Have you ever had someone in your life that you never had one unpleasant exchange with? For me, that would be Ron Scott. I’d known him since April 1991 when I was a 27-year-old small, rural Ohio church minister looking for the best big city to start a new church. I’d sent him a resume as he was the Director of a small church planting mission in Michigan called New Churches of Christ Evangelism (NCCE). Then I drove to the National New Church Conference being held in Munster, Indiana, just outside of Chicago. It was a small conference for Independent Christian Churches (with maybe 100 people or so in attendance as I recall). Ron was one of its founders in the ’80’s. So we met, & then on the short field trip to Willow Creek Church, we got to talk a little on the bus. He invited me to come check out the Detroit metro region. Little did I know that conversation would determine the trajectory of the rest of my life.
Before entering the ministry, Ron had a successful career in sales management for a national coffee company. Once he came to Christ, he made the risky decision to quit that job (with a wife & 4 children) & enter accelerated college training for ministry at age 37. He went on to preach in churches & serve with a church planting mission in New York. Before I even knew Ron, his son, Tom, was one of my seminary classmates—we sat next to each other in an Ethics class. Meanwhile, my wife & Tom’s wife became friends & were working downtown together at the same bank.
Southpoint was the first church that NCCE agreed to take a risk on by funding a “parachute drop” of a church planter starting from scratch without first gathering a core group. It was revolutionary at the time to start a church by just phoning people to invite them to the opening day. But 257 people showed up, & a new church was born—a big success! In the first 6 months of Southpoint’s beginning, Ron & Mikie drove in each weekend from the Lansing area to help.
Later, Ron asked me to serve on the Board of NCCE to give guidance in the mission of starting new churches. I did that for many years. One year at the North American Christian Convention, he received an award for church planting, which I accepted on his behalf in his absence. Ron also was instrumental in helping to start Impact Ontario [now “Canada”] in 1999, which is a church planting mission we’ve supported for many years. By the way, that small church planting conference he helped start eventually was transformed into the largest church planting conference anywhere, now called “Exponential.”
Ron retired from NCCE in 2004, but didn’t retire from ministry because I needed help at Southpoint with the rapid growth we’d experienced since opening our own building. The Scotts moved into a condo directly next door to the church. Ron served as Associate Minister & as an Elder for 5 years. He was a great support, especially in times of turbulence. Afterward, he returned to work for NCCE as a Field Representative. Southpoint gave missions money from day one to NCCE (1992-2022), becoming the largest contributing church for several years. We now intend to start our own independent church somewhere in 2028.
His ministry impacted many lives. Ron was so good-natured, humble, & beloved by everyone. I called him “Pops.” He was a faithful husband to Mikie (who is just as beloved) for 66 years. They returned for Southpoint’s 30th-anniversary celebration a couple of years ago, & then a final time back at the beginning of this year. Ron was 86 years old when he collapsed while cutting the lawn, & soon crossed over into the Lord’s presence. I was honored to be asked to speak at his upcoming funeral.
In 2007 he was interviewed for “Christian Standard” magazine about his transition from NCCE to Southpoint. Some of his statements included:
“We loved new church planting and getting to know people on a broader base, but when it comes down to it, you need a church family. We’re just so happy that we came here. These are people who are concerned for the lost.”
“For the first time in many years, I’m dealing on the frontline level with people in evangelism. According to the Christian Standard (April 15, 2007), Southpoint is the fastest-growing church, percentage-wise, in our brotherhood. I’m talking to people about Christ on a daily basis. In the para-church [world] you’re often dealing with fundraising and special events instead of dealing with the souls of people. In the church you gravitate to people and build relationships.”
“I’ve been strong in administration, and while a lot of my job is administration, being an encourager has become a big part of my job. We have 30-year-old staff members here who need encouragement and examples of true love in marriage.”
Let Ron’s example inspire & challenge you to invest in the mission of making disciples, to value the church of Christ, to love your family well, to take risks, to be an encourager, to remain faithful & leave a lasting legacy.