The city of Peachtree City was only nine years old when the Peachtree City Baptist Mission was launched under the First Baptist Church of Fayetteville. The group first met in homes and in 1973 The First Baptist Church of Peachtree City was constituted into a church.

At this time the first building was constructed and the church has grown until it now comprises 47,600 square feet.

The church membership stands at about 2,000 people and the Sunday School classes are growing at the rate of 10 percent per year.

It has sponsored a mission itself, which is now the North Fayette Baptist Church, in 1984 and has participated in the sponsorship of the Greentree Church in Tyrone and the Rolling Hills Church, south of Fayetteville.

There are 12 ministries available for those interested that cover a range of 50 various types of activities/classes.

One of these is the Japanese ministry that includes English conversation for Japanese, a Japanese worship service each Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. and a Japanese language Bible study. These are led by its Japanese pastor, the Rev. Makihito Koyama.

The current senior pastor is the Rev. Dr. Harold Allen. He was born in Jackson, Tenn. and was reared in Cairo, Ill. The call to the field of ministry came early he was preaching at the age of 15 and was ordained at 16. He served a church at Cache, Ill. during his last two years of high school. He was graduated from seminary in Kentucky in 1961 and has served four churches in his career: one in Tennessee, one in Kentucky, one in Illinois and his current church in Peachtree City.

He has been here since 1986.

He and wife, Nancy, met in Germany and were married in 1956. They are the parents of David, who is a doctor in Nashville, and Stephen, a minister who has been a missionary in Africa and is now serving as a recruiter.

Allen is looking forward to retirement at the end of June and a pastor search committee has been appointed.

"I leave, believing those goals I first established here have been met," he said. "I wanted this church to have a strong identity, to have a fully qualified and competent staff, to build adequate facilities, to have an all-inclusive membership and one that is a loving, caring fellowship."

Sunday morning worship is at 11 a.m., Sunday School and Japanese Worship is at 9:30 a.m. and evening worship is at 6 p.m.