A Minister And His Wife

In 1985 a minister and his wife, retired to Rome, Georgia. After working in New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana he left the ministry for health reasons. Wanting to stay in touch with churches of all faiths he joined a church furniture manufacturer in Jacksonville, Texas. He later moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and for the next fifteen years did what he loved most – worked with churches.

Along with personal benefits to his new career, he also developed new technologies in pew manufacturing. In looking for ways to enhance worship services he discovered that “What makes a good seat in a sanctuary is if you ask someone how they liked their seat, and they have no opinion – they did not even think about it while they were sitting down.”

In October of 1985 John D. Sammons, along with his wife and two of their sons, started Church Chair Industries, Inc. Their first office, in Georgia, had no water, no air conditioning, no heat and very little of anything else. They used kerosene heaters during the winter and portable fans in the summer. They quickly outgrew these quarters and began bouncing from building to building until 1987 whey they settled on the three acres where they currently reside.

This land was a response to many prayers. A family, after generations of ownership had put the land up for sale at the same time Church Chair® was looking to expand. Since their move, Church Chair® has added on more than fifteen times and expanded from four employees to three hundred.

THE CHAIR
The unique furniture produced by Church Chair Industries is the reason for the phenomenal growth. Thousands of churches and other organizations are using their products because of their revolutionary new designs. When Church Chair® started, the thickest chair cushion was a mere two inches thick and cost a small fortune. “The Royal Stacker™, “ Church Chair’s® first design, featured a five-inch dual density cushion and sold for an affordable $36.50 (the price has since dropped to $28.50). This chair started a chain reaction among manufacturers in the U.S. and Canada, many emerging with styles of three and four inch cushion chairs.

“IF GOD IS FOR ME….”
The Sammons believe this company’s success is not a result of ingenuity, creativity, and persistence, but of God’s guidance and provision. One example being they were looking to buy a new building. A driver for a delivery company that never delivered to northern Rome had seen the property previously. He happened to mention to the Sammons that the building flooded every time it rained. If it had not been for this chance meeting with a delivery driver, the Sammons would have purchased a warehouse that was constantly filled with water and, in fact, would not have allowed for future expansion.

Later the company was looking into making their own steel tubing due to problems with their primary steel supplier. They quickly found it would cost 1 million dollars to build a tube mill that could not be installed for a year. God, in response to their prayers, pointed them to a man who had purchased an old manufacturing company with an unused tube mill that Church Chair® could purchase immediately. They found the mill could be quickly and inexpensively refurbished, and move in instantly.

Ruth Sammons one felt impressed to order a specific amount of a purple fabric not previously purchased by the company. Within hours of receiving notice of the fabric’s arrival a customer called in a panic. It turned out that the customer’s interior designer had stated that only a specific shade of purple would be appropriate for their upholstery.

The order had been placed so late that no company could accommodate the order – except Church Chair®. The fabric recently acquired was the exact color and amount needed to fill the order.

God has also blessed the company by allowing John Sammons to continue in his ministry of helping. Churches often call in to tell of the blessing the company has been to them. Many churches could not have launched if not for the low prices of their chairs, starting at less than $25, provided.

Through God’s help, guidance and assurance the Sammons have found themselves with a multi-million dollar legacy – just by helping others. With one with to help people enjoy church, John Sammons has built an unstoppable, international manufacturing company.

Church Chair® is the premier producer of thick-cushioned, fashionable, and affordable chairs. To find out more about their products, contact Church Chair Industries at 1-800-331-5411 or just browse our website.

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