October 2, 2026
DULUTH, Ga. — The Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation awarded more than $9.2 million in grants to 87 health care ministries serving communities across the state on Thursday, Feb. 19, pushing the foundation’s total giving since 2007 past $100 million.
The grants, presented during a ceremony at the Gas South Convention Center, support ministries that provide compassionate, hands-on care to thousands of Georgians each year. Larry Wynn, the foundation’s executive director, said, “This is one of my favorite days of the year.”
For Wynn, the annual presentation is about far more than distributing checks. “It’s about compassion in action. It’s about being the hands and feet of Jesus to people.”
The 2026 grants emphasize direct patient care delivered through charitable clinics, mobile medical units, community health programs, pregnancy centers, recovery ministries, and nursing education programs.
“You who are the caregivers of the state are making a huge difference in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Wynn told recipients. “You’re touching lives.”
Each grant represents both responsibility and hope, Wynn explained. “Each dollar that you will be presented today represents a trust. Each grant represents hope.”
The foundation’s board meets annually for a three-day working retreat to review grant applications.
“It’s a working retreat, but it’s a time of celebration,” Wynn said. “Because we know that every grant we give is going to make a difference in somebody’s life.”
Among the largest areas of funding this year:
The nursing programs at Brewton-Parker Christian University, Shorter University, and Truett McConnell University each received $200,000 for operational support and scholarships, helping train the next generation of Christ-centered health care professionals.
Pregnancy centers and women’s health ministries received funding for expanded ultrasound services and maternal care. Foundation-supported clinics that minister to mothers-to-be have saved more than 25,000 babies since the grant program began.
Wynn sees the foundation’s work as rooted in biblical principles. “Throughout Scripture you see a consistent call to care for the sick, to lift the vulnerable, and to bring healing to the body and the spirit,” he said.
After visiting clinics across Georgia, Wynn said he has witnessed firsthand the difference recipients make.
“You stand in the gap,” he told them. “You minister to people that probably would not receive care if it were not for what you do.”
Besides physical treatment, Wynn emphasized the importance of respect and care shown to patients. “When someone steps into one of your clinics, they’re not treated as a number. They’re treated as a person with needs. And it’s at that moment that healing begins.”
Ricky Powell, newly elected chairman of the foundation board and senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Blairsville, said the foundation exists to support ministries already meeting needs in their communities.
“We feel like it’s just connecting the ongoing ministry of Georgia Baptists to help people spiritually, physically, mentally,” Powell said. “This health care foundation puts the dollars where the people are actually doing the work.”
Powell said the board prioritizes partnership. “We don’t have to pioneer to start new things,” he said. “Just partner with the people God has raised up in our communities.”
One of Powell’s trustee grants this year went to Healing Hands, a health care clinic in Blairsville serving uninsured patients.
“Health care costs are outrageous, and many people can’t afford insurance. So they go without,” Powell said. “This clinic is able to help people with practical needs.”
Lola Bell of GAP Ministries explained that her ministry provides a breadth of services, including a pharmacy assistance program, food pantry, diaper ministry, prescription eyeglasses, and transportation assistance through refurbished bicycles.
“We don’t charge for anything,” Bell said. “We are just helping those who need our help.”
She said foundation support is critical.
“We couldn’t do it without the foundation partnership,” Bell said. “This grant is one of our biggest grants that we receive, and it does so much for the pharmacy. That’s probably our most expensive ministry, and the foundation grant tremendously helps.”
Christine Boggs, executive director of Willing Helpers Clinic in Covington, echoed that sentiment.
“We offer free primary medical care,” Boggs said. “The Georgia Baptist Foundation has been a huge support of ours for probably over a decade. Without their support, we wouldn’t be able to provide as many patient interactions as we can right now. They’re extremely valuable to our organization.”
Since 2007, the foundation has awarded more than $100 million in grants, and Wynn would like to see that figure continue to grow.
“We don’t want to be a secret,” Wynn said. “We want people to know what Georgia Baptists are doing.”
