Update: How the Fire Started and Opportunity to Help

Greetings All! We have some updates on the situation at the church.

How the Fire Started
The fire marshal and ATF stated that the fire started in the refrigerator. That's right, in the refrigerator. To be more specific, the automatic defrost unit in the freezer shorted out, which cause the wiring to overheat and catch the refrigerator on fire. Once the fire started, it apparently spread upward to the ceiling and into the second floor where it began to spread down the hallway. We praise the Lord once again that everyone is safe and that there were no injuries.

Opportunity to Help

The new fellowship hall will be cleaned starting Wednesday, October 5. Anyone willing to help in the cleanup process can meet at 1:00 PM at the church. For those who can come at a later time that afternoon, come 6:00 - 8:00 PM. We have a storage trailer to put items in after they have been cleaned. Also, there will be a short devotion time on Wednesday night.

Other News

Hart EMC is being contacted today in order to get the power situation squared away.

Of course we want to remind everyone that there is no Wednesday night service other than the short devotion that will take place along with the clean up. In addition, there will be no services held in the sanctuary in the near future. It will need to be thoroughly cleaned by professionals before it can be used in any capacity. In the meantime services will be held in the new fellowship hall.


Remember, if you haven't already signed up for the email newsletter to receive updates, you can do so by clicking HERE.

Latest on New Bethel

Just a quick update on the situation at the church.  The fire marshal was on the scene this morning to assess the damage.  He has completed his work.  The insurance appraiser will be at the church sometime tomorrow to assess the damage from an insurance perspective.  After he has completed his duties we will be permitted to go in the building to begin cleanup.


Remember that we will be posting updates here as well as we will be calling with updates and schedules.  Also, please take time to sign up for the e-mail newsletter.  Here is a simple form to complete in order to sign up to receive e-mails:

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Update on the Fire

As most already know, New Bethel Baptist Church had a portion of the building catch fire on Saturday night. There are many questions right now and not very many answers. However, the church will make an effort to post any new information here on the website. What we know right now is that significant damage has been done to the old fellowship hall wing of the building. From the stairs toward the kitchen, most of that area will need to be totally replaced as the damage was major. It appears that most of the damage to the sanctuary and church offices is limited to smoke related issues.

The area is taped off as of right now and no one is allowed into the building until the fire marshal has had enough time to complete his work as it relates to the investigation. Hopefully that will take place early this week. After we are granted permission to enter the building, an assessment of the damage will be made and we can begin the clean up process. We will then have a better idea of plans moving forward.

The deacons and church staff will do everything in their power to make sure all members are updated on the situation via telephone call. In the meantime, there are a couple of announcements: 

• The New Bethel Christian Preschool will be closed this week. The deacons, church staff and preschool staff will be evaluating options for location of the preschool in the short term.
• There will be no Wednesday night service this week. Again, we will be contacting everyone as soon as information is available about upcoming services.
• The Homecoming service will still take place. Further details will be announced soon.

If you would like to be signed up to receive updates and information via e-mail, please send an e-mail to info@newbethelbaptistga.org with your Name and E-mail Address. This will sign you up for the e-mail list to receive alerts as soon as possible. If you would prefer, you may leave a comment below with your Name and E-mail Address to sign up instead.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can certainly call Pastor Tommy or the deacons. In addition, you may also e-mail info@newbethelbaptistga.org. Remember that we will all need to be patient as this will be a long process of restoration.

Be sure to check here for updated information.

Pastor's Weekly Message - 10/2/11

What a wonderful week of Revival here at the Church. My heart was overwhelmed with the power of the Lord. First let me state what a joy it was to be with Bro. Duane this week looking back over the years when he and his family were here and remembering all the things that we did together, and we did a lot of things.  He was a joy to work with because we had a bond and a relationship of trust. I have been blessed to work with some wonderful people in my ministry over the years, but this one exceeded them all. “What if we …” came up so many times during our ministry together, or “I was thinking about trying this today, what do you think?” Having someone around who is thinking of ways to serve the Lord or trying something different was a help and also  rewarding. I think we are too much like the ones Jesus rebuked in the New Testament who always had their ways of doing things which wasn’t working but they kept on doing them thinking one day it would work. Let’s look around at our Church and see what needs to be done differently or what is not working effectively. Just “doing things” because we have always done them that way is not always the answer in ministry.  We will soon start a New Year and what a great time now to look at what we are doing and to make changes that are not working. The Nominating Committee will be meeting soon to look at the New Year programs and positions. What would you like for us to do as a Church? Or, what would you like to do as a Christian? It is something to think about and pray about.

