Custer's Last Stand

Last night at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church, we hosted the last service for Custer Avenue Baptist Church of Atlanta. Steve Powell, the last pastor, serves as our part time Minister to Senior Adults. His father was once the full time pastor of Custer Avenue. The church ministered to countless people in her 104 years of ministry. Like so many other churches, especially in urban areas where neighborhoods can change fairly quickly and residents for many years moved from inside the city to the suburbs, the last few decades for Custer Avenue have been marked by decline in membership. Custer Avenue, wanting to continue her legacy, has been generous in sharing remaining resources with several ministries. Among them are a gift for a perpetual scholarship at Truett-McConnel college, funds for an after-school ministry for at-risk kids, and mission funds and the resources for Steve to be on staff at our church.

I was privileged to be one of the speakers at the last service, which was very meaningful to the participants. Steve preached a short message, there was special worship music, and three of us who were recipients of Custer Avenue's kindness each shared briefly.

Here are my remarks...

My grandfather (Papa) was named W. M. Pitts. He was a hardworking farmer who, along with my Granny, raised 9 children. Papa died when I was a freshman in high school. He was 88 years old.

While we were sad that he died, he was not a failure in life because he died. At his funeral, it was a great celebration of his life. We recounted our memories of him and thought about the legacy he left behind.

One of my great memories of my Papa was his taking me into town with him. We would go from store to store, and we would hand out little red booklets that contained Scripture portions. He was my first witnessing example and trainer.

All nine of Papa’s children were trained up in the way of Lord, in the way they should go; even as his children have grown old (and some have passed away), they have not turned from it. Not that being a minister is a greater task in the kingdom than any other calling of God, but one of Papa’s sons was called to be a minister, two of his grandchildren, and at least two of his great-grandchildren and their families are on the mission field today.

Even though my Papa died almost thirty years ago, his life and legacy live on.

And I think about such things when a church holds her final service. Some see it as a sign of failure. I think such people are shortsighted. Just as it was a natural thing for my Papa and every other person to die, so it is with churches. I am not aware of any of the churches in the New Testament that have survived in unbroken line. Each came to the close of their natural ministry, and most churches do the same.

This has been particularly true inside the perimeter of Atlanta in the past twenty to forty years. Almost every traditional, long established Baptist church has experienced decline, and many of them have likewise had a celebration of their ministries in a final service, and Custer Avenue will not be the last.

Churches may come to the end of their life cycles for various reasons: changing neighborhoods, changing demographics, aging membership, rising secularism—we could go on and on. The important thing on a day like today is to celebrate the vibrant and eternal consequences of the ministry over the years and look at the legacy that is left behind. Just as it was not a failure for my Papa to die, it is not a failure for a church to come to an end of a ministry cycle. So while there is to be some sadness, even more there should be celebration—celebration of the life and the legacy.

Even as our church struggles with the decline that every other church has, we are grateful for your legacy, for your generosity will help us as we continue to seek to minister in this place.

Last summer, I was taking an annual prayer and study break, and I began to feel that it would be profitable for our church to have a part time Minister to Senior Adults. A majority of our members are seniors, and it was difficult to minister properly to them while seeking to reach out to the younger people around us.

Not long after that, Steve and I began to talk. Financially, we would not be able to pay a part time Senior Adult minister. Through the legacy of Custer Avenue, though, we are pleased that for two years we can have a monthly stipend so that we can have Steve serve in that position. Already he has proven to be a wonderful asset to our ministry here, and it is possible because of the legacy of Custer Avenue Baptist Church.

We are also a church that not only believes in the Cooperative Program to support missions around the world, we believe in hands-on missions as well. In the past couple of years we have had several experiences. First, there was a trip to NY state last summer to work with a new church. Twenty-five went last year and a similar number is going again this year. Pastor Pete Shults’ ministry has been greatly enhanced by this work. There have been three or four trips to Biloxi, Mississippi, to help with cleanup from Hurricane Katrina. Our members have gone on three trips to Africa—one each to Uganda, Gambia, and Nigeria. We have helped support short term mission opportunities of others as well.

In the next few months, one member will travel to China for ministry during the Olympics, a doctor is returning to Nigeria, and a recent college graduate is going to spend three years in Europe.

Seeing this commitment to missions, Steve wanted part of the legacy of Custer Avenue to be used for this kind of endeavor as we try to supplement the costs of our members so they can participate in such missions ventures. We are grateful for a generous grant of $15,000 from Custer Avenue for this kind of work, another example of the legacy you leave behind.

We can’t begin to tell you how much we appreciate what you are doing for us and others, and we pledge to continue to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel that has been once for all entrusted to the saints, just as you have done for over 100 years. We ask for your prayers for us that, being only a bit over 50, we can continue to reach out to this community for many years to come.

Let me close by reading one verse of Scripture. It is found in Hebrews 6.

God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them. (Hebrews 6.10)

Certainly, this verse aptly applies to Custer Avenue Baptist Church today. May God bless you!

This brings up a topic that goes beyond the final service of one church. Over the past twenty years, many churches (as I said in my remarks) have held final services, and there will be more.

Yet, today the inner city is once again vibrant and growing. How will we meet the challenge of reaching the city again for a new generation? I am part of an initiative, called the Urban Atlanta Impact Initiative, that is seeking the wisdom of God to answer this question. One thing is sure--the churches of the future inside the perimeter of Atlanta will be vastly different from those of the past. As only one example, I believe most will not invest in land and buildings as has been the habit in the past. How could they? The cost of land alone in urban Atlanta will prove prohibitive, at least for the first years, of almost any church. Quite likely, we will see a return to smaller churches (such as can meet in an apartment or condo), much like the house churches of the first century, even while some of the mega churches will continue to thrive. Others will meet in hotel ballrooms or theaters but will have small groups in homes. Even now, some churches are starting in coffee houses or similar venues, while some churches who are declining are opening their facilities to church planters who are planting churches in the same spaces but starting separate churches. It is wonderful to see these unselfish existing churches committing themselves to a legacy of faith, even though the expression of it will "look" different from their traditional practices (while the message of faith in Jesus will be the same--or it will all be for naught.) Certainly, it will be both interesting and exciting to observe the process as once again we will see God declare, "Behold, I do a new thing!"

I pray that through the initiative that I am privileged to be part of, we will see a new day and a revival of faith in God within the perimeter of Atlanta. I am sure I will share more later of what I see and hear in days ahead.