This year’s recipients are:
Athens Wellness Clinic: $30,000
Baptist Mobile Health Ministry Inc.: $50,000
Baptist Village Retirement Communities: $100,000
Bethesda Community Clinic: $80,000
Brewton-Parker Christian University: $200,000
Camp Rock of Georgia, Inc.: $20,000
Carroll Sav-A-Life, Inc/PRC: $45,140
Center for Black Women’s Wellness: $60,000
Choices Crisis Pregnancy Center, Inc.: $50,000
Christ Community Health Services Augusta: $100,000
Christian Women’s Center: $20,000
Community Helping Hands Clinic: $10,000
Community Whole Health Corp.: $25,000
Consolation Baptist Association: $75,000
Coweta Samaritan Clinic: $100,000
Crosspoint Compassion Center: $24,000
Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care: $100,000
DDD Foundation, Inc.: $100,000
DEO Clinic, Inc.: $80,000
EBC Cares, Inc.: $20,000
Equip Ministries: $10,000
Ethne Health: $100,000
Extra Special People, Inc.: $20,000
Faith Hope & Love Christian Ministries: $100,000
Faith In Serving Humanity Medical, Inc.: $100,000
Forsyth Community Clinic: $10,000
Free Clinic of Rome: $93,000
Friends of Disabled Adults and Children: $60,000
Georgia Baptist Children’s Homes: $100,000
GAP Ministries: $40,000
Georgia Baptist Mission Board (GBMB Health Initiatives): $2,550,000
Georgia Baptist Mission Board (GBMB Retiree Health Care Program): $510,352.19
Georgia Highlands Medical Services: $100,000
Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation: $100,000
Giving Health, Inc.: $100,000
Good Health Ministries: $70,000
Good News Clinics: $100,000
Good Samaritan Health Center of Cobb: $100,000
Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett: $100,000
Good Shepherd Clinic of Dawson County: $60,000
Grace Gate Clinic: $5,000
GuideStone Financial Resources of the SBC: $82,333
Hands of Hope Clinic: $100,000
Healing Bridge Clinic: $80,000
Healing Hands Community Clinic, Inc.: $20,000
Heart of Georgia DDM: $20,000
Hebron CHC dba Truth’s Community Clinic: $50,000
J.O.Y. Clinic: $50,000
Kingdom Care, Inc.: $90,000
Macon Volunteer Clinic, Inc.: $100,000
MAP International: $82,500
MedShare: $100,000
Mercy Health Center: $100,000
Mercy Medical Clinic and Foundation, LLC: $75,000
MercyMed of Columbus, Inc.: $100,000
Meridian Educational Resource Group dba Whitefoord Inc.: $100,000
Miracle Making Ministries, Inc.: $100,000
Morganton and Mountaintown Association: $100,000
Mosaic Health Center, Inc.: $90,000
Moyo Missions: $10,000
MUST Ministries, Inc.: $100,000
Northeast Georgia Community Clinic: $10,000
Open Arms Clinic: $50,000
Our House: $100,000
Penfield Addiction Ministries Inc.: $200,000
Physicians’ Care Clinic: $30,000
Pinnacle Retreat Center: $20,000
Prevent Blindness Georgia: $100,000
Primary Healthcare Centers: $100,000
Rehab and Beyond, Inc.: $20,000
Rehoboth Life Care Ministries, Inc.: $70,000
Riley Medical Clinic: $30,000
Ser Familia, Inc.: $60,000
Shorter University: $200,000
St. Vincent de Paul Georgia: $100,000
Sumter Faith Clinic: $100,000
The Good Samaritan Health Center: $100,000
The Hearts & Hands Clinic: $85,000
Tri Med Family Care: $100,000
Troup Cares, Inc.: $60,000
Truett McConnell University: $200,000
Two Rivers Health Clinic: $23,500
Urban Health & Wellness dba Urban Clinic of Atlanta: $100,000
Willing Helpers Medical, Inc.: $75,000
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