Faith at Work
The Sims family of Inverness has had their share of challenges and miracles. They credit God for growing their faith in Him through both.
During his 22 years of military service, John Sims spent much of his time separated from his family fighting for our country oversees in war zones like Afghanistan where he was shot down in a deadly helicopter crash. “I struggled with my faith after spending 3.5 years in the Middle East and losing eleven friends/teammates. I was angry at God. It took years to work through that and still more years and the help of a local Pastor, Brandon Ball (Church Unlimited), to work through all the ‘religion’ that clouds what is actually the very simple message of the Gospel.”
That simple message is something he and his wife CJ are passionate about sharing. “Our job is simply to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He came to earth and was sacrificed for our sins,” Sims explains adding, “God’s requirement is perfection. We can never achieve that. However, the simple message is that He loved us so much, has so much grace, that He gave us a way to still enjoy eternity with Him. Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ He didn’t say, ‘It’s 99% finished, the rest is on you.’” John credits his wife CJ for encouraging him in his faith by living out hers. “I don’t think CJ has ever waivered in her faith. Despite years of pain, seizures, my being gone…It’s pretty amazing.” For 20 plus years CJ battled a seizure disorder, migraines and vertigo. Finally in March of 2020 she received a clear diagnosis, underwent brain and inner ear surgery and is seizure free.
After moving 31 times in 30 years, the couple returned to CJ’s hometown of Birmingham in 2015. John began helping a local lake real estate brokerage grow from two states to 30. “The access to those business minds and entrepreneurial spirit awakened a desire to build something of my own.” Personal experience led the Sims to choose pest control as the business to build. “We hired two companies for mosquito control and were not impressed. The service charges kept coming but so did the mosquitoes. That’s where I found both my interest and a need I could satisfy within my local community. I knew I could do better, so I went to work.” Sims completed all certification requirements for household and commercial pest control and started Steel City Mosquito.
“I built a business model around keeping prices more affordable than other companies while ensuring the effectiveness of our services are second to none. We always keep in mind this is a discretionary purchase,” says Sims. “Yes, mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks are annoying and can be dangerous; however, controlling them doesn’t occupy the same place on a family budget as food, clothing, and shelter. Oh, and we don’t do contracts. We have to earn it with every service and customer interaction.” Based on this model, Steel City Mosquito is serving hundreds of area families and the Sims can clearly see how God continues to be at work in their lives.
-Laurie Franklin
