The Rev. J. Barrett Owen, a 2010 graduate of the McAfee School of Theology of Mercer University in Atlanta, has been called as pastor of National Heights Baptist Church, Fayetteville.
A resident of Atlanta, Owen has most recently served as pastor of Union Baptist Church, Pine Mountain. As a seminary and college student, he also served as youth minister, devotional writer and speaker, and camp and retreat pastor in a variety of national and international settings.
Owen earned his undergraduate degree in Christian leadership from Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., where he served as a student life assistant and participated in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In 2008, he was certified in premarital counseling by the Georgia Family Council’s Healthy Marriage Initiative.
“National Heights Baptist Church is a warm congregation full of love, dedication, and mission-mindedness,” Owen said. “We are a program-style church with committed members who enjoy serving the Lord.”
Owen, who cites the population growth in Fayette County as a promising sign of the church’s own growth potential, said he was excited to find a wealth of seasonal activities already planned with the wider community in mind.
“This moderate Baptist church is an already thriving congregation with a structured calendar full of fellowship and mission opportunities,” Owen said. “In addition to that, my coming on as pastor at the start of the Advent season provides a certain symmetrical appeal. Advent is the first season of the Christian calendar. Coming on at this time allows me to become fully integrated with the educational and missional direction in which the church is moving. Not to mention that Christmas is just a unique time of year to be with a church community.”
Helen Odom, a deacon at National Heights and a member of the pastoral search committee which called Owen, says she looks forward to the energy and leadership he will bring to the church.
National Heights is at the corner of Old Norton Road and Ga. Highway 54 in Fayetteville. For further information, call 770/461-1704.
