October 1, 2026
MACON, Ga. — It was a warm day in late April 2025 when Nick Morgan laced up his Puma Nitros. Approaching the starting area, he was surrounded by nearly 30,000 other runners who had earned a coveted spot in the Boston Marathon. Three hours and 17 minutes after the starting gun fired, he crossed the finish line, placing a respectable 9,422nd place.
Recently, Morgan hit the ground running again, this time in his new role as the Association Missional Strategist of the Mid-State Baptist Association. Ricky Thrasher, who works with Associational Missions on behalf of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, said of Morgan’s selection, “The association has chosen well. I believe he is called and has a heart for the work.” Morgan succeeds Garry Goodwin, who recently retired after 13 years of service to the association.
The Mid-State Baptist Association is a network of 38 Baptist churches in Jones, Monroe, Wilkinson, Crawford, and Bibb counties. There are several strong churches and some healthy churches. At the same time, there are struggling churches with fewer than 50 in worship attendance. Like many other communities across Georgia, there are opportunities for revitalization or replants in the months and years ahead.
Macon is the largest city in the association and Morgan's hometown, although his life journey has been a circular route back to his hometown. It has included stops in Athens, Ga., Lynchburg, Va., and Atlanta.
Morgan met his wife Amy, a native of Lawrenceville, Ga., while they were students at the University of Georgia. She currently serves as the principal at Tattnall Square Academy in Macon. They have three daughters, Tybee Ann, Vera May, and Ella, ranging in age from 10 to 15, and are members of his home church, Ingleside Baptist in Macon.
Unlike most AMSs, Nick has never served as a senior pastor. He has served as an educator, in associate pastoral roles, and in the field of financial planning. He holds two master’s degrees from Liberty Theological Seminary, in Education and Christian Leadership. After teaching for a while in Christian schools in the Atlanta area, Morgan transitioned into wealth management with a Christian-based company. That transition eventually led to his relocating to his hometown of Macon in 2018.
At that time, he was approached by Goodwin, whom he had met in 2013, about serving in a leadership role with the Mid-State Association Board. Serving on the board, he learned about the work of the association. In the process, he was unknowingly being mentored for his new role by Goodwin. Morgan said, “He’s (Goodwin) always been a good mentor, friend, and disciple maker.”
Morgan is serving the association in a bi-vocational role while continuing his work in the wealth management field. He said, “You know, when you say that you're going to ministry, most think they're going to go into student ministry, or a traditional church role, like senior pastor. But my gifts and talents line up for this position. For the past couple of months, it's been like Christmas to have these conversations with pastors and staff members. It has me firing on all cylinders, and I am really excited!”
In addition to work and family, Nick is a runner and helps coach a track team part-time. He tries to incorporate running into his ministry. He is active with a grassroots ministry called “F3.” He explained, “F3 stands for fitness, fellowship, and faith. The goal of F3 is to plant, grow, and serve small workout groups for men to reinvigorate Christian male leadership.” It serves as a Christian men’s accountability group for physical and spiritual well-being.
He meets with a group of guys three or four mornings a week at a parking lot or some other agreed-upon location to run at 5:15 a.m. Usually, he said, it begins with two or three guys creating a group in an area. Macon has about 25 different places where groups meet to exercise, run, or walk. He said, “I've seen whole trajectories change for guys to get out of certain addictions. It’s incredible.”
The organization is international, and Morgan explained that when he travels, he finds a local F3 group to exercise and fellowship with while on the road. One of his goals is to begin meeting with some of the pastors of the association to begin exercising
He said he has been humbled by the fact that running the Boston Marathon in 2025 has opened doors to share the gospel with a number of people. He almost dropped out during the race when his youngest daughter Ella, who was running with him at the time, was hit by a car. Fortunately, she was not seriously hurt, and they describe her as “our miracle.”
He said the takeaways from the marathon include: “Life gets tough, make sure you have people who believe in you, and are ready to encourage you.” That insight will undoubtedly be applied to the pastors, staff, and churches of the Mid-State Baptist Association.
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