Sunday was an exciting time, and those at St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church are celebrating a great accomplishment in the life of their church.
In November 2013, their old church, which has been in Hinesville for almost 72 years, was torn down to make room for a new sanctuary.  After five short months, a new church adorns the ground at 48 Elim Road.  
“We give God all praise and glory for what he is doing in the life of the church,” said Rev. Dr. Alvin L. Jackson, pastor of St Luke. “We started out to remodel and make some repairs on the church. We got estimations of the work we wanted to do, but after talking to our contractor, James Rim, we found out it would be more cost efficient to build a new church.
“We prayed about it and decided that we would build. We moved out of the old sanctuary at the end of October, and they tore down the old building in November. It has been a blessing building this church.”
Dedicatory services begin today. Jackson will preach the first sermon in the new church at 11 a.m., followed by the 3 p.m. dedication service with Dr. C. L. Anderson of Good Shepherd Missionary Baptist Church.
“Our members have worked together, and they are excited about what the Lord has done. Our focus has been on and will remain the same — lost souls,” Jackson said. “Our mission as a church is to reach the lost, make sure people are properly attached to the body of Christ, and that we become doers of the word and not just hearer only.
“We appreciate the new church that God has allowed us to build, but we understand that our mission is to seek and save the lost.  There is much more to be done in building the lives of our parishioners. Our prayer is that God will continue to work through us.”
Services continue at 7:30 nightly Monday, April 7, with the Rev. Dr. Sinclair Thorne of First Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Hinesville; Tuesday, April 8, with the Rev. Dr. James Evans of St. James Baptist Church in Ludowici; and Wednesday, April 9, with the Rev. Dr. Evelyn Jackson of Smith Grove Baptist Church in Gardi.
For more information, go to www.stlukemgc.com or call the church at 912-876-9888.