By JASON QUEEN, The Christian Index
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — When you think of the word impact, Central Baptist Church of Lawrenceville comes to mind. For 67 years, they spread the gospel and stayed true to their roots of being missions-minded. Although Central held its final service on May 17, 2025, its steadfast seven-member transition team made sure the church's legacy would remain for years to come in a big way — $7.5 million big.
Transition team member and church trustee chairman Kent Swanson said the team chose not to sit idle, but instead developed a three-part plan to ensure the church’s legacy would live on.
The first part is the establishment of the Central Baptist Church Legacy Fund Endowment through the Georgia Baptist Foundation, in the amount of $5.5 million. Secondly, one-time cash donations for a total amount of $1 million were made to several organizations. Lastly, the Central Baptist Church of Lawrenceville Endowment for Church Planting through the Gwinnett Metro Baptist Network, to be administered through the Georgia Baptist Foundation, received $1 million.
These funding projects were the result of selling the 16-acre campus to the Gwinnett County Board of Education. Additional funds came from selling a property cell phone tower land lease.
“From all the churches we’ve worked with, I think Central Baptist Church did the best job of trying to be strategic, trying to be a celebration, and trying to make sure they were continuing the ministry of the church in a way that was pleasing our Lord. The transition team did a phenomenal job,” said Johnathan Gray, president and CEO of the Georgia Baptist Foundation.
Gray said that with the proceeds of selling the property, on an annual basis going forward, they are going to give 10 times more to missions than what they were currently giving.
A percentage of the monies earned by the Central Baptist Church Legacy Fund Endowment will be donated to the following:
- International Mission Board's Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
- Send Relief ministry
- Cooperative Program
- North American Mission Board's Annie Armstrong Easter Offering
- Georgia Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries
- Georgia Baptist Mission Board's Mission Georgia
The cash donations were allocated to:
- Guidestone's Mission:Dignity
- North Country Ministries in Lake Placid, NY
- WMU's Foundation Vision Fund and Marti Solomon Endowment
- WMU of Georgia Camp Pinnacle, Camp Pinnacle Capital Campaign, the Esther Fund and BWMU Endowment
- The Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry
- Nothing But The Truth Ministries
- Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child
- The Gideons International Faith Fund.
The endowment to the Gwinnett Metro Baptist Network will be used each year to support pastor training and new churches.
Swanson said the church set up one-year severance packages for six bi-vocational church employees, which came out of the church's general fund. And, monies received from selling the remaining assets inside the church, the interest money received from the GBF, and other money from the general fund will be donated at a later time. Nothing But The Truth Ministries was given the church van because both ministries had partnered together in the past.
Central’s missions legacy began in November of 1958 with church members meeting in several locations. The first meeting had 40 people. Its current location held its first services in 1959. By January of 1960, there were 100 members.
The church location was discovered by founding member Jack Baggett and retired missionary Dr. Scott Patterson, said one-time church member Peggy Baggett McCleskey. They found it while driving up Gwinnett Drive.
“They got to the crest of the hill, and Scott said, ‘Jack, Jack, pull over.’ And my father pulled over and he said, 'What is it? What is it?’ Scott said, ‘I don’t know. I just had the strangest feeling that this is where God wants this church. This would be just perfect. It is near the high school. I don’t know. I just have this strange feeling.’ And, my dad scratched his chin a little bit and said, ‘Well, doc, do you think you could be off a few feet because I know the property next to it is for sale. I would be glad to give it to the church if you think that would be a good location.’ Dr. Patterson said ‘Well, Jack, I could be off a few feet. You might be right.’”
Swanson recalls that those early services were special. He was eight years old when his family joined in 1958. They were one of five families who planted the church. He recalls a revival going on for three weeks. “We kept extending it one day at a time. At the end of the service, the preacher said, ‘I will be back tomorrow.’ Because people were answering the call.”
Swanson saw many changes in the church over the 67 years. “This ministry touched a lot of lives, and a lot of people were changed. We had a lot of people who came through this church who are in the ministry now.”
Sunday school director and transition team member Glenda Willoughby and her family lived five minutes from the campus when her family came to Central in 1960 when she was 10. Her mother was the church secretary for 23 years, and her mother’s family roots go back to the 1800s in Gwinnett County. “You went to church in your neighborhood. Our friends were at school, and our friends were also at church.”
It helped shape her faith and life in Christ. “You didn’t know anything else. It was a way of life.”
McCleskey sees those early years as life lessons. Seeing God move in the early days taught her to depend on God. “You have to look at His leading when you are starting something. And, you don’t know where to go and where God is leading. You just have to depend on Him. That just left an impression growing up.”
Swanson said between 1975 and 1978, there were two services and two Sunday schools, and said there were between 375 and 425 people in attendance. In the mid-90s, they had 350 people in Sunday school.
Attendance continued to be strong through the rest of the century. The numbers began falling steadily in the 2000s, and with the demographic change in the area and several revitalization efforts, the decision to close was made.
Swanson said it wasn’t an easy decision to close, but it was the right one.“It wasn’t something we did on the spur of the moment. It wasn’t something we did because we didn’t have money. None of those came into play. It was really to plan ahead. That’s really what we were trying to do."
The intent, Swanson explained, was to "create a legacy for the ministry that has been here since that time. That is what we really felt like we needed to do.” He said the endowment funds missionaries, new ministries, the growth of churches throughout the area, and reaches people for Christ. “That is really the bottom line. Those funds will be able to do that.”
Interim and transition pastor Derek Spain said Central was founded with a heart for evangelism, for missions, for reaching Lawrenceville, and for supporting and praying for missions all over the world. He said the congregation loves the Lord, wants to glorify God and expand Christ’s kingdom, whatever it takes, and ultimately do God’s will. "And, if the best way to do that is to take the resources from the sale of the property and invest it wisely into gospel preaching ministries, then they are going to rejoice in that. I hope there will be more people in heaven because Central Baptist Church made this decision.”
He concluded, “Now, through the legacy, they know that even if it’s not happening on the campus, those churches and other churches that will be planted will reach more people in the future than they were ever reaching during the time they were there.”
Willoughby said Central was a missions-minded church for its entire 67 years, and the founders of were missions-minded people. “Its priority was missions and not just in the Lawrenceville area, but also as part of the local community, in Georgia, nationally, and internationally. We always in the early days supported that. And, as we came to our conclusion, we were supporting that in a huge way that we never could have envisioned 67 years ago. That we would never be able to support missions at a level that we’re able to do with the legacy fund. That is what our legacy is. To support missions until the Second Coming.”
