grant took an interest and starting reading them.
“It was Noah’s Ark that got me,” Patrick says. “I was fascinated by how all these animals came to get on the boat. I was like, ‘Man, what in the world could have made them do that?’ And God said, ‘I did.’ And I thought, ‘I need to get to know this guy.’ I started getting on my son and saying, ‘Hey, you need to learn this stuff. You need to know who gave you all these talents.’ And God said to me, ‘You need to know, too.’ I didn’t know it then, but that’s when the transformation started. He was starting to open my eyes.”
Godly Love in Action
The next step in that eye-opening process came when an old friend showed up at Patrick’s house. Derrick Shields had been transitioning from a real estate career into a pastoral role at Christ Community Church. He wanted Patrick to hear his first sermon.
“I knew Patrick had been having some problems and I had been thinking about him a lot and feeling like I needed to reach out to him,” says Shields. He recalls Patrick having reservations about attending a church that was, at the time, predominantly white: “I was actually surprised that he accepted my invitation.”
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Ultimately, Patrick’s sense of loyalty won out. Shields’ wife, Andrea, was a client when Patrick worked as a cosmetologist, and Patrick and Derrick were involved in little league sports together over the years.
“I don’t care when it was, or what I needed, I could call Derrick and ask for help,” Patrick remembers. “I could say, ‘I need a speaker at my little league banquet tonight,’ and he’d say, ‘All right, I’ll be there.’ I didn't want to go, but I couldn’t let him down, so I said, ‘Sure, man, I’ll be there.’ Then I got my son and said, ‘You’re gonna go with me.’" Since CCC’s founding 15 years ago, one of its hallmarks has been a sense of warmth and an ability to make newcomers feel welcome. Patrick’s first point of contact when he arrived at the CCC campus (which at the time was a former car dealership off Macon Road) was Eric Kennedy, a greeter and one of CCC’s founding members. “When I came through that door, Eric made me feel like he’d been knowing me all his life, made me feel at home,” Patrick says. “I was like, ‘Man, this is all right. This is cool.’ Every time after that, I would be sure to go in his door.” Patrick’s encounter with Eric was a tangible demonstration of Jesus’ love in action, with no hint of prejudice, racial or otherwise. What happened next was more intangible. In fact, it was downright supernatural. “God will show you things that are just for you,” Patrick says. “I saw Derrick kind of levitate on that stage. Afterward I asked him, ‘Hey, you got something up under the stage that makes you just pick up like that?’ He said, ‘What are you talking about?’ And he laughed about it. But I wasn’t laughing. I saw God in Derrick and I wanted some of whatever he had. God was saying to me, ‘I’m powerful. I can do things that, things you’ve never dreamed of. Just try me.’” |
The Genesis account of Noah’s Ark got Patrick’s attention and instilled a hunger for God’s Word that continues today.
Patrick first came to CCC at the invitation of Derrick Shields, a long-time friend who had joined the church staff in a pastoral role.
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Shields, who is now CCC’s Director of LIVE Ministries, remembers the conversation well. “I still laugh about that,” he says. “But he obviously had an encounter with the Holy Spirit. I think what’s happened to Patrick is a testimony that all the things we talk about at CCC – the presence of God, the study of His Word, the act of being in community with others – these things actually work.”
Rhonda Grant was initially skeptical, but gradually she was seeing change come over her husband, who by now had become a regular Sunday attender at CCC. One Sunday he convinced her to join him and she came away saying, “These people don’t even feel fake.” His response: “I told you!”
Working through Hurts, Habits and Hangups
No journey to healing is without bumps in the road. Even after he began attending Celebrate Recovery – a Christ-centered healing program for people with “hurts, habits and hangups” – Patrick continued to struggle with substance abuse and declining health, and his and Rhonda’s finances were deteriorating. When he became a no-show around CCC, Shields had to pay him another visit.
“Derrick came to the house and I was just sitting there with the lights off,” Patrick recalls. “He said, ‘Where have you been? What are you doing? Why is it so dark in here?’ I said, ‘They’ve cut the water off and they’re gonna be cutting the lights off, so I’m just trying to get used to it.’ I was low – I mean, really, really low.
“So Derrick said, ‘Get up and come with me. You either come, or I’ll just sit here with you. One or the other, you ain’t getting rid of me.’ He said to bring all my [unpaid] bills with me and that we were going to the church. I said, ‘Oh no, man, you’re not going to embarrass me in front of those people like that. I was mumbling and grumbling, but I went, and he introduced me to Billy Gross.’
