September 7, 2024
THOMASVILLE – On October 17, 1989, the San Francisco Giants were hosting the Oakland Athletics for the third game of the World Series at Candlestick Park. The game was less than an hour away from the first pitch being thrown. However, at 5:04 p.m. PDT the stadium began to shake and rumble. One player already on the field exclaimed, “I watched the tranquil, well-groomed blades of grass rise and fall like an angry ocean tide.” Mother Nature flexed her muscles, ravaging the Bay area with an earthquake that measured 7.1 on the Richter scale.
Sports announcers Al Michaels and Tim McCarver were already addressing the nation on camera, but the stadium began to quiver, and Michael changed his baseball analysis and declared, “There’s an earth…” before the picture when black.
When two or more things happen at the same time it is called concurrency.
Paul Ballard and his family experienced a concurrency on January 11 of this year. That was the day the Georgia “Dawgs” played the Alabama Crimson Tide for the national collegiate football championship. Ballard, a former walk-on football player at the University of Alabama is a diehard fan of the “Tide”.
He remarked, “When I found out that our daughter was going to be induced on January 11, I thought, ‘This could be a great day. Our second granddaughter could be born, and Alabama could win a national championship.’
The granddaughter, Hadley, was born one hour before kickoff and as “grandpa” held the precious little child in his arms, he gushed, “Wow, what a blessing. One out of two isn’t bad.”
For Ballard, his call to the Thomasville church is a return to Georgia. He served as pastor of Mountain Park Baptist Church in Stone Mountain for almost seven years, before being called to First Baptist Church of Zachary, Louisiana. He explained, “After serving the wonderful church in Zachary, we became open to returning closer to our aging parents in Georgia and South Carolina to provide care for them. After an initial contact from the committee, within just a few weeks they narrowed the search down to me and through a process of prayer and soul searching there was a sense on the part of all involved that this was the will of the Lord.
“We have been in Thomasville for approximately five months and the Lord is working mightily. The church is in the largest town in Thomas County and is positioned to have a significant Kingdom influence in South Georgia.”
After graduating from seminary Ballard was called to a small country church in Eutawville, SC. After serving First Baptist Church Eutawville for three years he spent the next 18 years serving Eastern Hills Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC and North Trenholm Baptist Church in Columbia, SC.
Then there was the move from Columbia to Stone Mountain. While at Mountain Park Ballard became involved in the work of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board by serving on the Education and Nominating Committees. He recalled, “The Education Committee was especially fulfilling as we provided scholarships to high school seniors from Georgia Baptist churches attending one of the three Georgia Baptist schools of higher education. There was a real sense that the GBMB was making a tangible difference in the lives of young people.”
It has not taken long for Ballard to become thoroughly engaged in his ministry in Thomasville. He has begun to employ the experience and values acquired during his 32 years as senior pastor. He elaborated, “The three core values of my ministry are: Gospel, community and mission. A biblical and robust understanding of the Gospel leads to people living in community and on mission for the Lord. I believe the best days for Thomasville FBC are in the future.”
He added, “First, the Gospel is powerful. The Gospel is not just for unbelievers, but for believers. Christian maturity is not moving beyond the Gospel but going deeper in the Gospel. Preach the Gospel! Second, make disciples, not converts. Church membership is the starting point not the finish line. Third, People must be on mission. Love, shepherd and lead your people.
“Fourth, the church is not an audience; it is an army. Equip your people for the work of ministry. Build relationships with your leaders and utilize their gifts and talents to extend the Kingdom. Fifth, prayer is not the last resort, but a first choice. Teach, organize, and lead your people to pray. God sovereignly responds to the prayers of his people. Sixth, be faithful, not trendy. Don’t chase after every new trend, but simply be faithful to our King.
Ballard concluded, “I believe the local church is God’s plan to reach the world for Jesus Christ. I love the local church! Today, a great opportunity sits before Thomasville FBC and all churches. Will we be known as a Christ-centered people with courageous vision, humble spirit, and unshakeable faith passionately chasing after God and not culture? Our mission is His mission!”
With these principles fully operative we might well expect another concurrency. Perhaps the birth of the Ballard’s next grandchild will happen concurrently with a great revival at First Baptist Church of Thomasville.
