Pastor John Rea of Legacy Church, Myrtle Beach, will be the first to admit that many churches and resources have helped the new church plant get off the ground and running. The church began in May 2008.
Brian Gilde, youth pastor at First Baptist Church, Rincon, Ga., is pictured here with the fifth and sixth grade class for VBS held at Legacy Church, Myrtle Beach.This summer, First Baptist Church of Rincon, Ga., in the Savannah area, can be added to the list of those who have partnered in various ways with helping Legacy Church grow.
Youth pastor Bryan Gilde and music minister Greg Hartzog led a team of 22 students and adults from Rincon First Baptist to come and help Legacy with their Vacation Bible School. They assisted 12 workers from Legacy Church to reach the children and families of the area.
Lindsey Fender, volunteer children’s director at Legacy, and Missy Gray, volunteer youth director, are excited about what is happening at their church. When asked what drew them to the new church start, they both said it was because of the real relationships that were being formed there.
Missy Gray, volunteer youth director, and Lindsey Fender, volunteer children’s director, helped coordinate VBS at Legacy Church.In January, Gray agreed to be the church’s volunteer youth leader. Since then the group has grown from four students (her children and the pastor’s children) to a core group of 25 who come regularly.
Fender says she likes being a part of a team, and Legacy is a church where she feels a part of a family. “We’re all in this together,” she says.
Rea cites other churches that have helped Legacy on its journey. Palmetto Shores Baptist Church and pastor Ronny Byrd have been big supporters since the beginning. The team from Rincon stayed in Palmetto Shores’ family life center. Southeast Baptist Association, where Will Branham is director of missions, provided disaster relief showers for the team to use.
Legacy does not have a Sunday worship meeting time, and Rea believes the Saturday worship at 5 p.m. is meeting a real need in his community. He said three other pastors in the area have talked with him about their Saturday night services and how they are reaching people. Even though Legacy is a new church, it is cooperating and giving back to other churches in the area, he said.
Lisa Rea, wife of pastor John Rea, Legacy Church, helps lead a class during VBS.Calley Sullivan, a rising ninth grader from Rincon, helped lead music for VBS and said, “I liked getting to hang out with Legacy’s youth group. The trip really helped me to build relationships with my own youth group; and I built an even better relationship with Christ.”
Bryan Gilde, youth pastor at Rincon First Baptist, said, “The trip was much more beneficial than we anticipated. Not only did we minister to families in need of the love of Christ, but we were mutually encouraged (Romans 1:12) by Legacy Church. Church planting is hard work, which most people are not aware of until they see it firsthand.”
Daryl Price, of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, added, “This VBS mission trip is one way Rincon First Baptist is impacting lostness. What are some additional ways other churches could partner with churches near and far to spur one another on to impact lostness?”
For more information on how to be involved in church planting, contact Price at darylprice@scbaptist.org. – SCBC