From ROGER ALFORD, The Christian Index
ROCK SPRING, Georgia — With signs of revival sweeping across a post-COVID Georgia, the Peavine Baptist Church in the state’s northern region recorded 111 creeds over the Easter weekend.
The Rock Spring congregation of 3,771 also baptized 29 people.
“This is our biggest Easter in terms of decisions yet,” said Peavine Pastor Joel Southerland, former executive director for evangelism at the North American Mission Board. “We see salvations, baptisms, and decisions all returning to where they should be.”
Churches across the state have seen increases in attendance and confessions of faith as concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic ease and more people return to in-person worship, said JJ Washington, evangelism catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
“We are seeing our churches going back to the main thing,” Washington said. “During the pandemic, a lot of people were in survival mode, but now that that’s behind us, I think people are moving from outreach to outreach.”
More than 40 people made their declaration of faith last week in the small town of Millen, Georgia.
“I’ve never seen a move of the Lord like this,” said Brad Asbury, pastor of Millen Baptist Church, one of the ministers leading revival services at the city’s Pal Theater. “What we see is a real hunger for God’s Word.”
Hundreds of Georgians from across the state have made their profession of faith in recent weeks in what faith leaders hope is the start of a widespread awakening.
The Millen revival took place the same week as the Pineland Baptist Church in Thomasville, where 19 people made salvation decisions.
Two weeks ago, 20 college students made salvation decisions at a service at Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon.
Three days earlier, 102 Columbus residents had claimed Christ in an evangelistic outreach in one of Georgia’s toughest neighborhoods, known as Little Chicago because of its high crime rate.
Three weeks ago, more than 1,100 people attended an initiative at Roopville Road Baptist Church in Carrollton that included a low-country cookout, a gathering to share a delicious meal of cooked shrimp and other seafood with sausage, corn, Potatoes and all other ingredients combined in the same pot. Pastor Stephen Peeples said seven people made confessions of faith at the event.
And in Sylvester, Georgia, more than 100 people made a profession of faith during an evangelistic outreach sponsored by a group of area churches.
Georgia churches began to see salvation decisions increase as they returned to pre-pandemic activities, including revival services, community outreach, block parties and more.
In northeast Georgia, 17 salvation decisions were reported in March at two Christian learning centers where public school students attend Bible studies. Mike Blount, mission strategist at the Tugalo Baptist Association, said the creeds are among 30 that have been taken at the learning centers since August.
At Shorter University, 24 students made decisions for Christ during a service in late February.
In Moultrie, Matt Greene, pastor of Kingwood Baptist Church, reported 30 salvation decisions during a four-day revival in early February. This is in a church with an average Sunday attendance of about 80 people.