November 11, 2026
WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Georgia Baptists heard stories Tuesday of children finding families, students learning to read, churches reaching their communities through backpacks and soccer, and Disaster Relief volunteers carrying the gospel into places struck by storms, fires, and floods.
The Mission Georgia report at the 204th annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention focused on ways in which churches are using practical ministry to build relationships and share the gospel in their communities.
Mission Georgia lead strategist Beth Ann Williams said the work is aimed at helping churches “meet vulnerable people right where they are in our communities, to engage them and to build bridges that share the hope of the gospel.”
Georgia Baptist Mission Board Executive Director Thomas Hammond welcomed three ministry families who have opened their homes through foster care and adoption.
Richie Howard, local ministries and missions minister at First Baptist Jonesboro, described meeting a boy and his pregnant mother during a vulnerable period in January 2024. Rather than taking him to a shelter, Howard and his wife Melissa welcomed him into their home. That relationship eventually led to guardianship and, just days before the annual meeting, the adoption of the son and his younger sister.
Darren Talley, associate pastor of children and students at Bethsaida Baptist Church in Dublin, said adoption had changed the way he and his wife April understood both parenthood and ministry to birth families.
“It’s not just about us having children,” Talley said. Adoption also created an opportunity to care for birth parents and assure them that their children were loved and cared for.
Melissa Howard described foster care and adoption as a lesson in trusting God through uncertainty.
“We wholeheartedly had to trust God,” she said, citing questions about finances, the future, and the unknown. “God has carried us through every aspect of it.”
When Hammond asked what they would say to families considering foster care or adoption, Darren Talley's response was simple: “It’s worth it.”
Williams said Mission Georgia provided adoption grants for the three families on stage and four additional families serving as pastors or ministry leaders in Georgia Baptist churches. Grants remain available to ministry families considering adoption.
First Baptist Church Jonesboro began its Read Georgia ministry in early 2025 with 11 students and 11 tutors at one school.
By the 2025-26 school year, the ministry had grown to 40 students, 25 tutors, and three schools.
Missions Pastor Andy Cauble said the church has worked with students from first through fifth grade and has seen young readers gain confidence. An end-of-year celebration in May drew 130 people representing 28 families. Church members shared the gospel, gave students Bibles, and helped them begin personal libraries with donated books.
School principals have invited church members to pray with them and their staff, and several principals thanked First Baptist Jonesboro in a video shown to messengers.
“The First Baptist Church of Jonesboro has been an amazing partner,” said Lakeisha Anderson, principal of Lillie Suder Elementary School. Kimberly Barnett, principal of Jonesboro Middle School, said church members “come, they pray with us, they pray over our school, they pray for us.”
The ministry has also traveled well beyond Georgia.
First Baptist Jonesboro has partnered for nearly 10 years with a church in the Dominican Republic. During a conversation with pastors there, church leaders learned that many children were struggling to read and that the problem was affecting their prospects for education and employment.
Cauble suggested using the Read Georgia model.
That idea became Read Remanso, using local teachers and retired educators to help children with literacy while strengthening connections between families and the church.
Hispanic Congregation Pastor Ruben Torres said children first reached through Vacation Bible School and other ministries are now being integrated into the church, with some coming to faith in Christ.
About 15 months ago, Mission Georgia ordered 25,000 backpacks and offered them at no cost to Georgia Baptist churches and associations for ministry in their communities.
Churches found a wide range of uses for them.
First Baptist Church Fort Valley used backpacks with incoming students at Fort Valley State University and in an elementary school book drive. Friendship Church in Cumming partnered with WMU groups, students, and BCM ministries to distribute backpacks in other parts of the state.
Pleasant View Baptist Church in Carrollton used eight backpacks for neighborhood children who needed school supplies. In Cobb County, the Noonday Association distributed 2,700 backpacks through local schools, church plants, and smaller congregations.
Oxford Baptist Church used 500 backpacks for school supplies, first-aid kits for police officers, supplies for homeless residents, and aid sent to South Georgia after fires.
