Following the departure of long-serving pastor Robert Herrin in January, Plant City Church of God has welcomed a new voice to lead its congregation.
Pastor Jeff Robinson’s path to the Plant City pulpit began after he graduated from Lee University in 1986. It was there that he met his wife, Carla Robinson.
After a stint in a pastoral role, Jeff Robinson spent more than a decade in administrative roles within the Church of God denomination. Most recently, he served for nearly six years as the administrative bishop for the Indiana Church of God in Greenwood, Indiana. He also held administrative positions in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Washington D.C.
Encouraged by Herrin, who Jeff Robinson had previously met through ministry, the return to pastoring seemed like it was meant to be — but Jeff Robinson wanted the transition to happen at the right time.
“I had talked to Pastor Herrin a few years ago, but it didn’t seem the time was right for me,”he said. “I didn’t feel led of the spirit to come.”
Then, in October 2016, he got another call from Herrin. This time, the spirit led him. He came to Plant City and met the church’s board and the administrative bishop for Florida. A few months later, he was selected to take the helm following Herrin’s retirement.
In the three weeks since taking over pastoral duties, Robinson’s impact is starting to take shape. During his sermon on Sunday, Feb. 19, the church’s sanctuary stage was adorned with tarps, five-gallon buckets, cinder blocks and a ladder.
It was all a part of the plan — showing, not telling.
“We try to reach people with various forms of communication,” Carla Robinson said. “Hearing it, seeing it, incorporating as many senses as possible.”
Jeff Robinson doesn’t always use stage props in his sermons, but with the help of his wife, the couple tries to come up with more interesting ways to convey their message and create a more engaging story for the congregation.
The Feb. 19 sermon focused on materials used to build a church, and it was tied it to the importance of a unified congregation.
Alone, Jeff Robinson said, the materials are just things — individual pieces that, much like the members of the church in attendance, come together to create something solid. He used tales of his own struggles with home repair to bring his point home — often making the congregation laugh in the process.
Jeff Robinson said his wife provides much of the humor. She is a frequent speaker for the Church of God, as well as for various women’s ministries and other institutions across the United States and beyond. Brevity is one of her signature tools, he said.
“Humor can break down walls faster than most anything,” Jeff Robinson said. “It reinforces the message.”
Carla Robinson agreed.
“People like to know your life,” she said. “When you can wrap God’s word around practical application scenarios, it just really connects with people.”
The couple plans to spend the next month or two fully immersing themselves in Plant City. Once they find a niche to fill, they said, they can start honing in on future plans for the Plant City Church of God while adding to the foundation laid by Herrin over the past 18 years.