RINCON-For 20 years Agnes Brigdon prayed for a church to be started in her community to help her reach her neighbors for Christ. In late 2001 that dream came true when First Baptist Church of Rincon started a mission three miles down the road.

That core group of 30 lay members from the church continues to lay the foundation for The Baptist Church at Ebenezer, which is the first evangelical church the community has ever had. And earlier this year that effort received a bigger boost when the mother church added Eric Hayes as pastor for the mission.

Brigdon, a member of First Baptist since 1960, had always been disturbed by the unchurched nature of her part of Effingham County. There were good people all around her, she says, but they needed to hear about the love of Christ.

"First Baptist was five miles and a world away from these people," she explains. "I would try to get them to go to church with me but they are 'country folk' who didn't feel comfortable mixing with 'city folk.'

"They always said they didn't have dress clothes nice enough to go to the big church in town so they didn't go anywhere because there wasn't any other option. You need to understand, this is a very rural area and Rincon is considered 'the city.' The two cultures just didn't mix," she adds.

The rural folk may not have felt comfortable with going to the city, but now the city is coming to them. Homesteads like the 130-year-old farmhouse across from Brigdon's brick ranch are fast disappearing in the onslaught of subdivisions that are moving into the area.

First Baptist is just one of the area's churches which are gearing up for the population explosion that is being fueled by the growth of industry in the Savannah area. Bob Rogers, pastor at Rincon since 1999, has seen the future and he and the church are working overtime to be sure they are ready when the influx of visitors begin to knock on the doors of the church.

"There is a perception that tourism is the primary employer in the Savannah area but that's no longer true. Industry is the engine that drives our economy and provides the employment that fuels the housing boom," Rogers explains.

"Our largest employers are Gulfstream Aerospace, International Paper, the Georgia Pacific recycling mill, and the Port of Savannah."

Rincon may be 25 miles from downtown Savannah but it has fast become a bedroom community to the historic city. Land is cheaper - for the time being - and the quality of life attracts families to the area.

"We are in the main growth path of Savannah because there is so little land available for development elsewhere," Rogers explains.

"South of the city is pretty much built out, to the east is marsh land and the ocean, and to the southwest is Fort Stewart. Up here to the northwest is about the only place left to expand."

 

Rincon growing at explosive rate

Rincon is growing at an explosive rate. Its population is only 4,376 yet a planned development will eventually add 4,000 homes - more than doubling its population. If each home averages three residents, that development will add as many as 12,000 individuals to the area.

And though its population may only be 4,376, the unincorporated area outside its city limits already has 16,000 residents within five miles of downtown. That kind of growth means more churches will be needed, and existing churches will need to add ministries and buildings to accommodate that growth.

The new church start in Ebenezer comes with a double blessing which plays into that strategy: it will allow residents of the small community east of Rincon to be able to worship in a context more familiar with their rural setting, and the members of First Rincon who shift their membership to the mission actually free up pew space at the mother church for other unchurched residents to occupy.

But the church, which saw the handwriting on the wall a few years ago, is already ahead of the game. Since the new sanctuary was occupied in June 2000 worship attendance has doubled to 800 and Sunday School attendance has grown from 450 to 550. And next fall the church will add a second Sunday School option and morning worship service.

"Every six months our maps are outdated and need to be replaced because of the growth. As soon as one subdivision is completed another is begun," the pastor says.

Rogers credits the FAITH evangelism strategy with helping the church effectively reach its community, plus special evangelistic events such as its annual "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames" drama program.

"I've never been involved in anything that has reached more people as effectively as this drama," he says.

"In August we recorded 204 professions of faith and a total of 377 decisions. Of those who gave our church as their church preference, 69 were professions of faith and 35 were rededications. Our sanctuary seats 900 and we had a packed house for each of the three nights of the presentation so we held it over an extra night, for which 600 attended.

"The extra effort was worth it, because we had 88 decisions that night."

 

A hunger for the gospel

That hunger for the gospel is what is motivating area churches to take a second look at their ministries and explore additional options for reaching their communities with the gospel. And that includes starting new churches.

Ted Kandler, ministry resource consultant for the East Georgia Region and who is based in Savannah, said a new church is being birthed through a groundbreaking partnership between Middle and Savannah associations.

"The launching of Crossroads Church of Effingham County will be the first time in Georgia that two associations have joined together to start a church. They are working to form a Multiplying Church Network to plant the new congregation," he explained.

