Born Again Church

When tourists are in Nashville and in pursuit of some spiritual nourishment, it's not uncommon for them to hear: "Child, you need to come over to Born Again Church and worship with us!" The Born Again Church's reputation for dynamic Bible-based teaching by Pastors Horace & Kiwannis Hockett and the reverential worship by the Born Again Church Choir precedes it. It's that spirit of excellence in ministry that has led many of the music industry's biggest stars, from Amy Grant & Travis Tritt to Donnie McClurkin & CeCe Winans, to have this stellar choir back them on their recordings. After almost two decades of ministering to thousands in the background one must first understand the Born Again Church’s founders. In 1973 Pastor Hockett held a master's degree in drama from Tennessee State University under one arm and his new bride Kiwannis (a.k.a. Pastor Kitty) in the other when he took his first teaching job in Fayetteville State University's drama department. Around the same time, Hockett began to look at his life-long Christian faith differently. "After going to church all my life, I just realized how far I still was from the truth," Hockett recalls. "I grew up in church and knew a lot of Bible stories but it wasn't a practical kind of thing." Then, he learned that living a principle-based life affected how he lived that life. "When I saw how it was working for me I decided to share this same gospel to others. It wasn't a new gospel," he says. "But it was a new revelation."From the beginning, the ministry boomed with the rhythm of young, zealous college students. The church started a van ministry that picked the students up from campus on Sunday mornings. After the morning worship service, the church fed and fellowshipped with them. It was an immediate family atmosphere. Four years later, the church relocated to a building on Charlotte Avenue that seated 400 people. After four years there, they moved on to Pearl Cohn High School before they built their current structure for which they owned the land a decade before they raised the money to start construction. In October 1993 they finally moved to 858 W Trinity Lane that also includes a children's care center and counseling center.