Georgian Phil Wilkes

BILLERICA, Mass. — New Colony Baptist Church, where Atlanta native Phil Wilkes serves as pastor along with his wife Sue, is a thriving church in the heart of New England Catholic country.

Those who are fascinated by United States history would love Billerica, founded in 1655. The city with a population of approximately 41,000 is located 19 miles north of Boston.

The city is rich in Revolutionary War history and prides itself in being the home of Asa Pollard (1735-1775), the first soldier killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and Ebenezer Bridge, the regimental officer at the battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill.

Most Atlanta Braves fans would also find it interesting that New Colony Church is located right across the street from Billerica Memorial High School, where future Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine graduated with honors in both athletics and academics.

In this Catholic-dominated city there are only two evangelical churches, one Congregational church, and New Colony. Wilkes explains, “The greatest challenge is to help people from a Catholic background understand the difference between religion and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Wilkes, who previously served as pastor of First Baptist Church in Forest Park, concluded, “The biggest difference I see is that in the South many people grow up in church and it is the cultural thing to do, but the people who come to New Colony come on purpose.”

For 17 years New Colony Baptist Church has had what they call Super Summer during the four weeks of July. This year the four-week emphasis attracted the largest number of children ever.

Prior to the summer emphasis the church spent two Saturdays prayer walking the neighborhoods near the church. Wilkes exclaimed, “We had the names of all the people in the homes of our community as a result of a demographic study provided by the New England Baptist Convention.

“On the first Saturday, just prior to Easter, we delivered to each home a bag containing ‘The Case for Christ’ on DVD and some other information about the church. On the second Saturday we just walked and prayed for each family by name. We spend a lot of time praying, breaking down walls, and building relationships.”

The first week of Super Summer featured a sports emphasis. The second week’s focus was on arts and crafts. The third week’s emphasis was on music and at the end of the week the children performed the musical “Rock Solid” for parents and friends. The fourth week was the church’s Vacation Bible School for all the boys and girls in the community.

Wilkes stated, “Almost 90 percent of the children that come to Super Summer are not members of our church. We use these weeks to identify prospects. Some parents let their children come to all four weeks of Super Summer. It is great for building trust and cultivating relationships with the people of Billerica, which is absolutely necessary in this culture if we are to successfully reach people for Christ.”

The Georgia Baptist Convention supplied two interns to New Colony this summer. Warren Skinner, consultant with the Convention’s Collegiate Ministries, indicated that 182 Georgia Baptist college students served as summer missionaries with about 50 percent involved in international mission work. It is through the gifts of students involved in the GBC’s Baptist Collegiate Ministries across the state that these summer missions’ endeavors are possible.

Pastor Wilkes stated, “This year’s Super Summer interns are the cornerstones of our program. These Georgia college students arrived in June and have worked tirelessly with our Super Summer director to coordinate all of our scheduled activities.

“These godly young women could be spending their summers working, taking classes, or hanging out with friends, but instead they have blessed us with their energy, enthusiasm, and hard work. They are on mission for the Lord and it shows in everything they do.”

Holley Sewell and Kayla Rhodes were the two interns that served New Colony Baptist Church this summer. Sewell is a member of First Baptist Church in Albany and a sophomore at Kennesaw State University. She is pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education, but feels that attending seminary is also in her future. She remarked, “I have no idea how God wants to use me, but I am excited to see how my future unfolds.”

Rhodes is from Abbeville and has been a part of Lebanon Baptist Church all her life. She is also an Early Childhood Education major, but is receiving her education from Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus.

Rhodes testified, “Coming to New Colony was a total God thing. When I heard I had the opportunity to leave the South for the summer, I was hooked. Although I wasn’t sure I would end up here, God had his hand in it.

“I have really enjoyed getting to know the people of New Colony. The members of this church do not come because they feel like they have to; they come because they want to be here.

“I have loved interacting with the kids here,” Holley declared. “And I have grown spiritually here at NCBC. These people are the most hospitable people I have ever been around. We think of the South as being a place of hospitality, but the people of NCBC would match the hospitality of the South.

“I have had some great ministry opportunities here that I had not experienced before. My faith has been stretched. Any college students considering summer missions should just do it.”

Robin McGaunn, the church secretary who has been a member of the Billerica church for 22 years, commended the summer interns.

“They have been wonderful,” she stated. “They have given up their summer to be here.

“They do whatever is needed: childcare, help in the kitchen, ministry to the community and to us as a church. They have fit into the fabric of the community and have channeled Christ into all that they have done.”

Undergirding New Colony’s Super Summer this year are mission teams from Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport, La.; Coaling Baptist Church in Coaling, Ala.; and First Baptist Church in Clarksville, Tenn. Mountain Park First Baptist Church in Stone Mountain is the last GBC church to assist with New Colony’s Super Summer.

Wilkes avowed, “We are planning to do the same thing next year. We will need more mission teams then and we certainly hope to have more summer interns from Georgia. We could not do Super Summer without them.”

New Colony’s outreach is not just reserved for the summer. It has a full-orbed ministry that not only receives mission teams, but sends mission teams as well. The church has sent mission teams to Haiti, the Katrina-ravaged city of New Orleans, and will be sending a team to Kenya next year.

Angie Harrington, associate pastor of music and worship for the church, commented, “Pastor Phil is very pastoral. He does a lot of visiting. He believes in relational evangelism. He goes to the Hess Service Station, the bank, the AT&T store, and a variety of businesses to meet people and build relationships. He led one of the bank tellers to Christ recently.”

Harrington added, “I don’t think it is more difficult to reach people here in the Northeast, but the people are typically more reserved and hurried.

“Once you get to know them they will listen. In the South Christianity is a cultural thing. Here in Massachusetts Catholicism is cultural.”

In his pursuit of building relationships Wilkes has befriended Juan Ortiz, a fine Christian layman who is the operator of the Chick-fil-A restaurant in the Burlington Mall (where “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” was filmed). Consequently, Ortiz gives New Colony large amounts of free food from his restaurant for a variety of church functions.

Philosophically, Wilkes has grieved over some of the decisions made by the Massachusetts state government. He explained, “My heart was broken when the state Supreme Court justices voted to legalize same sex marriages. And whenever a bill is introduced to give the people of the state an opportunity to vote on the matter it dies in committee. That is just an example of the spiritual darkness of the leadership of our state and the people who live here.

“Religious pluralism also dominates the landscape. Folks are tolerant of just about all religions, except Christianity. When we insist that Jesus is the only way of salvation they look at us as narrow-minded and suggest that a God of love would never separate anyone from Himself.

“I have been invited to be a part of the ecumenical organization here in Billerica, but I could not be a part of something that would reject the exclusivity of the gospel.”

Wilkes concluded, “We have wanted to advertise ‘The Link,’ a Christian Bible study at the high school across the street, but that permission has not been granted. Yet, they have no trouble advertizing the gay-lesbian club on the Billerica High School campus. Unfortunately, we live in the woeful day Isaiah described in Isaiah 5 when people ‘call evil good, and good evil.’”

Wilkes and New Colony are already setting their sails for next year’s Super Summer and looking for churches to assist them in this great outreach effort. And as for the two summer internships – two Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministry students would be fortunate to get that assignment.