Gross, CCC’s Director of CONNECT Ministries, listened as Patrick began pouring out his heart, then offered CCC’s help. “He said, ‘This is not our money, it’s God’s money.’ It was a shock to hear a church staff person talk about money in that way, instead of asking for money,” Patrick says, shaking his head at the memory. “Then he asked me if I would bring my wife in with one of her check stubs. He said we would figure out a way to make a budget and stop this from happening again. I said, ‘I don’t know if I can get her to come in here like that, but I’ll try.'
Rhonda Grant was initially skeptical, but gradually she was seeing change come over her husband, who by now had become a regular Sunday attender at CCC. One Sunday he convinced her to join him and she came away saying, “These people don’t even feel fake.” His response: “I told you!”
Working through Hurts, Habits and Hangups
No journey to healing is without bumps in the road. Even after he began attending Celebrate Recovery – a Christ-centered healing program for people with “hurts, habits and hangups” – Patrick continued to struggle with substance abuse and declining health, and his and Rhonda’s finances were deteriorating. When he became a no-show around CCC, Shields had to pay him another visit.
“Derrick came to the house and I was just sitting there with the lights off,” Patrick recalls. “He said, ‘Where have you been? What are you doing? Why is it so dark in here?’ I said, ‘They’ve cut the water off and they’re gonna be cutting the lights off, so I’m just trying to get used to it.’ I was low – I mean, really, really low.
“So Derrick said, ‘Get up and come with me. You either come, or I’ll just sit here with you. One or the other, you ain’t getting rid of me.’ He said to bring all my [unpaid] bills with me and that we were going to the church. I said, ‘Oh no, man, you’re not going to embarrass me in front of those people like that. I was mumbling and grumbling, but I went, and he introduced me to Billy Gross.’
Gross, CCC’s Director of CONNECT Ministries, listened as Patrick began pouring out his heart, then offered CCC’s help. “He said, ‘This is not our money, it’s God’s money.’ It was a shock to hear a church staff person talk about money in that way, instead of asking for money,” Patrick says, shaking his head at the memory. “Then he asked me if I would bring my wife in with one of her check stubs. He said we would figure out a way to make a budget and stop this from happening again. I said, ‘I don’t know if I can get her to come in here like that, but I’ll try.'
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“So when I got home, the lights were still on and the water was running, and Rhonda walked in and said, ‘What have you done? Have you robbed somebody? You didn’t do anything crazy, did you?’ I told her what my day had been and how they wanted us to come in together, and she said, ‘When are we supposed to go?’ I knew then there’s something to all this. God was definitely at work.”
A Personal Encounter with Christ Patrick had another supernatural encounter with Christ on his 50th birthday, which happened to fall on a Sunday. “It was like a frozen moment,” he recalls. “I walked in the sanctuary and someone said to me, ‘Hey, how are you doing? You like it in here, don’t you? You know this is where you belong, right?’ I could hear His voice. It was just like you and me talking. When I got home I said to Rhonda, ‘Hey, I bumped into Jesus today and He told me [CCC is] where we’re supposed to be.’ She said, ‘Well, I can believe that.’ We’ve been here ever since and I don’t know of anything that could move me.” With a personal relationship with God firmly established, Patrick continued to attend Celebrate Recovery and get a grip on his drug use. He stopped smoking, his health improved and his relationships healed. Today he’s a living testimony to the transforming power of Christ. Says Shields: “Just like the way Eric Kennedy greeted him that first day, Patrick has a way of showing genuine love to people. He’s giving back the kind of love he’s received. I used to tell him, ‘You are not cut out for the kind of life you’re living [as a drug user and dealer]. You’re too kind-hearted for that.’” With Shields' guidance, Patrick now is receiving leadership training and taking on added responsibilities in his ministry with Celebrate Recovery. “My main message is that all things are possible through Jesus Christ,” he says. “I used to think I was the one who made things happen. I didn’t know He was really the reason. Now my thinking is, ‘Is this going to be pleasing to God? If it’s not pleasing to Him, then I might as well not do it. Who am I trying to please? Definitely not me, because I already know what that got me.’” |
Rhonda Grant saw dramatic changes come over her husband when he began attending CCC. Today the couple are influential leaders in the church's Celebrate Recovery ministry.
“I'm thankful that my life is what it is,” Patrick says. “My main message is that all things are possible through Jesus Christ.”
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Have you entered into a personal relationship with Christ as Patrick as done? If you would like to learn more, click here or contact one of our staff members.