WARNER ROBINS — A trip to McDonald’s with the family might not be such a big deal to most people. For Andy and Elizabeth Hammack, though, it’s an excursion that requires planning and precision.

The planning is required for ordering food – 12 double cheeseburgers, two 20-pack orders of McNuggets, five large fries, water for everyone, plus what mom and dad want. The precision is needed to get high chairs for Deborah, 3, and David, 2. Nathan, 14; Bethany, 13; Mary, 12; and Sarah, 11; do pretty well at helping watch Abigail, 9; Hannah, 8; Daniel, 7; and Lydia, 5. This frees up mom to take care of Joanna, less than a month old.

“When we go out, we tend to get some looks,” said Andy about his sizeable family.

Eleven. For all you sports fans out there that’s a starting baseball team plus a bullpen. It’s full-court basketball and a ref. It’s backyard football where every position is accounted for.

 

Structure and planning

Organization is everything in the Hammack household, says Andy, pastor of First Baptist Church in Warner Robins.

“We try to be structured during the day. School times and nap times are planned out. Elizabeth keeps them busy. I’m gone a lot and have to give her all the credit. Daddy is kind of the heavy hand that reinforces what momma says.”

“It’s hard sometimes with all the noise, but you’re never without someone to talk to,” said Nathan. “I see myself as a role model to my brothers. I have to be careful because I know they’re watching.”

Want to be humbled? Even in a household of 13, Elizabeth Hammack still manages to get up every morning for her quiet time followed by a three-mile walk, which went on a short hiatus about a month ago when she was eight months pregnant with Joanna. By the time she gets home around eight o’clock, kids have started to wake up and get ready for breakfast before doing their chores.

At ten Elizabeth shifts to her day job of teacher, nurse, principal and whatever else is required for a homeschooling mom. The big breakfast holds everyone over until school is finished and lunch is served at two.

“We use a lot of organization,” said Elizabeth. “It’s just the way we live and we don’t think that much about it.”

There was much for the couple to think about last fall when Andy lost his pastorate. Georgia Baptist Convention Executive Director J. Robert White was sure to mention Hammack’s availability during the annual state convention held in Columbus. Attendants had already become familiar with the family through their singing.

“[After Dr. White’s announcement] folks mobbed us,” remembered Andy. “People gave us leads and phone calls, business cards were thrust at us. Afterwards we found ourselves dealing with as many as eight churches at a time. A couple of churches from Tennessee even contacted us. About a week after the convention Elizabeth and I were about to go out of our heads. She helped a great deal during it all.

“We minister as a couple and we seek God’s will as a couple.”

Several groups and churches took up donations for the Hammacks during the holiday season.

“Honestly, God took care of us more than you could imagine,” added Andy. “Folks began donating stuff to us and it was unreal how God’s people ministered to us. Two churches – Cornerstone Baptist in Ellerslie and Prays Mill in Douglasville – said they wanted to donate Christmas gifts anonymously.”

 

Working together

In early December Cornerstone hired Hammack as a fill-in for associate pastor. In January, he felt God leading him to Warner Robins. The next month Mike Sullivan, chairman of First Baptist’s pastor search team, met with Hammack about becoming his church’s pastor. Hammack’s first Sunday behind the pulpit was March 12.

Believe it or not, time has made managing their household much easier.

“The kids have chores, but the oldest four have more of the responsibilities,” said Andy. “Nathan takes the two boys and gives them baths while Bethany does a great job cooking. The older kids can watch the younger ones, so Elizabeth and I try to go on a date once a week.”

The rare family trip out to eat – “Maybe twice a month,” said Andy. – can push $100 at a location such as Cracker Barrel. With a monthly grocery bill of up to $750, the Hammacks buy in bulk and have learned ways to cut corners.

“The Miserly Mom, a cookbook I bought at the LifeWay store at Ridgecrest, has been a great resource for me,” said Elizabeth. “In it we’ve learned things such as how to make our own Hershey’s syrup and taco seasoning. Many things people go and buy at the store we make at home.

“We hardly ever buy new clothes. Our grandparents help out a lot with Andy’s paying attention to the boys and mine to the girls. Bethany and the other girls have really gotten into sewing and started making skirts, hats and scarves. The idea of going to the mall and buying some clothes is foreign to us. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Once I went with Bethany to American Eagle and saw the styles that are out now – a little too revealing.”

 

On the road

More room came in the move to Warner Robins as the Hammacks, through the help of a church member/realtor, found a six-bedroom, three-bath home to lease.

For traveling, the family uses a 15-passenger van donated to them by Morningside Baptist Church in Valdosta. Andy also has a truck.

“The big change with the new van (Morningside donated it in December) is that it has air conditioning,” said Elizabeth. “The one we had before it had no AC. Driving through Atlanta in July in that thing was horrible.”

A favorite location for a family vacation is Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina. It’s there that pastors and their families have a discounted rate for lodging. Elizabeth said they tend to go in September when the conference schedule has slacked off a bit. A park in nearby Black Mountain is one of the favorite local hangouts for the family.

In May the family is scheduled to sing at Harriet’s Bluff Baptist Church in St. Mary’s on the Georgia coast. Without committing themselves just yet, both parents have told their kids they will try to get to the beach. The idea of enough sunblock for 13 and the required armada of toys is daunting.

When asked if the couple is “done” there’s a little bit of disagreement.

“I don’t know,” said Elizabeth. “Andy says that at this point we’ve done our duty for king and country.”

Hearing his wife’s response over the phone, in the background Andy keeps his short.

“We’re done!”