The Replanting of Martin Baptist Church
For nearly 140 years, Martin Baptist Church (MBC) has served her community as a church committed to preaching the Bible and reaching the lost in Northeast GA. MBC’s history is filled with examples of faithfulness to the Gospel and the Great Commission—we have been involved in international church planting, serving the hungry in our community, local evangelism, and regularly supporting other missionary efforts in various ways. Throughout our long history, the Lord has been kind to bless the ministry of MBC, and I trust that the Lord will continue to bless us for years to come.
Over the past 10 years, however, MBC has experienced a shrinking congregation and a changing community. Like so many rural churches, MBC has struggled to effectively reach our community and make disciples of the next generation, yet the mission field is rapidly growing around us. Within a 5-mile radius of MBC, over 4,000 people are unchurched. That number represents roughly 70% of the population in Martin—clearly, we no longer live in the Bible belt. What’s more, we are one of only two SBC churches within that 5-mile radius. The Martin community is quickly growing with an influx of people moving from the urban sprawl of Atlanta, yet as the community has grown so has the number of those who are unchurched. The need for a faithful, Gospel proclaiming church is clear and growing.
In January 2024, MBC called Brennon Gatewood to serve as pastor and to lead the church to reach the Martin community. As Pastor Brennon and other leaders within the church examined the church’s health, they uncovered a startling reality—the church’s funds were quickly depleting. It became clear that if something did not change fast, MBC would cease to exist within one year. After praying for wisdom and seeking the Lord’s face, the church made the bold decision to replant the historic Martin Baptist Church.
What is a replant?
You may be wondering “what exactly is a replant?” The North American Mission Board (NAMB) defines a church replant as, “the rescue, redemption and restoration of a church at or near the point of death, by the power of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God and the good of the community.” Churches who pursue replanting do so because they recognize that without holistic reform and identity change, the church will likely die.
Why replant?
Another natural question may arise in some minds—“why bother replanting a church that has lost significance in the community?” The simple answer is this— we do not believe Christ is honored when faithful, gospel churches die. In fact, we believe that when biblical churches die, it robs God of glory he would have over that local church and in that community. The seven churches in Revelation 2-3 are commended and rebuked according to their faithfulness or unfaithfulness to the Lord. Yet, in each instance Jesus promises renewal and forgiveness to the churches if they will repent and faithfully seek him. Clearly, he wanted these churches to be healthy and thriving for the sake of his glory! We simply want the same thing—we want to reclaim the Glory of God and his favor over our church as we seek to be totally surrendered to his Word and his ways.
The need for replanting existing churches is also clear. The need for replanting within the Martin community was demonstrated above, but MBC is not alone. Thousands of churches across the US are facing similar trials. In the SBC alone, over 900 churches die every single year—let that sink in! Can we really say that God delights in the closure of all these churches? Surely not! That is why MBC has committed to doing whatever it takes to live, thrive, and become an effective witness of Jesus Christ in Martin, GA. We believe God wants to revive churches on the brink of death and get the glory due his name in and through those churches.
What we need
Our church needs support. First, we need Christians and churches committed to supporting us in prayer. If we are not rooting all that we do in prayer, we might as well close the doors now! To move forward in our own strength is foolish and doomed to fail. So we need prayer partners. Second, we need Christians and churches committed to supporting us financially. Like missionaries and church plants, our church is a mission that needs financial support. God has been kind in supplying our needs so far, but the need for raising funds still exists. Right now, our church is able to maintain basic costs required for survival, but we need help covering other costs to help us reach our community effectively. The funds we raise will cover a variety of costs—resources for discipleship and outreach, salary costs, administrative and postage costs, updates to AV equipment, fellowship costs, etc.
If you or your church could come alongside our church by partnering with us in prayer financial support, we invite you to do so. We believe the Lord loves when his Bride comes together to support the needs of the Body. Acts 11:19-30 tells the story of how the Church in Antioch sent support to the Church in Judea during the time of a great famine. It was clear, that early local churches were committed to supporting other local churches in times of need. We pray that God would lead Christians and churches both near and far would pray about supporting MBC in our time of need.
If you feel lead to support us financially, you can do so by clicking the link below. Upon clicking the link, you will be redirected to our tithely page. In the “to” drop down menu, simply select “General Fund.” As a non-profit organization, your gift to our church is tax deductible. May God richly bless each one of you in Christ!