ASHBURN — Several members of High Hill Baptist Church heard the heavy popping of a car’s muffler at about a quarter ‘til noon on June 27. Still, they thought nothing of it. After all, this was an area where people still routinely leave doors to cars and churches unlocked.
Rhoda Cook
High Hill Baptist Church pastor Dudley Cook stands at the church’s front door with his car at the same spot where another vehicle was broken into June 27. Two other Georgia Baptist churches in Turner County experienced car break-ins the same day when thieves stole items from unlocked vehicles.
Minutes after Pastor Dudley Cook finished his sermon based on Acts 1, though, those images of security were gone as about a dozen church members discovered purses left in their unlocked cars had been stolen.
“The reaction was what you’d expect,” said Cook. “A little astonishment, anger, disbelief. The main regret I heard from the ladies was that they had lost some pictures of grandchildren.”
It would be discovered later that two other rural Georgia Baptist churches in Turner County were hit by thieves in the same manner that Sunday morning. Unlocked cars had also become easy pickings for thieves at Rebecca Baptist and Pleasant Hill Baptist churches.
To many the idea of unsecured doors – no matter the locale – may come across as naďve at best. For Turner County native and Sheriff’s Office Investigator Steve Mauldin, though, it represents a societal change that is only now making its way into some parts of south Georgia.
“This is the first time I’ve seen this [type of crime], but you figure it’s coming at some point,” said Mauldin, who’s been serving in his role for 14 years. “Twenty years ago churches remained unlocked, and some still do today, but we’re seeing more cases where people who once thought they were safe are learning they just aren’t anymore.”
Saying the poor economy plays a large role, Mauldin noted a difference in the type of thefts being committed now, a more non-confrontational variety such as the ones at the three churches.
“Residential burglaries where suspects enter the home have declined, but at the same time thefts from sheds, properties, and storage buildings along with thefts of property have dramatically increased,” he said. “In the last year theft of materials to be sold as scrap has also increased, such as in the case of two local churches that had their air conditioners destroyed, most likely to be sold as scrap.”
Turner Baptist Association director of missions Jim Faircloth said that until very recently Pleasant Hill Baptist had left its doors unlocked. Periodically an officer with the sheriff’s department would check in on the building, even logging in at a sign-in sheet. He added that perhaps the thefts could have been worse.
“I wasn’t surprised that car doors were left unlocked, but didn’t realize that many women left purses in the cars,” he said. “In some church lots around here, though, I know of people who leave keys in the car.”
The community of Rebecca – where Rebecca Baptist and Pleasant Hill are located – doesn’t have a police force and High Hill sits about a quarter mile from the main road, Faircloth stated. “Evidently, [the thieves] knew where to hit and where they would be least likely seen,” he said.
Mauldin said a suspect was in custody, but there was not enough evidence to make a theft charge. A video shows the suspect using a church member’s credit card 30 minutes after it was stolen, leaving grounds for theft by receiving but nothing more in the ongoing investigation.
“We know the guy and the car he drives,” added Mauldin, who’s own home was broken into two years ago. “If someone had poked their head out [of the church doors] we’d have had him weeks ago.”
In the meantime, precautions have become the new normal, he stated.
“If you see anything suspicious check it out. In these cases people heard the car pull up but no one got up to look. They figured someone was outside waiting for church to end.
“I recommend churches lock their doors,” he said. “If you leave purses in the car, put them in the trunk.”
After getting past normal human emotions, members at High Hill saw a higher purpose in the thefts.
Cook never heard the car. At that point he was hammering home to congregants how the early church reached out to those who rejected and even hated those telling about Jesus.
“God has taken this and used it to motivate our church,” he said. “We were in the process of establishing our GROW [God Rewards Our Work] evangelism outreach starting in September, but some couldn’t wait.”
Since then, as many as five or six men have been meeting after work on Tuesdays to fight gnats and the south Georgia heat in visiting others in the community.
“When we go to a home and realize they’re Christians, we encourage them to be active in church,” Cook added. “If they’re not Christians we share the gospel.”