One Friday night back in the late 1990s, I met a suave and debonair gentleman who would become one of my best friends. It was at the U Turn Café, a ministry of a very young church still struggling to find its identity. Jamie Clapp had heard about this unusual Friday night service at Integrity Church, and he decided to try it out. I learned that he was the plant manager at a local printing company, and I was immediately intrigued. It was for me to assume that this kind, mild mannered guy led his people at work just as he presented himself to me and the other U Turn attendees. That was a pivotal evening. The rest of the story is a BIG part of the history of Integrity Church.
Not long after that, Integrity Church’s young Student Pastor, Chuck Ainsworth, would start a ministry to a neighboring Tucker St. Apartments area (where, coincidentally, current Integrity Student Pastor Opie Taylor grew up….), called Monday Night Madness. Chuck and co. would take a big school bus to pick up kids in the Tucker St. area, and bring them back to the Integrity Church campus for games and always a Gospel-focused message. As a result, many kids came to know Christ. One of those young teenagers, a beautiful young lady named Jessica Whittington, brought her mom, Diann Salmon, with her to one of the Sunday morning services at Integrity. The rest is yet another BIG part of the history of Integrity Church.
It didn’t take long to discover a lot about the heart of our new friend Jamie Clapp. Out of his own personal experience, and the experiences of others he had seen, Jamie became instrumental in the founding of Celebrate Recovery at Integrity Church. Jamie was passionate about men in particular escaping the clutches of addictive behaviors, codependency, and generally unhealthy relationships. Jamie was – and is to this day – one of the most ‘with it’ guys I’ve ever known. He would co-lead the Celebrate Recovery ministry for ten plus years, meeting every Friday night, with the mission of bringing deliverance to men in general. Jamie would become an elder at Integrity Church, and would serve with a discerning mind and heart, deliberating carefully over the spiritual implications of decisions facing the church.
Eventually, Jamie would bring his engaging personality to the front door of our church, joining our First Impressions / Connections Team, welcoming Integrity family members with that cheerful smile, and with words that always brighten their experiences.
Well, it seems that Diann, another of our new friends in the early 2000s, had interests that were similar to Jamie’s. Diann’s new walk with the Lord took her in a direction that was parallel to Jamie’s . Diann would become involved in Celebrate Recovery as well, and would ultimately serve as part of our women’s leadership team. One couldn’t help but watch these two and think, ‘Wow! Now wouldn’t that make a cool couple!’ And so – that’s what happened! Their story is a great one.
They enjoyed a lengthy (to the extent that we like to joke with Jamie about it….) courtship, and happily tied the knot in holy matrimony – in July 2009!
Jamie’s and Diann’s story continues to evolve. A model husband and wife team for the past 16 years, they are exemplary volunteers in the Integrity Church family. Diann now works in the Children’s ministry, and is involved in our women’s ministry. She also spends lot of time with their grandkids, while serving vocationally as the Administrative Director at First Baptist Church in Graham.
Jamie spends lots of time these days caring for his elderly parents. He still connects with men in need of support around addictions, relationship challenges, etc. and loves to make Sundays brighter for everyone through his greetings at the front door. Jamie is also instrumental with our Safety team. Jamie was able to retire from the plant manager role in his early 50s, and has stayed busy since then.
Words that come to mind about Jamie and Diann are ‘diligent’, ‘purposeful’, ‘efficient’ and ‘direct’. Both of them have a way of drawing you in to conversation, and you can be assured their primary goal in that conversation is to benefit YOU! There is no personal agenda with Diann and Jamie – which brings us to the word that describes them perhaps better than any other: ‘AUTHENTIC’. Their love for Jesus simply oozes consistently. Thank you, Jamie and Diann for being the poster children for ‘Real People, Real Church’! |
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