They might not have curtains on the windows, but the women at Bethel Church finally have their own Sunday School room – thanks to 18 volunteers who they had never met just a week before.

Until this month, the West Point church had only three classrooms, which was plenty of room for the four members they had in 2001. The brick church on West Point Road had lost members for a variety of reasons when they asked LaGrange evangelist Tom Owensby to serve as their interim pastor.

Owensby recruited a few volunteers from neighboring churches and spent 10 months tripling the membership- to about 20 members. One of those volunteers is now the pastor, Kenneth Cole.

Cole took the pastor’s position in June 2002 with about 20 members and $1,800 in the bank. Since then the church has grown to serve about 80 people in Sunday School. Members met in the three classrooms, the sanctuary, and the small fellowship hall. But it still was not enough room.

“We knew last year we were outgrowing this building. We’ve been having two Sunday School classes in the fellowship hall at the same time. It wasn’t working very well. We wanted to build on and got bids for an extra room,” Cole said. But the $19,000 price tag was just too much for the little congregation.

“We just didn’t have that kind of money,” he said.

Cole had heard about a group of volunteers that build churches and after making a few phone calls, he wound up talking with George Crenshaw, director of Baptist Builders.

Georgia Baptist Builders is a group of volunteers from Georgia Baptist churches who take time off to help churches like Bethel that need more space, but can’t afford to have it built. The congregation provides the materials for the building and also provides housing and food for the volunteers.

Most of the Baptist Builders projects are building entire churches – this year they’re scheduled to build four of those in Georgia.

“I didn’t think they’d come here because the project is so small,” Cole said. “But when I talked with George, he was ready to do it.”

The 14-by-14-foot classroom will cost the church less than $6,000 because of the volunteer labor and a $1,300 grant from a Troup County foundation.

“This is a smaller project than what we usually do, but we’re glad we can help out,” said Crenshaw, 82.

The crew started working on a cold Monday morning and finished just before a freezing rain that Wednesday afternoon. Crenshaw made one concession to the bitter weather – he allowed the crew to eat their meals inside.

“Usually he won’t even let us eat inside,” said Derrel Talley, a veteran Baptist Builder from Rochelle.

The women from Bethel Church provided all the meals for the men – and kept a watchful eye on the construction of their new classroom.

“We’re just amazed these men will come out and help us,” Cole said. “George was a job manager who kept us all in line and got things done. All the workers really worked well together and they made sure I did my share of the work. These men have a heart to serve God with their time and talents. We are truly blessed.”

 

 

Did you know ...

Baptist Builders exists to assist local congregations with their construction needs. This may include some or all of the planning, construction, and occupancy phases. Volunteers also help individuals and families impacted by disasters recover from their loss and discover God’s love in the process.

Georgia Baptist Builders projects are organized by George Crenshaw, who has been with the volunteer organization since 1988. To schedule a project or to volunteer to work on a project, contact Stuart Lang, state disaster relief director for GBC, at slang@gabaptist.org or at (770) 936-5254 or (800) RING GBC.

State disaster relief and Baptist Builders are coordinated through Associational Missions of the GBC, which is supported only through your gifts to the Cooperative Program. You and your church may send your Cooperative Program gifts to:

Dr. J. Robert White, Executive Director, GBC
6405 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, GA 30097