His church may be small, but God is using Jerry Garvin in a pretty big way.
Garvin, pastor of Gilgal Baptist Church in Edgefield, has seen the church grow from 12 active members to 60 in his nearly two years as pastor.
Garvin“God gets all the glory,” said Garvin. “Everything good that has taken place has been a direct result of God and his glory, and the people at Gilgal.”
The pastoral ministries and bivocational pastors office of the South Carolina Baptist Convention recently named Garvin this year’s Small Church Pastor of the Year. The award is made based on nominations from directors of missions across the state.
“I, in no way, shape or form, deserve that,” said Garvin. “When I was told, I could immediately think of like four other pastors that really deserve this. I’m a very simple person, and I’m just doing what God leads me to do.”
Gilgal’s growth has Edgefield Association taking notice.
“[Gilgal has] a greater commitment to being obedient to the Lord and his commands,” said Robert Williams, director of missions for the association. “The members are now active, not only inside the church, but outside as well.”
After filling in a couple of times at the church, Garvin said he was sure of God’s calling when he arrived at Gilgal as pastor.
“When Gilgal called me to come preach there one Sunday, I just fell in love with the people,” he said. “God just put me in a great situation. I’m blessed.”
After taking over pastoral duties, Garvin said he began to see God work immediately.
“The church began to grow, but it had nothing to do with me,” said Garvin. “It was just the Holy Spirit and a matter of people being obedient to God. I’m not trying to sound humble, that’s just the honest truth.”
Although Gilgal is still considered a “small church” by most, Garvin said he believes God has given him a heart for the people in his community.
“Honestly, I had a Sunday school class, at one point in time, that was larger than the current congregation at Gilgal,” said Garvin. “God has prepared me for this, and this church is based around loving each other and reaching out to others.
Williamson says Garvin is the kind of pastor that any church would like to have.
“Jerry is very much a prayer warrior,” said Williamson. “He is a wonderful man of God, and if I could duplicate him, there are churches that would just flourish because of his humble service to the lord.”
Despite praise being sent his way, Garvin says he believes the church’s recent growth and outreach can be attributed to a change in attitude.
“The church is starting to really depend on prayer, and they are really desiring to worship,” said Garvin. “Anytime you see God’s presence and start communicating with him, something positive is going to take place.”
Recent success has not made Garvin complacent, however. The pastor says he knows that in order to make a difference in the community, the church has to do more.
“I would like to see the people really understand the Great Commission,” said Garvin. “We need to get outside the church walls, and we need to get to the community. This church will never have a tremendous amount of people, but there are still people in this community who are unchurched. I’m excited about reaching this community, and I’ve got a lot of good people behind me.”