October 1, 2026
BOGART, Ga. — Prince Avenue Baptist Church dedicated its new 1,800-seat worship center on Aug. 2, celebrating a project church leaders described as the fulfillment of a decades-long vision and the next step in the church’s growing ministry in Oconee County.
The church has flourished under the ministry of Pastor Josh Smith, but he is quick to give much of the credit for the church’s growth and influence to his predecessor, Pastor Bill Ricketts, who served as the church’s pastor for 43 years.
“When I followed Bill Ricketts as pastor of Prince Avenue, I inherited a legacy of faithfulness,” Smith said. “As the church grew, he had the foresight to move the church from downtown Athens to its present location, and our new sanctuary was something he envisioned 20 years ago. He also instilled within the hearts of the people the necessity of an uncompromising faith, and he taught them the importance of sacrificial giving.”
Preaching from Exodus 40:34-38 during the dedication and celebration service, Smith reminded the congregation that the tabernacle built in the wilderness under Moses’ leadership was beautifully designed by God and constructed by men who followed God’s detailed instructions.
Then Smith quoted Exodus 40:34: “‘Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation; and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.’ This building, as beautiful as it is, as comfortable as it is, as accommodating as it is, is just a tent, a room, until God shows up.”
On Celebration Sunday, Ricketts addressed the congregation via video and reminded them that the church was birthed out of a three-week revival meeting in 1912, when 138 people stepped out in faith and started a church they called the Baptist Tabernacle. When that church building burned down, the people bought a lot on Prince Avenue and built a worship center there.
In 1973, Ricketts became the ninth pastor of Prince Avenue, and the church grew significantly under his ministry. As the church entered the 21st century, he began to realize that limited space and inadequate buildings would stifle its future. He began to pray about a possible relocation and ultimately found property on U.S. Highway 78 in Oconee County that he envisioned as a site for the church’s future ministry.
The move to the new property took place in February 2010. The church and Prince Avenue Christian School now share a large campus on U.S. Highway 78 in Oconee County.
In 2016, Ricketts resigned as pastor of Prince Avenue, but declared that he was not retiring, but redirecting his ministry, including work in Romania.
Fourteen months later, Smith became pastor of PABC. His devotion to the Lord, powerful preaching, excitement about serving as pastor, diligent staff, and responsive membership helped usher in a new season of spiritual renewal and growth for the church.
It was not long before it became evident that having three Sunday morning worship services was necessary, but not the most effective way to accommodate the growing attendance.
In 2022, the church launched the “More” initiative, a major fundraising and expansion campaign designed to finance the new worship center, church offices, conference room, and a spacious atrium.
“Our ‘More’ initiative is based on Ephesians 3:20-21, and we are praying that the God who can do exceedingly ‘more’ than we could ever ask or imagine will provide for our needs,” Smith said. “To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all generations. We want to give more for God’s glory.”
Executive Pastor Tim Luke said the building cost $19,958,000, with another $911,000 in architectural charges outside the building contract. Van Winkle served as general contractor.
“Our general contractor was Van Winkle,” Luke said. “They did a terrific job and are wonderful to work with. They have been in business since 1922 and have built many churches.
“The building was paid for in cash, and both our church and school are debt-free,” Luke said. “In fact, we started the campaign with $3 million in the building fund, and, praise Jesus, we finished the building with $4 million in available reserves to begin renovating our old worship center. All glory to the one true God!”
Luke said Smith has led the church to focus on its vision statement: “We are the visible presence of Jesus in our community, a healthy and growing family of faith.”
“Josh always uses God’s Word to lead us back to the truth of our vision statement,” Luke said. “Josh rarely even mentions money. We don’t pass the plate. We have offering boxes at our entrances. He preaches on tithing maybe once a year or once every other year. Through expository preaching, he leads us to intimacy in our personal walks to live up to our vision statement.”
Prince Avenue also has emphasized outreach through a campaign called “Every Neighbor.” The congregation has been encouraged to invite neighbors, friends, and acquaintances to church.
In the seven months ending Aug. 1, the church documented 752 first-time guests of all ages at Prince Avenue and welcomed 177 new members.
Luke reported, “We were right at 2,400 in attendance on Celebration Sunday, Aug. 2. We opened the worship center for services on June 14, so we spent most of the summer using the new facility. Celebration Sunday was an opportunity to praise the Lord for His goodness and thank all the people who came before us to make this happen.
“The church has tripled since Josh started on Jan. 1, 2018. We were running approximately 780 when he came, and this past Sunday we had just under 3,000 in attendance.”
David Carter, who has served as chairman of the church’s long-range planning committee, said the new sanctuary represents a vision God gave the church decades ago.
“I cannot tell you how many miracles God provided through the years to get us to where we are today,” Carter said.
“Every Sunday when I pull onto the campus, I say, ‘To God be the glory. Only God could have done this.’ Every Sunday we have hundreds of college students, many of whom will go all over the world on mission for Christ.
“We have come to this wonderful chapter in the life of our church because of Josh’s powerful preaching and because we have a large church that has the intimacy of a small church.”
Kim Elrod, a longtime member of Prince Avenue, was the interior designer who selected the colors and décor. She said she wanted the space to feel warm, timeless, and welcoming.
“I attempted to create a brighter palette, a timeless look, a safe environment, a place of intimacy that made people feel like they were coming home,” Elrod said. “I want people to see the hand of the Lord all over the place.”
Mike Maxey, chairman of the deacons at PABC, said he is moved by the multigenerational nature of the congregation.
“I am overwhelmed when I look out over our congregation each Sunday and see hundreds of people of every age group,” Maxey said. “We are truly a multigenerational church.
“We just had a men’s breakfast on Tuesday morning at 6:30, and 400 to 500 people were there. There were teenagers, college students, and men of all ages present to hear our pastor teach the Word of God. It was a time of good fellowship and inspiration.”
For Smith, the building is not an end in itself. His prayer, he told the congregation, is that God will use the new worship center as a place where lives are changed.
“When your child comes here and hears the gospel and gives his or her life to Christ and is baptized right here, suddenly it’s no longer a room,” Smith said.
“When you invite college students, and they’ve been to a church for the first time, and they sit in one of these seats and give their lives to Christ, it’s not just a room.
“When a family shows up on Sunday morning, and they’re broken and almost done with each other, but they feel the love and the kindness of this place, and they meet God and their families are restored, it’s not just a room.
“And when an addict walks in here and realizes there’s a power to be free through the blood of Jesus Christ, this is no longer just a room.
“Listen, I know it’s just a room, but we didn’t build it just to be a room. We built it as a place in which God would show up. My prayers are that what we would see happen in this room is salvation after salvation, restorations taking place, and countless baptisms — all for the glory of God.”
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