Iron City worship leaders cast ‘holy’ vision for church, themselves despite eye disease

From the time they were young, Lance and Terra DeMerchant wanted to serve God wholeheartedly. Now that they are serving as the first full-time husband-and-wife-team worship leaders at Iron City Baptist Church, Anniston, not even Lance’s impending blindness can deter them from that passion.
Lance, 29, and Terra, 34, both accepted Christ at an early age and testify that God used their immediate families, as well as their church families, to prepare them for ministry.

The DeMerchants, who serve in an unusual team assignment for Alabama Baptist churches, came to the Calhoun Baptist Association church in March, moving from Lynchburg, Va. 
“They are a praying and fasting people,” said Mike Holcomb, pastor of Iron City Baptist. “To me, worship is about living a life of holiness and that is their lifestyle.”

Their lifestyle includes working around Lance’s retinitis pigmentosa (RP), an incurable, degenerative eye disease that typically attacks peripheral vision and works its way inward, eventually causing blindness. 
“We know hard and scary times are coming, but I want to see with spiritual eyes when I can no longer see with physical eyes, because that’s what’s more important,” said Lance, who can no longer read or drive.
Terra said living with RP isn’t easy. “[B]ut we know God. It’s not about knowing the future. It’s about knowing Him. He has entrusted this to us, so in some form, it’s a gift.”

She also looks for the good that comes out of the situation such as her opportunity to lead a woman to Christ while at the Birmingham humane society to gather information about seeing-eye dogs.
The DeMerchants cling to Scriptures God has shown them such as Psalm 27, Psalm 119:105, Psalm 84:11 and Lance’s life verse even before he was diagnosed with RP, Acts 20:24.   

And with a deep conviction to maintain a personal holiness so that they can be effective as they lead corporate worship, the DeMerchants work hard to stay biblically and doctrinally sound in all areas of their lives.
“We feel privileged to lead and work together,” he said. “Our goal for Iron City and personally is we don’t want to get in the way of what God wants to do here. We want to be clean vessels, hear His voice and follow His plan.”
“It’s encouraging that when God calls you to do something, He will give you an opportunity to do it,” she said. “We just have to wait on Him. Impossibility is His domain.”

Influenced by contemporary artists and groups such as Matt Redman, Darlene Zschech and Hillsong, the DeMerchants write fresh song arrangements weekly. They also lead a seven-instrument praise band, with two rotating groups of praise team singers.