October 14, 2024
MAYSVILLE, Ga. — The 225th annual meeting of the Sarepta Baptist Association focused on reflection, celebration, and thanksgiving. In many ways the voices heard at the meeting, held Sunday, Oct. 6, at Maysville Baptist Church, must have reflected those who gathered at the Shoal Creek Meeting House in 1799. At the time of its organization, the Sarepta became the third association in Georgia and only the 15th in the nation. Its history illustrates the adaptability of local associations to respond to the needs of changing times and God’s provision to meet those needs.
A video presentation shared the history of the association. It began by setting the context of life in 1799: Much of the land which later defined the Sarepta was then a part of the Cherokee and Creek Indian Nations. The largest city today, Athens, was a small trading post called Cedar Shoals. It was the year President George Washington died.
In Baptist life, it was less than 30 years since Baptists had been persecuted and imprisoned for preaching the gospel in the colonial South. It had only been six years since British Baptist missionary William Carey had sailed to India, launching the modern Baptist missions movement. It would be another 12 years before Judson and Rice would sail to Burma and launch the American Baptist missions movement.
In 1799, Baptists in America did not have any Sunday Schools, missionaries, mission societies, conventions, newspapers, or publishing houses. Preachers seldom received compensation for ministry, and most were farmers working to support themselves. Brown University was the solitary educational institution that was only loosely affiliated with the denomination.
The video shared the testimonies of three of those present in 1799, exploring their life experiences and what they brought to the organizational meeting. Thomas Maxwell had been persecuted and imprisoned in the Culpepper County jail in Virginia. For four months he preached through the bars of a prison window to a congregation gathered outside. Moving to Georgia, he boldly preached the gospel in the face of persecution and became an advocate for religious liberty.
Dozier Thornton spent months under heavy conviction before being gloriously saved one day while plowing in a cornfield. He immediately put up his mule and began sharing and exhorting others to follow Jesus. Moving to Georgia after serving in the Revolutionary War, he often faced danger, traveling to share the gospel with the influx of new settlers and in the Cherokee Nation. It was very dangerous work. One his fellow pastors in the Sarepta had died at the hands of the Cherokee. Evangelizing the Cherokee, Thornton led one of their principal chiefs to Christ. Thornton represented the rising missionary spirit of the age.
William Davis was the first clerk of the association. His conversion and baptism at age 15 were opposed by his family. They lived near Culpepper, Virginia and his family had actively persecuted Baptist preachers, including Thomas Maxwell. In time, William Davis led his family to Christ.
Serving in the Continental Army under Lafeyette, Davis was wounded in battle. He was later present at the surrender of the British and the victory at Yorktown, a victory which was a David versus Goliath moment in world history. Moving to Georgia, he was ordained and many were called to preach under his ministry. On his deathbed, he raised his hands, and shouted, “Victory! Victory! Victory!” and died. Davis personified a believer’s overcoming victory in Christ.
These three and others chose the name Sarepta for the new association. It was the place where Elisha took refuge during a great famine. It is a symbol of God’s provision, protection, and deliverance. Just as God had done through persecution, dangerous missionary journeys, and victoriously in battle.
The impact of the Second Great Awakening on the new association was explored, especially the Great Earthquake Revival of 1812. That year, 1,265 baptisms were reported in the association, a record which still stands more than 200 years later. In 13 years, the association had rapidly grown from 8 to 44 churches. The 1812 revival prepared them for the arrival of Luther Rice the following year, and the beginning of the Baptist missions movement in America.
The Sarepta association became an early leader in the missions movement. They were leaders in establishing Cherokee missions. A review of ministries supported over the years included an associational evangelist, Sunday schools, church planting, and international missions which included the paying of the passage for Lottie Moon to China in 1873, a Baptist high school, mission partnerships, “The 75 Million Campaign,” international ministries, language ministries, the establishment of the BSU/BCM in 1925, the Lord's Acre Movement, Children’s Home Boxcar Ministry, and camps among other ministries.
This year’s annual meeting included celebration through testimonies and reports from ongoing ministries. The Disaster Relief report shared that a team from Sarepta helped move personal belongings and other equipment from the areas of Apalachee High School after the recent mass shooting. The BCM report included the testimony of a young man who showed up to a BCM worship service with the hopes of asking the girl who invited him to attend out on a date. Instead, he discovered the life changing message of Jesus, and it led to him inviting Jesus into his life.
There was a powerful testimony of what God is doing with the current Panama partnership and the opportunities to train pastors in that nation, and how a need was met over the summer for the Baptist Camp in Panama. A commissioning service was held for a team preparing to go later this month.
The meeting was capped off with the annual sermon by Dr. Barry Snapp, pastor of Victory Baptist Church, Rockmart, Ga. The sermon focused on the role of Andrew, who was often found “bringing someone to Jesus.” The application was to be more like Andrew. It was a sermon that was as challenging and well-received in 2024 as it would have been in 1799.
It was with gratitude and thanksgiving that the meeting concluded with outgoing moderator Chad Rising, pastor of Blacks Creek Baptist, Commerce, Ga., closing in prayer. It was a celebration of 225 years of God's provision, protection and deliverance. It was a celebration of what God is doing in the present. Concluding with thankfulness and a challenge to be more like Andrew as the association moves forward.
They are already looking forward to gathering again in October 2025 when Dr. Jeff Iorg, president of the Executive Committee of the SBC, will bring the annual sermon. The vision of Maxwell, Thornton, Davis, and others from 1799 lives on. The Sarepta Association continues to adapt to changing needs and illustrates how God has provided, protected and delivered.