Wade Buice is being baptized today and he is excited as am I.  Anytime someone makes a statement that they are following the Lord in believer’s baptism is powerful and a blessing. Every believer needs to be baptized. It is important to share your faith this way and just as important to share in the Lord’s Supper.

We need to elect three deacons for this upcoming year so pray about this. There is a sheet to sign up if you are willing to serve.  See one of the deacons about this if you have any questions.  We are working on our Homecoming Service, so kept this in your prayers also.

Pastor Tommy

Pastor's Weekly Message - 9/25/11

Welcome to New Bethel Baptist Church. This is the start our Revival week with Bro. Duane Eller. Pastor Duane was with us about 12 years ago. Wow, time does fly. We had some of the sweetest services one could ever enjoy. Duane’s love for the Lord and his Love for people shows through in his ministry.

Looking back for a moment brings joy to my heart. I never worked with anyone who I trusted so much with my ministry. He was always amazing me with his insight on worship and service. He always had a fresh look at life. His leadership was priceless. He is a gifted man who knows how to worship the Lord and involve others in service.

I have been blessed to serve with some great servants over the years, but the impact Duane had on me was wonderful, and I am grateful to him for that. “Susan, I’m sure is the reason for it all.” Duane worked with the youth, led the choir, preached, visited, as well as had the vision for our preschool and deacon retreats. He is also good at doing any plumbing, electrical, or carpentry work. Those were some happy days for us here at New Bethel Church. I will always be grateful to him and Susan. Friends are hard to find in life but he is a friend. For you that do not know Duane you are in for a treat this week.

I don’t know what the Lord is going to do this week in Revival, but I know that our hearts will be blessed through the Word that is preached. Remember that the altars are always open for you to come to the Lord. We may be singing or Pastor Duane may be preaching but you don’t have to wait until the end of the service to come to the Lord. Come anytime you feel led by God. We are expecting God to do some powerful things this week starting this morning.

Invite your friends to join you in Revival this week. They too will be blessed. We the people will make the difference in Revival because we know God wants us to have Revival. Duane is the vessel that will be used of God to Preach the Word, but it is us who must hear, repent and surrender to the Lord. If we do not then we will only have a good meeting. But I want Revival. What about you?

Pastor Tommy

Pastor's Weekly Message - 9/18/11

Revival starts next week (Sept. 25-28) with Bro. Duane Eller from Nails Creek Baptist Church. I hope you have made plans to be here each service. We need a Revival in our Church. We need to get serious about our walk with the Lord. God has blessed us so much and we are thankful for all he has done, but are we living the way that he wants us to? What is Revival? The synonyms are: revitalization, renewal, restoration, stimulation, reinforcement, recovery, resumption, resurgence, rebirth, rehabilitation. Charles Finney said “It presupposes that the church is sunk down in a backslidden state, and a revival consists in the return of the Church from her backslidings and the conversion of sinners.” Amen to that.

1. The foundations of sin need to be broken up. A revival always includes conviction of sin on the part of the church. Backslidden professors cannot wake up and begin right away in the service of God without deep searching of their heart. The fountains of sin need to be broken up. In a true revival, Christians are always brought under such conviction; they see their sins in such a light that often they find it impossible to maintain a hope of their acceptance with God. It does not always go to that extent, but there are always, in a genuine revival, deep convictions of sin, and often cases of abandoning all hope.

2. Revival is a new beginning of obedience with God. Just as in the case of a converted sinner, the first step is a deep repentance, a breaking down of heart, a getting down into the dust before God, with humility, and a forsaking of sin.

3. Backslidden Christians will be brought to repentance. A revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God.

4. Christians will have their faith renewed.

5. A revival breaks the power of the world and of sin over Christians. It brings them to such vantage ground that they get a fresh impulse towards heaven; they have a new foretaste of heaven, and new desires after union with God; thus the charm of the world is broken, and the power of sin overcome.

6. When the Churches are thus awakened and salvation of sinners will follow.

7. When a revival can be expected? A revival may be expected when Christians have a spirit of prayer for a revival. That is, when they pray as if their hearts were set upon it.

Pastor Tommy

Revival and Chicken Strips!

We want to relay a couple of important news items.  First, Revival is quickly approaching, and we hope everyone can attend.  Reverend Duane Eller will be the preacher.  Many of you will remember Duane from when he was the music minister at NBBC among other things several years ago.  We are very excited about his return.  Revival is September 25th - 28th starting with the 11 AM service on the 25th and including 7 PM services nightly.  Make plans to attend!

Also, the New Bethel Christian Preschool is having a Chicken Strip Plate Fundraiser on October 1st from 5 PM to 7 PM.  Tickets are $7.00.  See a deacon or Brenda Hallford to purchase a ticket.