January 13, 2025
SUWANEE, Ga. — W. Thomas Hammond, Jr., executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, told messengers at the annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention last month that the population of Georgia grew last year by 230,000 people and said, “We have the privilege of introducing Jesus to all of them.”
To that end, the GBMB is focusing on adding new churches, strengthening and revitalizing existing churches, and partnering with the North American Mission Board to plant new churches.
David Wheeler, chair of the Church Membership Committee and senior pastor of Porterdale Baptist Church, reported to messengers that Georgia Baptists added 38 new churches and one new campus in 2024. He learned “that God is calling new churches all over our state to come alongside each and every one of us, to make the name of Jesus known, here, there and everywhere.” He also specified that the churches represent ten different ethnic groups, “reaching people here, with the potential of reaching people all over the world.”
In addition to adding new churches, the GBMB is coming alongside struggling churches in an effort to revitalize their ministry. Hammond shared that 39% of churches in Georgia are declining, 42.5% have plateaued and only 18% are reporting growth. “There really isn’t a clear stereotype in terms of size, or facilities, or even location,” for churches that need revitalization Hammond said.
In order to work with those churches, the GBMB has partnered with Corpus to make its ReFocus process available to Georgia churches. Mark Marshall, senior lead strategist for Church Strengthening, said, "The process helps a church realign around the mission that God has given to us, look at strategies for how best to impact their community, and begin to reach people for Jesus Christ once again.”
Palmetto Baptist Church is one that has benefitted from the ReFocus process. Pastor Lee Brewer said, “We have seen the church dramatically change its spirit. Revitalization for Palmetto Baptist Church was about being biblical and about being right with God.”
The GBMB also strengthens churches through its series of Spark conferences across the state. In 2025, those conferences saw record attendance, with 3,600 church leaders and members signing up. That represents a 50% an increase over 2023. Some 385 churches and 35 associations partnered and participated in the six regional conferences.
Locations and dates have already been selected for the 2025 SPARK conferences:
Besides adding new churches and working to revitalize struggling churches, the GBMB has launched a new partnership with NAMB to plant churches in Georgia. Ryan McCammack, director of Send Network Georgia, said that 65 churches have been planted in Georgia in the past five years, 1/3 of them in 2024. “This partnership,” he said, “paves the way for us to plant churches for everyone in Georgia, everywhere in Georgia.” The good news, he declared, is that “The darkness in our state is great, but the power of the gospel is greater!”
Describing his own church-planting experience at Gospel Hope Church in Avondale Estates, McCammack said, “Now there is a vibrant, beautiful, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-generational church which only exists on the east side of Atlanta because Baptists like you fervently prayed and generously gave. I want to see stories like that repeated over and over again.”
