Who we Are
We are a fellowship of Christians who share a common bond as followers of Jesus Christ. We are Southern Baptists for the purpose of missions because we share the same beliefs and practices as other Southern Baptist churches.
As Southern Baptists, we are a cooperating church of the Southern Baptist Convention, Georgia Baptist Mission Board, and Gwinnett Metro Baptist Association.
Click Here to read the Baptist Faith and Message.
What We Believe
Our core belief is found in the fact that God loves people so much that he sent his Son Jesus to die our sins. Faith in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection, is the only way to forgiveness. Our full statement of belief is called the Baptist Faith and Message.
Why We Exist
The church is all about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We believe the most effective way to do that is to keep things simple. Our vision, purpose and mission can be summed up in three words - worship, connect and serve – which focus our efforts on proclaiming the gospel of Jesus to our community.
Worship
We WORSHIP Jesus Christ, who died and rose from the dead to save us from our sin.
Connect
We CONNECT believers to God’s Word and each other through Bible study groups.
Serve
We SERVE others to demonstrate the love of God through Jesus.
Our Beginning
During 1957, a small group of Christians became increasingly interested in beginning a new regular work of a Southern Baptist Church. With the help of the acting Field Worker of the Lawrenceville Association Dr. Scott Patterson, a retired Southern Baptist missionary to Africa, regular full-time services were started in the home of Mercer and Jeannette Harris on October 5, 1958.
On October 19, 1958, services were held in the Central Gwinnett High School building that became the regular meeting house until the church moved to its present location. the first business meeting was held on October 1, 1958, in the home of Jack and Rebecca Baggett with thirty people present.
The mission group known as the Central Baptist Mission desired to become a regular church working in full cooperation with work carried out by the Southern Baptist Convention. With nineteen holding letters of dismissal from other Baptist churches, they organized in Central Baptist Church on November 2, 1958.
Dr. Solomon Dowis led the Constitutional Service and was assisted by Dr. Scott Patterson. Eleven days after the church was constituted, seventeen others joined, bringing the total membership to thirty-six. Dr. Patterson served as an organizational interim pastor for two months. Dr. Dowis became the interim pastor on January 1, 1959. The first Vacation Bible School was held June 8-12, 1959, and a tent revival on the property was held from June 7-21, 1959. Dr. Dowis baptized those who accepted Christ during the tent revival in the City Lake of Lawrenceville. Central Baptist Church was received into the Lawrenceville Baptist Association on October 13, 1959.
On November 22, 1959, the first unit of the church was occupied. On Decemeber 20, 1959, four other members were ordained as deacons: Myron Boggs, Mercer Harris, L. H. Phillips, and J. T. Swanson, Jr. Dr. Dowis served as interim pastor until December 1959. By January 1, 1960, there were one hundred members with forty-one baptisms since the church was organized.