Williams said 23,350 backpacks were distributed through 125 churches and more than 48 associations.
“It doesn’t matter the number,” she said. “They can be used for ministry.”
Mission Georgia has ordered 30,000 more backpacks to be available beginning in 2027.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup gave churches another opportunity to engage people through sports.
Mission Georgia provided churches with soccer-themed gospel resources, including soccer balls and tracts, and sent four missionaries across the state to help congregations with outreach. Williams said a watch party at Tabernacle Baptist Church resulted in a profession of faith.
Jeffersonville Baptist Church used the World Cup as part of a broader effort to reach families through sports. Pastor Dan Wright hosted a small watch party at his home where children and families gathered for food and a game. At halftime, Wright used Mission Georgia’s “The Goal of Life” resource to share the gospel.
He later used one of the soccer balls during a career-day visit at a local elementary school.
McIntosh Baptist Church in Griffin focused on international students at the University of Georgia’s Griffin campus.
Pastor Daniel Sanderson said about 100 international students study there, many of whom have little or no exposure to the Bible or the gospel.
The church worked with the university to host a watch party and partnered with M25 Barbecue to provide meals and share the gospel. Sanderson said the event led to an extended gospel conversation with an Iranian couple who had never heard about Jesus.
The couple later connected with a church book club, and church members continue building a relationship with them.
New Hope Baptist Church in Fayette County used Mission Georgia’s Mini Cup of Nations plan to organize a summer soccer event.
More than 275 children registered, with another 50 to 70 arriving the day of the event. More than 300 children heard the gospel, and several indicated decisions to follow Christ.
Mission Georgia also launched its first Love Your Neighbor events in 2026.
The events were designed to put Mission Georgia resources directly into local communities through projects developed by churches and associations.
Events were held in northeast Georgia around Clarkesville and Demorest and in southwest Georgia around Columbus.
The two events included 37 ministry projects, 731 volunteers, and volunteers from 59 churches. Williams said participants had approximately 1,000 gospel conversations and saw people respond to the gospel.
Love Your Neighbor will move to northwest Georgia around Dalton and southeast Georgia around Vidalia in 2027.
Mission Georgia Builders, launched under Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief, is helping churches and church plants complete construction projects with volunteer labor.
Disaster Relief Director Dwain Carter encouraged churches to send both skilled workers and volunteers willing to learn.
“We have volunteers in order to go help them,” Carter said. “Tell your people that have some skills or just want to get out and do something unique.”
Carter also reported on Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief responses during 2026.
Teams served following an ice storm in Mississippi, wildfires in Georgia, flooding in Louisiana, and Texas, tornadoes in Indiana, hurricane damage in Florida, and flooding this past weekend along the Georgia-Tennessee border. Volunteers also continued Hurricane Helene recovery work and responded to smaller disasters across Georgia.
Carter said Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief recorded 3,040 volunteer days and more than 24,500 volunteer hours during the year. Volunteers made more than 4,000 ministry contacts, shared the gospel about 450 times, and reported 27 commitments to Christ.
He said Disaster Relief’s purpose goes beyond humanitarian assistance.
“We are a gospel-advancing ministry using humanitarian aid-style work to advance the gospel,” Carter said.
Disasters often open doors into people’s lives that churches might not otherwise have, he said.
“We are here because Jesus loves you so much, we want to help you in the midst of this disaster.”
Hammond closed the report by asking churches to see Mission Georgia as a way to reach people with both practical help and the gospel.
“Mission Georgia is all about sharing the love of Christ by, first of all, showing the love of Christ,” Hammond said. “And once we build that relationship and build that opportunity for sharing, then we of course cross that bridge and share the gospel.”
He encouraged churches to pray, give, and become involved in ministry in their own communities.
“The purpose is to engage every church in their mission field,” Hammond said.
He closed in prayer.
“Father, we are living in the midst of a mission field, but the door is wide open,” Hammond prayed. “And it is a massive door with incredible opportunities.”
___
Video of the sessions and presentations during the annual meeting is available at acts2.app.
Share with others
