CUMMING BAPTIST CHURCH HISTORY
The family of faith known as Cumming Baptist Church was born from a circle of friends who gathered in homes for prayer and Bible study. On July 27,1998, this group recognized it was God’s will to form a new Baptist congregation in Cumming. The charter to establish Cumming Baptist Church was approved in August 1998. The first public worship service was held on Sunday, September 13, 1998 at the L.W. McDonald and Sons Funeral Home Chapel. The church received its first members on September 27, 1998 with 65 people forming the fellowship of charter members. The church was officially constituted on October 11, 1998. Rev. Ken Neibel began his ministry as interim pastor on January 3, 1999, and became full time April 1, 2000.
On February 7, 1999, having outgrown the funeral home facilities, the congregation unanimously affirmed God’s will to purchase the former Sawnee Mountain Church of God facility on Pilgrim Mill Road, currently home to Chalcedon Presbyterian Church. Sunday, May 2, 1999, the church family worshipped in her new facilities. By the end of the church year in August, the church membership had grown to 299. On July 19, 1999, Rev. Mark Wood was called to serve as Associate Pastor with responsibilities for music, youth and Christian education. The church continued to experience growth creating the need for additional Bible study space. So, on September 24, 2000, the church elected to add an additional building to the Pilgrim Mill facility; the work was completed in May 2001. Blake Carter served as Youth Ministry Intern from July 2000 through July 2001.
Pastor Ken Neibel retired effective August 31, 2001. By this time, the church membership had grown to 413 and the congregation was worshipping in two Sunday services. Dr. Thomas Wright with the North American Mission Board was called as interim pastor from September 2001 to July 2002. Having experienced significant growth, the congregation searched for property to build a larger facility for ministry.
On August 18, 2002, Rev. J. Mark Harrison began his ministry as Senior Pastor. Prior to his arrival, the opportunity for a much larger facility began opening to the church. And, on November 19, 2002, the congregation purchased our current facilities from Chalcedon Presbyterian Church, the congregations actually trading property. Our current facilities include an approximate 700-seat worship center, two story education facility, historic chapel, and Family Life Center. We are ideally located in the heart of Cumming at the crossroads of Forsyth County and within two blocks of three Forsyth County schools.
As the church continued to grow, leaders began to realize both the incredible opportunity and profound need for assistance in expanding our ministry with children and youth. A ground swell of support grew for calling an Associate Pastor to Students. To assist with this transition, Phillip Dean served as Youth Ministry Intern from October 5, 2003, to August 31, 2004. By the close of this ministry, the need for full time assistance with this ministry became apparent. The congregation has expressed its strong commitment to students and student families through powerful financial and prayer support. Rev. Damon Nix became our first Associate Pastor for Students (Children and Youth) in November 2005. He served in that role until February 2007.
Cumming Baptist Church continues to experience both numerical and spiritual growth. On February 22, 2004, the congregation launched its participation in the 40 Days of Purpose campaign following 40 days of intense prayer preparation. The harvest from this period of spiritual growth continues today. Currently, our church family consists of 543 members who are united in our love for Christ and our commitment to pursue His will with all our hearts.
Recent developments include a renewed emphasis on outreach and implementation of the Sunday School Done Right emphasis; the purpose of Sunday school is: Reaching people, teaching people, and ministering to people. Chad Ireland joined our ministry team as Associate Pastor to Students on March 17, 2008. He provides leadership to the congregation through ministry with children and youth (grades 1-12) and their families. God continues to bless our congregation. And, He has exciting experiences in store for us as we continue to follow His leadership.
