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Pastor Avant to leave Fayette’s largest church

By J. FRANK LYNCH
jflynch@theCitizenNews.com

For just the second time in 25 years, Fayette County’s largest Southern Baptist congregation will soon be looking for a new pastor.

The Rev. John Avant has resigned as senior pastor of New Hope Baptist Church to become vice president of evangelization for the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Avant, who celebrated eight years at New Hope in December, told church members of his decision during morning services Jan. 9. He will preach his final sermon as New Hope’s pastor Sunday, Feb. 13.

Avant came to Fayetteville in late 1996 after pastoring four churches in Texas, taking over for the Rev. Dwight “Ike” Reighard, who served the church for 19 years and led it through tremendous growth.

A native of North Carolina, Avant is well-known among Southern Baptists, having led numerous conferences and crusades and authored several books.

He and his wife, Donna, have three children, including a daughter who will graduate from Landmark Christian School in Fairburn this spring, said the Rev. Barry Thompson, associate pastor.

The family won’t decide until spring whether to remain in Fayette County or move to Alpharetta, where the NAMB is based, Thompson said.

The church has already put a team in place to ease the transition once Avant leaves, and a pastor search team will soon be appointed, said Thompson.

New Hope Baptist will celebrate its 125th anniversary in September, Thompson said, and while it would be nice to have a new pastor by then, the church won’t rush the search process and doesn’t intend to lose any momentum in the interim.

“Nothing at New Hope stops,” said Thompson, pointing out that the church has 14 full-time ministers on staff, not counting the senior pastor position. “Our pastoral staff is here and committed to ministering to the people of New Hope. That won’t stop.”

With a membership around 5,000 and Sunday attendance averaging around 2,200, New Hope remains one of the largest churches in the community, Baptist or otherwise.

Under Avant’s guidance, New Hope adopted the once-struggling Starr’s Mill Baptist and began promoting itself as “One Church in Two Locations.”

The church raised nearly $11 million to fund an ambitious expansion of its New Hope Road facilities, while at the same time building a satellite campus on 60 acres of land in just south of Peachtree City, more than 10 miles cross-county as the crow flies.

On Sunday mornings, alternate worship schedules have allowed Avant to preach to both the north and south congregations. Thompson said the church will continue ministering equally at each location, which together draw about 1,300 people for Wednesday night activities, he said.

Thompson stressed that New Hope’s commitment to the community is as strong as ever. Each year, it hosts a Chamber of Commerce Business Expo, an orientation brunch for teachers new to Fayette County, and various other outreach programs. In March, it will be the site for a conference and workshop on Christian clown ministries.

This winter, the church had enough children sign up to fill 53 teams of Upward Basketball, Thompson said. That’s just one of several organized team sports New Hope offers at its north campus, where a full-time recreation minister is employed.

Plans are just getting under way for the 125th birthday celebration, Thompson said. The church was founded at its present North Campus location on the fourth Sunday in September, 1880.

Next December, New Hope will note another milestone when it stages the 20th Annual “Living Christmas Tree.” The holiday extravaganza, a community tradition since 1986, drew a capacity crowd of 10,000 people last month.

Once nearly all white, New Hope membership has grown more diverse in recent years, Thompson said, a reflection of the changing face of the neighborhoods around it. The church has more than 200 black members on the rolls, he estimated, and has welcomed an equal number of new members in recent years of all races and nationalities.

“One of John Avant’s favorite statements is he wants New Hope to look like Heaven’s going to look,” said Thompson. “We’re embracing new people all the time.”