September 7, 2024
MACON, Ga. – A broad cross section of Georgia church leaders have been appointed to serve on the Special Committee on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse, a select committee that will “make recommendations for developing programs, best practices, and policy guidelines for preventing sexual abuse.”
Georgia Baptist Convention President Kevin Williams announced the appointees in a meeting of the state Mission Board’s Executive Committee on Tuesday. They are:
-- Micah Hamrick, executive pastor at Villa Rica First Baptist Church who worked 30-plus years Georgia state government, retiring in 2016 as head of the Georgia Office of Homeland Security. He will serve as chairman of the committee.
-- Billy Puckett, an assistant professor of theology and ethics at Brewton Parker College and associational missionary in the Daniell Baptist Association.
-- Michelle Sterling, a pastor’s wife and Bible teacher at Curtis Baptist Church in Augusta. She has taught 11 years at Curtis Baptist School.
-- Jessica Mathisen, an author and former teacher who serves as executive director of Restoration Women and a member of First Baptist Watkinsville.
-- Craig Bowers, a longtime pastor now serving at Wynnbrook Baptist Church in Columbus.
-- Lindsey Bowley, coordinator of recruitment for the Cherokee County School District and a former middle school teacher and instructional coach. She is Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church of Woodstock.
The Executive Committee voted last month to create the special committee to review protocols in a state convention that has been in the forefront of the fight against sexual abuse for years. One of the nation’s top sexual abuse experts, Ministry Safe co-founder Greg Love, said he knows of no other group more committed to the cause than Georgia Baptists.
The special committee was pulled together in response to allegations that the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee had mishandled sexual abuse complaints at the national level.
Williams, as president of the convention, appointed one member from each of the state’s six ministry regions.
Other members are Williams, Executive Committee Chairman Josh Saefkow and, as an ex-officio member, Georgia Baptist Mission Board Executive Director W. Thomas Hammond Jr.
The special committee is directed to present its recommendations next November to both the Executive Committee and messengers to the Georgia Baptist Convention, under a timeframe that gives members nearly a year to complete their work.
Georgia Baptists are engaged in the fight against sexual abuse at many levels, including training of all state Mission Board staff, local churches and other entities for development of programs, best practices and policy guidelines for preventing sexual abuse.
Among other efforts, Georgia Baptists also are engaged in ministries to fight sex trafficking in the state and to rescue women and children who have been caught up in the criminal enterprise that has been described as modern-day slavery.
Love said the Georgia Baptist Mission Board invited his organization into the state a decade ago to help churches understand the risks of sexual abuse and to implement ways to prevent it.
“Since 2012, we’ve done live training, going out into Georgia, big cities and small, to be able to bring good information so that the churches can have access to good resources and effective safety systems,” Love said. “In coordination with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, we’ve equipped hundreds of Georgia Baptist churches and trained tens of thousands of ministry leaders. We’ve done a lot, but, of course, there’s a lot more to do. I’m thankful that the Georgia Baptist Mission Board has committed to that effort.”
Love said the Georgia Baptist Convention’s churches have been in the forefront in the fight against sexual abuse.
“I work with thousands of organizations all across North America – churches, camps, schools, nonprofits, youth sport organizations – and I work with almost every denomination,” Love said. “Now, of all the work I’ve done across North America, there’s not one organization more committed in spirit, financial resources, and manpower to equip churches to prevent sexual abuse and correctly respond to allegations of abuse than the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.”
