ABOUT
THE GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH STORY
Who We Are
Our Beginning
The Grace Baptist Church found its beginning in the spring of 1959 when a small crowd of about 12 people met together in the home of Rev. Ed Bolen and decided to begin a new church in the city of Brunswick. These 3 or 4 young couples then rented space in the original Brunswick Town Hall, and met there on Sunday mornings until the number reached about 50 people. From the Town Hall, the congregation began to rent space in the Applewood School and continued to meet at the school in 1960 & 1961. As they grew they decided to purchase two parcels of land along Laurel Road. About 1962 they built their first building, an auditorium that would seat about 250 people with several small class rooms to accommodate the children in Sunday School.
Our Transitions
Between 1959 & 1967 the church had four different Pastors. In November of 1967 Rev. William Powers, Jr. became Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church. Rev. William Powers was Pastor of GBC until his untimely passing in the month of May 1975. Between 1970 & 1975 Dr. Richard Powers was attending college in Michigan. Prior to his father’s passing the church had extended a call to Richard to come back to Brunswick in the Fall of 1975 and become the church’s first Associate Pastor serving alongside his father. After the death of Rev. William Powers the church asked Richard to return to Brunswick and take the pastorate of the church.
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Our Growth
In June of 1975 Richard moved his young family back to Brunswick and has served as Senior Pastor of the church since that date. In his first year the church’s average attendance was 168 people in the Sunday morning service.
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In the Spring of 1980 the church dedicated a worship center that seated about 650 people and added four Sunday School rooms via a second floor addition in 1984. The church continued to grow and so planning for the future purchased 33 acres of relocation property in 1989.
Our Future
In 1995 the church built and dedicated its 16,000 sq. ft. Family Life Center on the new property, and as of September 2012 finished our new Worship Center which is the final phase of the church’s relocation to its new property. This new Worship Center consists of a 1,300+ seat auditorium, office wing, a teen worship center, more than 20 classrooms, four nursery rooms, a 65 seat cafe and an extensive mall way connecting the various parts of the building. Presently the church’s attendance is close to 1,000 attendees in the morning services.
