By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
GEORGETOWN – The newly constructed worship center at Georgetown Baptist Church represents more than just a building, serving as a spiritual hub for this community of 350.
Dedicated March 4, the 5,600-sq.-ft. facility seats 256 – enough to accommodate the growing number of worshippers on Sunday mornings.
Since moving into the building, attendance has averaged 140, a 28 percent increase from the 117 who were worshipping each week in the early part of last year. The church also has baptized 50 new believers in the last four years, including 10 in 2017.
“God is at work in our rural communities,” Pastor Carl Griffith told the Baptist Message. “We have seen an influx of young married couples with young children at Georgetown Baptist Church. These families have joined our congregation, and, they have become actively involved in our church work, which has led to further growth.
“We see our new sanctuary as an opportunity for our ministry right now, but this new building also represents for us an opportunity to preserve ministry in Georgetown into the future,” Griffith said. “We are thankful for the growth and how God has blessed and moved in our small community. This building gives us the opportunity to do even more.”
VISION TO REALITY
The idea to construct a new worship center was born out of prayer, Griffith said.
Since 2012, when 70 came for Sunday morning worship, the church has seen attendance grow by an average of 10-15 new people annually.
“We knew that we were reaching a point in which we were going to have to step out on faith and build a new facility if we were going to continue to grow,” Griffith said.
Over the course of 10 days in June 2017, a group of 90 men from the Alabama Carpenters for Christ built the facility. They raised the walls of the facility, installed the plumbing and electrical wiring, and put in trusses during this brief period of time, Griffith shared. The team also built the stage for the new sanctuary and installed the baptistery.
Additionally, the facilities were outfitted with television monitors and a state of the art sound system in the worship center.
“The Carpenters for Christ were such a blessing to us,” Griffith said. “It was really their work in coming and being willing to come and do this work that gave us the boost that we needed to get the project done. Their help combined, with other volunteer labor that has come along the way, has helped us to get into this building.”