The cooperation between the two associations, the GBC, and 10 partnering churches resulted in the calling of George Pabst as the church planter. First Baptist of Springfield, under the leadership of Pastor Jeff Rollins, will be the sponsoring church and is providing office space for Pabst.

"The hope of starting a Bible Study in a home grows as a couple recently offered there home as a site," Kandler says.

"This development comes after weeks of prayer and seeking God's direction in where to begin. I would like to ask Georgia Baptists to pray for this site, for the couple who made the offer, and for George as he makes decisions on when to begin and the appropriate Bible Study to be used."

Kandler says as Pabst visits in homes, he is frequently greeted by people who say, "We were just talking about you this morning. You must be George."

Pabst believes those encounters is God's way of preparing the way as he visits in homes.

Thus far, in addition to the neighborhood surveys, he has hosted a bicycle rally with the support of the Effingham County Sheriff's department. Additional plans call for a live nativity scene during the holidays and the giving out of candy canes with the story of the famous striped candy. It began its first home Bible study this month.

The adjacent Savannah Association, through its Coastal Empire Ministries, is challenging its 76 churches to think outside of the box in developing new ministries.

"We don't want our people to think that church only happens at 11 a.m. on Sunday. We want them to believe that the church as the locker room where they become motivated to get into the real world and touch people for Christ, " said John Ashworth, former director of missions for Savannah Association.

Ashworth, who served four years with the association, returned to North Carolina in November to found Mountaintop Ministries in Brevard, outside of Asheville. Retired Savannah Director of Missions David Askins is serving as interim.

John Forrester, director of missions for Middle Association, says the new work is necessary to keep up with the growth of the area.

"People are moving out of Savannah into the outlying areas, causing housing communities to pop up all over Effingham County." We are hearing reports of communities of up to 800 homes ready to come off of the drawing board," he said.

Forrester, whose association includes part of Effingham and all of Screven and Jenkins counties, said churches in Middle Association are also partnering with Savannah Association to consider locations for new church starts.

"We're interested in one area near Rincon and a second, a little later down the road, in Screven County.

He believes the pain from the loss of the Daimler-Chrysler plant will be short-lived.

"We feel like as soon as a big corporation occupies that property - and it will happen - the growth in this area will escalate even faster. Our churches want to be ready meet the needs of those newcomers and introduce them to the gospel."

 

Ready for growth in 2004

While city planners are carving Chatham and Effingham counties into new mega-housing and industrial developments, Georgia Baptists are studying ways to reach out to the unchurched that are flooding into the area.

Some recent examples of growth strategies include:

First Baptist of Rincon is planning on adding new staff positions, a second Sunday School, and a second worship service by next fall. Bob Rogers is pastor.

Friendship Baptist of Midway, between Savannah and Fort Stewart, is about to enter a building program that would add a larger sanctuary and more educational space. Though the church is small by some standards, it is not about to be left behind as growth accelerates in the area. Friendship will benefit from the development of a proposed industrial park nearby, says pastor Neal Smith.

First Baptist of Richmond Hill, a bedroom community south of Savannah, is planning to build a new "gymnatorium" that will help it keep pace with continued growth of the urban sprawl. The church, which averaged 332 in worship in 1997, today averages more than 1,000. Interim pastor Toby Frost says the potential for a spiritual harvest is unlimited; in November six individuals came to Christ at an Upward Soccer banquet and 103 accepted Christ through the "Heavenís Gates and Hellís Flames" evangelistic drama. An additional 23 were saved through Christ-centered worship services that same month. All in all, 136 individuals came to Christ in November, making this the best Christmas in their lives, Frost says.

Middle and Savannah associations are joining together in an historic venture to plant Crossroads Church in Effingham County. George Pabst has been called as church planter. First Church of Springfield, under the leadership of pastor Jeff Rollins, is the sponsor church and is providing office space to Pabst.

Pineora Baptist near Guyton is adding a new sanctuary that will seat 350, doubling its existing capacity. The addition, which is primarily being built with volunteer labor, is expected to be finished in April. Bobby Braswell Jr. is pastor.

Sand Hill Baptist near Pooler began construction on a new sanctuary and educational space in June. The project, which is heavily dependent on using volunteer labor, is expected to be completed in late 2004. Initial seating will accommodate 375 but could expand to 425 by adding additional chairs. "Weíre hanging out the windows now in our sanctuary that only seats 175. We average about 200 in worship each Sunday so we really need that new building to continue our growth," says pastor Royce Hendry.