November 1, 2026
DAHLONEGA, Ga. — There is something in the DNA of Dahlonega Baptist Church, the church on the hill overlooking downtown Dahlonega.
“It’s a phenomenal church to be at,” Senior Pastor Charlie Mayberry said of the 186-year-old church. “If you come here, you're going to get loved on, and you're going to be welcomed, and we're going to treat you like family. We're going to go out of our way to connect with you.”
That reputation for genuine, authentic connections is reaping benefits. The church has averaged 65 new members for each of the last three years, and an average of 375 people attend each Sunday.
“A lot of them are young families. There are folks who are moving into the community. There are folks who are from multiple generations. So it's not just one group that's growing. It's a good cross section,” Mayberry said.
One family’s experience illustrates the atmosphere Mayberry describes. The family initially reached out to the church’s benevolence ministry for financial help and now attends regularly. Their children are actively involved in the children's ministry, and the wife has become involved in teaching Sunday school in the children's department.
“Sometimes when folks come to churches for help like that, we want them to come to church, but in many cases they won't because they'll feel guilt,” Mayberry said. “This family came because of the kindness, the genuineness, and the authenticity they received from our folks who do our benevolence ministry.”
Mayberry said watching the family move from a difficult season when they needed help to worshiping and serving the Lord alongside the church has been encouraging.
The church’s growth has been steady for the past five years. In 2024, Dahlonega Baptist began the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s Refocus program, which has helped church members focus on who they are and how they can better reach the community for Christ.
Although the church’s official post-Refocus launch will not take place until October 2026, Mayberry said the process has already challenged leaders to become more intentional about discipleship and their mission in the community.
“It's just our people being who they are, following Jesus, and we were challenged through this Refocus process to really look at being intentional and what it means to make disciples. How do we do it here? What's our mission to engage Dahlonega? And what vision drives all that?” Mayberry said.
Much of the church’s attention has been focused on children, students, and young families.
“Our church is very committed to and concerned about reaching that next generation,” Mayberry said. “With a good children's ministry, it's going to pour up into and feed your student ministry at some point.”
One Refocus strategy implemented recently is having small-group Bible studies use Sunday school materials on different days and at different locations throughout the week.
“We hope to build these groups within a larger framework of connecting them to community inside and outside the church,” Mayberry said.
The growth has also created a need for more space. Even before Mayberry became pastor in 2023, the church was maxing out its floor space. A 22,000-square-foot next-generation wing is currently being framed and constructed and will double the church’s footprint.
Dahlonega Baptist also recently started a Sunday night adult discipleship class so parents can be discipled while children and students are involved in their own ministries.
“Bring the adults in there, let them sit in the back of the sanctuary, let them be part of that worshiping to music. And then when the teens go to their small groups, I take the adults to the fellowship hall,” Mayberry said.
The church’s outward focus is not new. Other outreach ministries birthed from Dahlonega Baptist include Community Helping Place in Lumpkin County, the Ann Green Free Clinic, and Jeremiah’s Place, a transitional housing ministry.
People are also finding their way to the church through its weekday preschool, collegiate ministry, children’s programs, worship ministry, and benevolence work.
“There's people coming through benevolence. There's people coming through the weekday preschool. They're coming because of the quality of the children's program. Our choir and worship ministry has seen significant growth as well,” Mayberry said. “They’re coming because of who the church is.”
Sunday visitors and regular attendees constantly tell Mayberry they feel at home and loved when they attend.
“That kind of atmosphere is what I keep hearing from families that are coming in, and getting involved, and staying,” he said.
Mayberry also tells newcomers that Dahlonega Baptist is not a perfect church, and if they ever find a perfect church this side of heaven, they should run.
“We are who we are. And through Christ, He’s making us into who He’s calling us to be. And that's kind of our invitation of come do this life with us,” Mayberry said.
He said another factor has been a “one-ministry” mindset among the staff and church members, with everyone working toward the same goal.
“We all work together toward the same end. We speak that and walk it regularly within our staff,” Mayberry said. “It's important to me that they feel important and understand they're worth enrolling in God's kingdom work at Dahlonega Baptist. There is a long history of faithfulness at Dahlonega Baptist. I think people are looking for that today. I think that's why they come.”
Construction has made parking another challenge, but Mayberry and his staff said attendance has not suffered as they expected.
“They have found multiple places where they can park. They're walking up the hills. They're coming up from down in town. No grumbling, no complaining,” he said.
Mayberry said the congregation understands that the inconvenience is part of preparing for the future and that churches must prioritize discipleship if they hope to reach the next generation of families.
“A lot of our folks who've been here for decades, they understand,” he said. “We're standing on the shoulders of a great cloud of witnesses here that have been faithful and gotten us to where we are. And now, through Christ, we've got to lay down that foundation for the next generation.”
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