Listening closely to the direction of the Holy Spirit, Pastor Bates felt compelled to complete his Bachelors and Master’s Degrees in Education at Northern Kentucky University. God trained him well by placing him in the public school system, where he taught school from 1978 to the end of 1981. He prospered in his educational career, working with staff and faculty concerning curriculum development for the Social Studies program in the elementary school. He found favor with parents and students by offering a variety of diagnostic approaches to teaching reading skills. Through all of this transition, he maintained a powerful ministry on demand to preach youth camps, revivals, youth rallies, and conventions, and serve his home church as the Assistant Pastor. Presently, he anticipates to continue his education by working towards a doctoral degree.

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On April 17, 1981, Pastor Tommy Bates became the Interim Pastor for his home church and was elected the Senior Pastor of the Community Family Church on August 3, 1981. Pressing through the tremendous difficulty of a divided congregation, contentious division between the old order of Pentecostalism and acceptance of change, financial draining, lack of organization, over eighty relatives, strong family clans, and great debt, Pastor Bates, through the preaching of the Word with a powerful anointing, has seen God bring CPC to financial freedom with no debt in 1987. Presently, over two thousand members and visitors attend services every week. To date, the church has one-hundred and eight acres of prime property, about eighteen miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio, and only fourteen miles from the Greater Cincinnati Airport, which has proven to be a pivotal position for the Kingdom of God. With the additional buildings of the Educational Wing, the Family Life Center, and the Tara Center, they are moving forward to building a new four thousand-seat sanctuary.

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Pastor Bates has appeared on TBN in Dallas, Texas, as a special guest and has made several appearances with his sons on TBN at Hendersonville, Tennessee, but most frequently is viewed on “Up On Melody Mountain” with Betty Jean Robinson. By the time he was twenty years of age, Pastor Bates had already been to nine different countries, being involved in missions projects. Through his years of experience, he presently conducts crusades and conferences throughout the world, seeing multiplied thousands come to Christ. The gifts of the Spirit follow his ministry with visible signs of transformation and miraculous healings.