November 8, 2025
ELLIJAY, Ga. — One measure of the success of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church's bus ministry is the sheer number of kids running around. On some Wednesdays, that could mean as many as 60 kids, ages 4 to 16.
“I give God the glory,” said Pleasant Grove Associate Pastor Jeff Phillips. "I just show up and work."
Senior Pastor Dan Rosser said Wednesday nights are full of life and activity. “We were having just a handful of kids coming on Wednesday night before we started the bus ministry.”
The Wednesday night children’s program is seeing steady growth, and a large part of it is due to the number of Hispanic children coming. Over half of the riders are Hispanic.
Though the church doesn’t have a formal Hispanic ministry, the church has some Spanish-speaking adults who translate, and Phillips said they have no trouble communicating.
“These kids are going to English-speaking schools and hanging out with English-speaking friends, so I don't think that not having a Spanish-speaking ministry necessarily means anything,” said Phillips.
The kids ride the buses to Pleasant Grove because “the Lord brings them,” said Phillips. “It’s probably just the overall atmosphere and fellowship. If we didn't go get them on Wednesday nights, they would not leave their home and go anywhere, probably. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fellowship with other friends. We just love on them when they are here. We are involved in their lives on a weekly basis. It’s just time and commitment. They know that we care about them.”
PJ Dunn, North Georgia discipleship consultant for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, was blown away by the number of students when he visited Aug. 27 to speak to adults. “You just don’t see churches do the bus thing and do it well. They may pick up a bus of kids. You might get 15 kids. I see that from time to time. But you never see 60. That’s pretty different.”
Dunn explained that the high turnout stems from children’s deep desire to be seen, heard, and to belong. He shared a conversation with two first graders that highlighted the challenges many face, such as broken families, loss of siblings, and strained relationships with parents, underscoring how much the ministry means to them.
He later told the adults that people want to be noticed, named, and known just like Zacchaeus. “Your name matters, and being known matters. But, really being known happens in a small group. It doesn’t happen in a large group.” He said we should never assume people are noticed and named. Being known is what grows young adults, and that is what grows churches, he said.
Phillips said they took a group of kids to Camp Kaleo, and more than half of them were children from the bus ministry. He said that some kids accepted Christ on the trip, and that a mom and her son were saved as a result of the van ministry.
The ministry began in 2019 when Phillips went with a member of his youth group to her neighborhood and knocked on doors. “If you don’t go out there and get them, they aren’t coming. That is our commission. It is to go. It is not for us to sit here and wait for them to come in the door.”
Phillips said that at the second house they visited, the mother mentioned she used to go to Pleasant Grove because of a van ministry. She recalled Charlie Waters driving the bus. Waters, a local businessman and deacon, was a member of Pleasant Grove for 77 years and donated the land on which the church sits today.
In just one day, Phillips reported, the van was full. The van ministry expanded to other neighborhoods, including one with a large Hispanic population. In 2021, Billy and Charlotte Cook joined the church. They had been a part of a bus ministry to that neighborhood and already had relationships with the Hispanic kids. "Billy is a big part of the bus ministry," Phillips said.
This led to the number of kids doubling. The ministry has gone from one van to three 15-passenger buses driving four routes. “There’s a steady growth,” said Phillips. “Kids see other kids going and ask, 'Where are you going?' And, they want to go and find out.”
This ministry has led to the growth of the church's youth program. The van kids make up more than half of the church youth group on a weekly basis, and they actively participate in other activities outside of Wednesday nights.
Though the ministry has not had great success with getting many of the kids' families to come to the church, "seeds are being planted,” said Phillips.
The ministry, Rosser said, has had an impact on church menbers. “I think it has given them a heart and open eyes to the community,” said Rosser.
Phillips believes God has transformed the church by giving the members of Pleasant Grove an opportunity to do true hands-on ministry. “They are getting to interact with kids who come from a different culture and grew up differently than what a lot of our adults did. It gives our folks more of an awareness of the community around us,” said Rosser.
Rosser hopes these kids come to faith in Christ and will be future missionaries and ministers. “The whole point of doing this ministry is to reach them with the gospel. And, I know they are getting the gospel every week.”
Phillips concluded, “We have a heart to see these kids come to the Lord. And to let them know that they are loved.”
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