In late October, the congregation of Peachtree Road Baptist Church celebrated the church’s rich history on the occasion of its 170th anniversary.
The Independent Baptist church, located on Old Peachtree Road in Suwanee, has been pastored by Jay Reed since 2010. Austin Reed, who serves as associate pastor and head of the PRBC missions board, said that the church originally organized as Sheepfield Baptist Church in 1853, across the street from where the campus is now located.
The church was renamed Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in 189, at which time the church was moved from the northwest side to the east side of Old Peachtree Road, and in 1949 it was renamed Old Field Missionary Baptist Church. The church was renamed Peachtree Road Baptist Church in 1983.
Credit: Peachtree Road Baptist Church
Credit: Peachtree Road Baptist Church
Austin Reed, who came to PRBC in September after service at a church in Indiana, said the anniversary celebration included a talk from Preston Moore, who served as pastor from 1965 until 2010. There was also a video presentation detailing church history and a message from Jay Reed.
“It’s an exciting time to take a moment and recognize that we’re not the only ones who have done something,” said Austin Reed. “You can look around the church campus and you can see a testament to the amount of resources, time, effort and prayer that people that have come before you have put in to the work of the Lord here.
“And you appreciate you are truly standing on the shoulders of giants and appreciate the resources and opportunity you’ve been handed by the prior generation to do the work of Christ in this generation.”
In modern times, the church campus has grown and now includes the sanctuary, which was built in 1970, office space, a Sunday School building, a gymnasium, a fellowship hall, two mission houses, “several” parsonages, a softball field, a cemetery (which dates back to the Civil War, Austin Reed said) and some storage buildings.
The campus footprint got a little smaller recently as the church sold about 17 acres of property off McGinnis Ferry Road to developers.
Credit: Peachtree Road Baptist Church
Credit: Peachtree Road Baptist Church
PRBC also has a worldwide footprint as it is the home of Global Baptist Church Planters, which has helped development more than 800 churches in the Philippines, India, Nigeria, Egypt, Argentina, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Panama.
Austin Reed said the mission to encourage missions will continue to grow in the future.
“The church is always seeking to minister in the community where the Lord has allowed us to be, and I’m the head of a missions agency that is out of the church here, and we’ve had the opportunity to start 803 churches around the world and help national pastors in eight different countries around the world purchase buildings and supplies and materials and help support them as they start churches just like ours all around the world,” he said.
For more information about Peachtree Road Baptist Church, visit www.peachtreeroadbc.com.
Credit: Gwinnett Daily Post
Credit: Gwinnett Daily Post
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